I wanted to talk about the new Chicago Public School System report on homelessness that just came out.
"Officials with the CPS report that 10,500 homeless students were enrolled this year, compared with 3,500 in 2000---marking a 17 percent increase in this year alone.
Better reporting may be part of the reason behind the surge. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless settled a class-action lawsuit in 2000 against CPS that demanded better reporting and services for homeless families.
Schools have improved methods of registering children as homeless, which gives the children benefits such as the ability to be bused back to their home school when they become homeless. Once they are registed as homeless, the children also get help with tutoring, schools fees, uniforms, and other clothing."
I checked some more statistics, and discovered nearly a third of all homeless people in Chicago are children.
Now, we can start pointing fingers at Republicans at the national level or Democrats at the local and state levels, but that tail-chasing has yet to yield any sort of positive result. This is unacceptable. Collectively, we should do something. But what? I have no clue. I don't know any homeless people.
I saw this book as I was looking around for information on homeless families, so I'll read that, and I know you can go here to donate school supplies, so I can do that.
We've got to stop dividing ourselves into categories and isolating ourselves if we are going to create a cohesive nation of "Americans." I'm not saying I'm not guilty. I lampoon Republicans as a group. Like I laughed at this:
Bad Ubie! Bad, bad Ubie!
We won't get anywhere like that. Do you think Flounder enjoys the thought of some 6 year old huddled in the back of a '76 Chevy Nova or under an underpass or in a gang-infested shelter somewhere? I don't. None of us has the answers. And until we can work out our differences of opinion instead of demonizing people who disagree with us, we never will.
So, we're agreed. Let's stamp out homelessness, starting with the children. Who's got a plan? Anyone?
