A new blog for you

I am a daily reader of Get Rich Slowly, a person finance blog for people looking for a few tips on debt management, savings, and investments. In a recent post on planning ahead financially, I came across a new blog called, The Boxcarkids's Blog. If you haven't already seen the new link under the "Check out these blogs too" list on the right hand side of my blog, I strongly suggest that you check it out ASAP. The author writes about her day to day struggle of being a single parent of four and homeless. And oh yeah--she has her Master's degree in Anthropology, owned her own home, and even had a rental property before the housing market collapse and subsequent recession. She provides great insight into the story of thousands of Americans right now--people who have lost their jobs and their homes to foreclosure and are considered homeless. Some are crashing with families and friends, some are in campgrounds, some are in tent cities, some are in shelters, and some are on the streets.

This blog serves as a poignant reminder that poverty and homelessness don't just happen to alcoholics, drug-dealers, and addicts. I find that's a common misconception people have in this field. The truth is, poverty can affect anyone. In fact, many middle class families are just a few paychecks away from a situation very similar to that of the family from The Boxcarkids's Blog.

The faces of homelessness, unemployment, and poverty are shifting with the current recession. People are outraged that the government/financial institutions/charities/etc. aren't doing enough for the newly poor. "Somebody should do something!" they say. "Bad things are happening to good, hard-working people."

When the job and housing market bounce back, will people still feel such a strong sense of outrage about people living in poverty? Before the recession, millions of men, women, and children were living in generational poverty (that is, they were at least the third generation of their family to live in poverty), and not many people even batted an eyelash. These individuals and families will most likely continue to live in poverty when the economy comes back. And I wonder: what will we say then? Will we still be outraged that children go to bed hungry? I hope so. Anger is a strong motivator for change.