hard week.

I think it's good that I have had kraut to occupy my mind, I mean my blog. I've had lots on my mind this week. Everyone has Hurricane Katrina survivors on their minds. At least they should. Here's my problem. I am struggling with the common viewpoint that the survivors who are homeless are somehow more worthy of our help than the homeless in our own communities. The response of a huge apartment management company in Washtenaw county to provide 100 apartments for survivors sickens me. This same management company has phased out almost all of their subsidized units. Their apartments are not affordable for poor people. And I am scared of what will happen to the survivors when their FEMA grants/subsidies end and the same company that agreed to help them kicks their poor asses out. The fact that providing housing for the survivors is just the tip of the iceberg also scares me. All of the social service agencies I know of are stretched really thin. Who will help the survivors find employment? Who will help them figure out the severely lacking public transportation system? How will they know what to do when, if they are lucky enough to find employment, they can't get help from the state with paying for child care until they have been working for 30 days? The amount of support and kindness extended to the survivors has warmed my heart. Tonight while I was watching the Detroit Tigers get their asses kicked by the Kansas City Royals I wondered exactly how many people were made homeless by hurricane katrina. And I wondered how many people were already homeless in the state of Michigan. In the county of Wayne. In the city of Detroit. How do those numbers compare? Does anyone give a shit? There is not one thing positive about this unimaginable disaster. But my hope is that we will be able to see that homelessness isn't just a problem for survivors of the hurricane. Homelessness is a problem for survivors of poverty and some people have small disasters every day that might not be a hurricane or a flood, but are just as devastating. I hope that survivors are able to make fresh starts and that the kindness and caring we have shown so far will continue. Tonight it just feels like too much to hope for.