Without a roof over our heads - the state of America

The New York Times ran a photo series showing the makeup of homeless encampments sprouting up across the United States. These pictures and descriptions are taken from that series.

The first picture to the left underneath a clear, sunny California sky might look to you like a nice camping trip. The tents all look like they are from REI and then there's the idyllic American River to the left. But this picture is actually of a camp site made up of families and individuals that have only recently become homeless because of the housing crisis that has engulfed the United States.

“They just popped up about 18 months ago. One day it was empty. The next day, there were people living there.” - Paul Stack, operators manager at outreach center

The next photo is of a young woman. According to the article this is Tina Garland, "an out-of-work truck driver, in the kitchen area of the tent she shares with her husband in Sacramento."

Think about this for a moment. She has skills but can't find a job. She is married but her husband is also unemployed. Their only recourse is a tent.

Is this the America we want?


Next up is a man sitting on a cot. According to the article, "Doug Brown, a freelance electrical engineer, moved to the shelter at Village of Hope in October after losing his job. He shares his tool shed with another person."

There's a pattern here folks. Skilled people are unable to find jobs. The American economy isn't working and the social safety net isn't able to help us avoid becoming homeless. So what kind of social safety net do we have?



Next up is a photo of a young man in his mid-20s standing by a fire. According to the article, "Daniel Kent, 27, has been living in a encampment called Taco Flats in Fresno for three months after running out of money."

We read in the history books that Americna in the late 1920s and 1930s was dotted with "Hoovervilles," homeless cities named after the presiding man in the White House, President Herbert Hoover. Who among us thought that we would see these kinds of tent cities rise again in our lifetimes?

America's social safety net is ill-prepared to handle the recession we are in. There are some politicians in Washington and in our state capitols that are taking note and hopefully they will put emergency measures in place to rectify this growing problem now. Why do only Wall Street investment firms and banks get bailouts?

This problem is big and getting bigger. And if you think it can't impact you, take another look at those pictures.