By Tony Attwood
Homelessness is a profound social problem in the US. There are at least 770,000 unhoused people nationwide, according to official figures. This has been addressed by the passing of hundreds of new bills criminalising sleeping outside or lingering in public spaces in the past two years. Bills which don’t actually provide homes for the homeless.
Homelessness is also a social problem in my country – the UK – although I think not on such a scale, even taking into account the different size of population.
I do something to help a tiny bit in the UK, since I am not an American citizen, and I have only visited the United States either as a straightforward tourist or to visit friends, but I don’t believe that anything from the world cup has made anything better for the homeless in the United States. They were homeless when the world cup started and they are now. And of course footballers who earn great amounts of money could give more than they do to help them. So could I, and I feel ashamed.
I celebrate Saka’s hattrick and his apparent return to form from a long spell of injury, but know it does nothing to help the oppressed in America. What’s good for Arssenal doesn’t make any difference to the homeless in the USSA.
Thus for quite a few people like myself, the World Cup in the United States has been an appalling spectacle which I have by and large avoided, but there are probably many more people who have enjoyed watching it on TV. I have tried to do a bit more, but I am not sure it is ver much.
I am left with the awful feeling that really there is so little I can do to help matters overall, to improve matters, to make life better for a few people. I give to one specific charity that has always been close to my family’s hearts, and having faced the reality of the last few weeks still have no idea what else to do.
If I were to stop watching football, or stop supporting Arsenal, it would make little difference to anyone save to me, wherein it will make my life seem a little more empty. I could do it, but will it make a difference?
This world cup has been a sad time. My opinion of the American government has declined but I don’t feel any better about myself. I prepare to watch the final; I really do wonder what we are all about. But more to the point I wonder what I am all about.
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Tony,
to quote Marcus Aurelius, we control 3 things in life : what we think, what we do, what we ingest.
The rest is outside our control.
So giving to a charity, keeping a clear eye, reporting on issues that are of interest and important to you for whatever reason is something you can think and do.
Any river, stream, lake, sea is made of water drops. Individual water drops.
So I may say that contrary to others who are grains of sand participating in the desertification of our world, you are a drop of water trying to make it bearable…
Keep on writing and being a force for good.
That being said… look at Finland.
There are no more homeless people.
The government decided to invert the strategy. First give each homeless a home.
Then go about treating them from a health and mental health perspective
Then training or job, etc.
And after a few years… it worked. Once peoplehave a key to a place that was their own, they could take charge of their life.
But then, the mainstream attitude is that any homeless person is guilty. As if life accidents cannot happen : losing a job, losing you mind, being unlucky…
Look it up. Finland proved it wrong.
Tony. you work with facts and you know they do not lie. The main answer to this terrible problem is listed below which is sad but true regarding shortages in funding for the growing unseen population that are using and requiring temporary and permanent accommodation.
The UK have apx 380,000 experiencing homelessness yet their are estimated 700,000 to 900,000 unauthorised immigrants in the UK, but in America their is a lot more with estimations of over 10 million unauthorised immigrants in the USA and like the UK, it is growing.
They say that 60% of the unauthorised immigrants are living in sheltered homelessness. Maybe that’s where the charity funding and government funding is being overloaded and cannot cope with unauthorised immigrants to home shortages for its own homeless population and it’s welfare budgets and limitations on charity funding.
That’s where the majority of homeless funding is now going to. Sad. Terrible but true. The government have let it escalate and have been neglectful and charities cannot cope with the demand. The figures that you have are government lead and untrue, they are unfortunately a lot lot worst, you could multiply that by at least 5.
Anyway, that’s one for the mega rich, which is the government and our power at the media and ballot box.
Too depressing to discuss further.
Am so glad that this WC is finally over . That it appears to be quite a successful and money making one for FIFA is well noted. As one who did not pat nor contribute in any way , I still say that many teams did impress .
Am looking forwards to the new season with much optimism .
Up the Gunners !