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INTERVIEWS AND PRESS ARTICLES
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OpEdNews
There's much to do: let's start saving lives our ownselves November 23, 2008 OpEdNews By M. Davis Back in the Thirties, the devastation generated by the Depression and the Dust Bowl sent tens of thousands of people wandering across the country in search of food, shelter and jobs. Are we headed to a similar catastrophe? If ten people donated their month's latte or snack budget to an energy assistance agency, we could keep somebody's lights on, put some fuel in their oil tank, and, perhaps, save a few people from freezing to death. Isn't saving a few lives worth more than gulping down a few cups of over-priced java? What a difference a year makes. Last year, when I wrote about elderly Native Americans freezing to death on reservations because they couldn't afford heating oil, the bottom hadn't fallen out of the economy and there were still a few people in a position to donate to a good cause and help others. People were still getting by. Unfortunately, the economy has worsened. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.8 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.7 per-centage points. (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Today, hundreds of thousands of people have been evicted due to foreclosure, with no end in sight. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are on the line, and in a worse case scenario, these people will join the millions, who have lost jobs and stand to lose their homes, including the owners of traditional mortgages. Let's get real, here. This is about more than predatory loans, or "people living above their means and buying more house than they could afford." This is about folk who have lost their jobs, and who now don't have the income to feed their families OR pay the mortgage. This is about people who, have been middle class for generations and who now are in danger of joining the tens of thousands of Americans who are reportedly camping out in their cars, vans, and trucks. This is about the dozens of tent cities that have cropped up in several states to house the recently homeless, former homeowners. This is about the devolution of the American Dream, the return to the hand to mouth existence of the Dustbowl Thirties. This is about the devastation of the Heartland of the nation. Today, as the recession digs its heels in, thousands of families across the nation are wondering how they are going to afford to buy food, pay the house payment/rent, and heat their homes for the winter. Even as gasoline prices drop, the backlash of fear is undercutting civility around the nation, fueling an upsurge in nativism, anti-immigrant, race/class/bigotry. As the American middle class sinks slowly below the threshold of middle classness, as fear, anxiety and uncertainty generate more of the same, think about those who never reached middle class, never reached suburban utopia-1.2 kids, a 2 car garage and a two person income. Think about those living in the nation's poorest areas, the American barrios, ghettos and reservations. Last year, after receiving a press release from a friend who works with a not for profit organization in one of the nation's most impoverished areas, I put pen to paper (OK, I hit the keyboard and typed myself nuts) and tried to paint a picture of the bone chilling poverty on the Rose Bud Reservation in the Dakotas. Last year, things were bad. Elders were freezing due to lack of fuel to heat their homes. The rate of poverty, domestic violence, infant mortality and illiteracy was comparable, or worse than that of a third world nation. At least, last year, the economy was strong enough for donors to feel comfortable giving to various heating ministries and utility assistance plans on the Rez. This year, the need is greater than before. The Dakotas are blizzard country. Wide open plains, big sky country, birth mother to howling winds, skin scouring blizzards, death hand smiting the helpless from the very sky. In the early part of this month, a blizzard hit the area, knocking out power, sending hundreds to shelters. As one newspaper wrote: Spending five days without electricity or running water has been an ordeal for people in Wanblee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. (Rapid City Journal, 11-10-08) My information is that areas right outside of Wanblee were without powr and running water for 12 days. Imagine, spending nearly two weeks in a shelter, braving frigid cold, dealing with 20 foot snowdrifts, 4 feet of snow and howling 85 mile an hour winds. No electricity, no water, with the price of kerosene out of this world. Imagine having to drop your children off at a shelter, then leave them, because you are afraid thieves will steal you blind if you leave your home unprotected. ...several families have dropped their elders and children off at the shelter and returned to their cold, dark homes to protect them from thieves. (Ibid) This is just the beginning of winter. With the economy worsening, and many former donors looking at unemployment, foreclosure, or even becoming homeless, help is needed now, and will be needed more as the winter goes on. According to an activist who works with elderly and disabled, people are in such dire straits that they are burning furniture for heat. This is a desperate situation. This area of the country is renown for blizzards and during a recent blizzard, the only fuel many people had was their own furniture. There are several agencies working with the residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation. One, the Link Center Foundation, is currently seeking donations. http://www.linkcenterfoundation.org/id6.html October, 2008 through March, 2009 Our goal is to raise $20,000. We are not grant-funded at this time. We depend on YOU, the individual donor, to help these families in crisis. * Average income on the Oglala Lakota Sioux Pine Ridge Reservation is about $3,500.00 per YEAR. Jobs are extremely scarce; unemployment hovers around 85% on this 11,000-square-mile reservation which houses about 40,000 people. The other Lakota Reservations face similar economic conditions. * Death by hypothermia is always a concern on the reservations. Each winter (October – March), temperatures drop well below 0*F. Many families must choose between food and heat. In some cases, they have neither. * Federal LHEAP and Tribal Assistance Programs offer each low-income family approximately $300 per year. With the current rate of propane at $2.20 per gallon, this provides only 136 gallons – about enough fuel for 2 to 4 weeks (depending on the harsh weather). * Propane prices have already risen about 33% since last winter, and are expected to rise much higher as this winter goes on. Those families surviving with electric heat also face major increases in cost. * Propane companies require minimum amounts of propane to be purchased before delivery (currently $125 to $355 depending on the company). These minimum requirements are expected to skyrocket as the high cost of truck fuel increases. This makes families struggle even harder to accumulate enough funds at one time to ensure a delivery Across the nation, families are shivering in the cold; some members will die this winter because they can not afford to heat their homes. Elders will go to sleep for the last time and freeze to their covers. Homeless men and women may not survive another night in the frigid cold. Shelters have no room. Those who have homes and apartments are sitting in the dark, with the lucky ones out scouting the neighborhood for wood to burn in their fireplaces. Think about taking the money for that new pair of shoes that you really don't need and donate it to a reputable not for profit's fuel or energy assistance program. Forgo that soft drink, latte, or impulse snack that you could do without and donate it to a worthy cause. Authors Website: http://www.lulu.com/davis4000_2000 Authors Bio: |