SC Corner
Monthly Social Concerns Reports
Local Homelessness
2009-10-29
A coalition of local churches ranging from Presbyterian, Missionary Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Sikhs, and one small UU group meets every month to discuss homelessness and brainstorm on our individual and collective responses. During one of these meetings, a Methodist woman stood with nervous tears and an uneven cadence as she said that God had laid on her heart a goal to provide a proper Thanksgiving meal for 500 homeless. She told us of her past struggles as a single mother and how she had relatives who supported her in tough times. Without that, she told us, her family would have been homeless. This woman's vision has spread as more and more people are helping her in this cause to be held at First United Methodist Church of Oviedo.
This is a great idea. Afterwards, I spoke with Kathy Anderson about our tiny group helping them in some way. Unfortunately, Kathy didn't think we had enough people to volunteer. Another idea was for the Triple U to perhaps invite a family from the overflow that will surely exist. Again, this plan seems to be failing as only six people have signed up for our Thanksgiving meal. However this situation plays out, if you feel moved to help out in someway on this project, please see me and I'll provide contact information.
On October 25th, I spoke on the issue of the homelessness to the adult RE group. The point of my talk was to share some first hand experience and my thoughts on its deeper causes in the economic downturn. Roy Sherer and the Adult RE group were very supportive. They listened intently, which is not easy to do in a noisy restaurant, and you could tell by their questions that they wrestled their hearts and minds around this difficult subject. I used the term new homelessness to describe how high health care costs, outsourced jobs, and the collapse of economic bubbles in housing and energy has made many former middle income families homeless as a result of a cascade of problems from job loss or illness triggering an inability to pay their mortgage and then even to afford an apartment.
RE had some great ideas of expanding our food drive to include clothing and volunteering, and are as of this writing going to have the seasoned expert on homelessness, Kathy Anderson, speak to them on November 1st. Please let me, Dawn Foster or others on Social Concerns know about your efforts to help reverse this terrible trend, or if you simply want to become more involved.
Fundamental Change?
2009-09-22
For now, the stock market has rebounded from its lows from just a year ago. Sales have stopped dipping lower. In mid September, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. recession was “very likely over”. Bill Long can speak to the validity of that statement but my feeling is that a fundamental shift has taken place in our nation that will reverberate years into the future. Our lack of understanding this maybe due to being too caught up in the day to day changes that limits our ability to see the changes.
Decades ago I was away at a university. Every month or so, I would return to visit my family. My nana lived with my parents in order to take care of my handicapped brother- David. She was in her late seventies at the time & always appeared strong in my eyes. On several of these returns, I caught sight of her hand quiver, a shift in her gait & changes in her speech patterns. For all of my quiet attention, I sensed that I wasn't seeing the early onset of dementia or parkinson's plus but glimpsing aging with a 6-8 week reference instead of the daily experience that one becomes familiar.
Luckily, my grandmother remained sharp & strong until her death in her late 90's. A quick answer for her longevity would be good genes but my sense is that her heartfelt mission to protect & nurture David fortified herself to get up every morning to cook, feed & dress Dave for school. This spark drove her to spend hours working with him to write his name, improve his speech, & despite limited personal funds, to pay for weekly piano lessons for someone who was both legally blind & mentally retarded. Nana's effort improved Dave's chances & unearthed a lifelong passion to play the piano.
I've wondered why we can't apply some of my grandmother's experience to our present world. Instead of declaring the economy solved, why can't we just start working on the challenge of helping one another. While politicians speak about our military imperative, the importance of preserving our current banking system, minor tweaks to our health care system & overuse of the word sustainable, many Americans are facing a jobless recovery with the added pressure of a weak social safety net from poor past political decisions & strained local & state budgets from unemployment & the housing collapse.
Locally, several churches (Methodist, Jewish, Antioch Missionary Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Non-Denominational & many more) are working together to patch the safety net for the increasing number of homeless families in Central Florida. The effort seeks to find common ground in a religious potpourri. The church coalition encourages individuals to provide food & shelter as well as a plan for the families to get back on their feet. It's an ambitious grass roots effort along with other efforts needed to secure a real recovery.
The UUUS Social Concerns group made a first small step last week in helping cleanup the Village of Hope in Oviedo last month. We're looking to expand on that effort with a few dedicated people who can work with us in the next upcoming volunteer challenge. We intend to add in some followup play after the work is done & maybe get to know one another better.
Illusions of Health Care Change
2009-08-24
The health care reform debate continues. Despite some in town hall meetings who have had their worst case fears inflamed by ideologues, there are some real concerns about this legislation. Currently, there are several versions of this bill that makes most any person question whether our federal government is capable of acting in the best interests of its people due to a myriad of reasons, including lack of leadership, ineptness, undue corporate influence & a failure to grasp the real problems. For an overview, I recommend Matt Taibbi's article, “Health Care Reform: The Big Sellout” in the September 3rd edition of Rolling Stone, that does a good job of explaining the details in a vitriolic tone reminiscent of H.L. Menken.
In particular, the bill does nothing to address the increasing cost pressures, the high cost of paperwork, & the lack of affordable health care. The current bill is a modest insurance reform bill without a real public option that aims to increase the number of Americans with health through punishing those without through taxes.
While those for & against this bill tried to get out their messages, thousands of Americans (half of which had insurance) flocked to Remote Area Medical, an aid outfit that got its start helping villagers in the Amazon Rainforest, for a free, eight-day-long clinic in Los Angeles. Their efforts have been ongoing in many towns throughout the country with the help of their volunteer medical staff. This event & the fact that half of all housing foreclosures has been a result of medical problems (papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm) are sobering for a nation that once prided itself on its power & wealth.
For more background info, see www.onpointradio.org/2009/08/the-public-option-debate/ & www.onpointradio.org/2009/07/whats-ahead-for-health-care/. Also, the Physicians for a National Health Program has a petition signed by President Obama's longtime physician for a single-payer health care system that so far the President & Congress rejects, salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/307/t/9577/shop/custom.jsp.
It would appear that real positive change will be delayed once again, unless we as citizens get involved to help steer Congress in a positive direction. But further than that we need to get our hands dirty- as we have real local needs that was brought home after attended a meeting of several churches concerning the thousands of homeless, half of which are families living in cars or the woods. Social Concerns will reach out in the coming months & will keep the congregation abreast should others wish to join us. For now, we ask that you drop off canned food in the box in the sanctuary for local needs.
Short Term, Long Term
2009-07-23
Social Concerns has begun planning for our next upcoming yearly project. One area that is gaining attention is the subject of food & our relationship to it. The topic is a current one with news such as F as in Fat 2009: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America (healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/) & Type 2 Diabetes in Children & Young Adults: A “New Epidemic” (clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/4/217.full).
Too often humans misjudge the relative threats to our life in part because we tend to discount the importance of long term effects in favor of the immediate; a person might be upset to fly when car travel is more dangerous per mile. The same thing goes with eating. We become accustomed to our level of health & then are shocked when early warning signs turn into difficult to treat disease. Our nation's response so far has been to treat symptoms by popping pills to lower cholesterol or blood pressure levels. Yet, the most sensible thing would be to treat the causes...
Of course this begs the question of whether the individual or the society is complicit. The answer is a mixture of both. David Kessler, the former head of the FDA says in his new book “The End of Overeating” that part of our response is a result of being targeted by food designers who concoct food high in fat, sugar & salt that stimulate the brain to crave more, see onpointradio.com, Controlling the American Appetite.
On the opposite end, some folks have taken bull by the horn & are following a long term calorie restricted diet, which has raised outcries from some health professionals. This month details were released about a long term study of calorie restriction on mammals, see ScienceDaily.com: “Reduced Diet Thwarts Aging, Disease in Monkeys.” The study has found that a reduced-calorie diet “blunts aging and delays the onset of such aged-related disorders as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy.” Pretty amazing!
In conclusion, I think that most everyone could improve their personal health & contribute greatly to their long term health & well being by moderating their food along with an exercise program. One of the best ways to improve your health is to start at slow. Look at what you are eating. Consciously avoid bringing home junk food loaded with fat, sugar and salt. One of the keys is not to get concerned with losing weight fast but making lifestyle changes to eat better, less & get some moderate exercise. With time you will find yourself losing weight & feeling better.
Water, Water, Everywhere?
2009-06-21
Water is our planet’s lifeblood. Many people in the world have no access to clean water. Yet, much of our clean potable water is used to flush toilets, take long showers, baths, or to water our lawns. Water consumption in the U.S. is the highest for any country in the world, reaching 152 gallons of water per person per day. Part of this is due to agriculture, but in our homes and apartments consumption averages close to 100 gallons of water per person per day.
However, we can lower our average by taking some simple steps to make a difference. First, figure out where you stand by reviewing your water bill. Divide the total consumption by the number of days in the billing cycle & the average number of people who stay in your home/apt/condo; this number is the consumption per day, per person.
Replace existing toilets with high efficiency water sense types. With the average person flushing a toilet 5.1 times a day, a change from an old 5 gallon per flush to a 1.28 gallon flush, would save 19 gallons per day, or 6800 gallons per year. Often, local cities & counties will offer to pay part of the cost, upwards of $150 per toilet. If you don't have the money for a new toilet, some people have added plastic water jugs or bricks into their tanks to reduce the water loss per flush.
Replace shower heads with low flow heads with a maximum flow rate of 2.0 gallons per minute (gpm), and then take quick showers over baths. One thing that helps in this arena is a 5 minute hour glass to gauge your water use. And, if you want to do more add a water aerator-restrictor that mixes air with water to limit bathroom sink water use to a maximum of 1.5 gpm.
Don't use potable water to water your yards. Instead use a combination of captured rain water along with low water consumption foliage to replace thirsty St. Augustine. If you have a pool, use a cover to reduce evaporation, and again use captured rain water to make up for losses due to evaporation.
Use low water use front loading washing machines, since they fill a small portion of the drum instead of all of the clothes, saving on average 2/3 of the water used by a top loader machine. Further, these machines use less detergent and often save considerable amounts of energy in the process.
Presently, water is very cheap, any savings in your monthly bill will be in reducing your sewer water charges that relate to your total consumption amount. Remember that any real change often takes place on a local level. By following the steps above in our household, we were able to cut our monthly water use from 55 gallons to 20 gallons per person per day- a 64% reduction in use. For other steps to conserve water, see www.epa.gov/nps/chap3.html.
Although this is not a water problem per se, it does relate. Don't buy bottled water. It simply is a dumb idea that has crept into modern life. If your water tastes bad, simply add a large water filter under the sink to filter the water of chlorine & other contaminants. It makes no sense to pump water out of one deep well in some other part of the world & then to have it stuffed into a plastic bottle & shipped vast distances to somewhere else, only to have it used & then discarded into a landfill. One extreme example of this is one bottled water that comes from Fiji & is flown to the U.S. (at great energy expense) to eventually be stacked on a grocery shelf. Kathy Anderson has brought up a petition that addresses this very issue; it will be in the back of the sanctuary should you be interested in having your voice heard.
For those that have asked about my brother David, I wanted to give you a little update. He continues to improve & as of June 21st was walking without a walker with two of us watching him. His strength has vastly improved but he lacks the confidence to walk steadily because of his inexperience of walking without a walker & a real fear of falling. An often quoted figure is that on average one day spent in ICU translates to one extra week in rehab. We are hopeful that he will return to his work before this month is out.
