Haiti vs. Home :: My view on the whole disaster

It is great to see people wanting to step and help those in dire need in the most disturbing and bleak times.  Whether those times are the current status of our harsh economic low points to natural disasters, people want to step up and help.

People did it for Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit, as well as when Hurricane Katrina and Rita hit the southern states of the US.

But here is my question I want to pose to my readers: What about those who are in your local areas?

It really saddens me, disturbs me, that people are so willing to dig into their pockets to help others globally yet feel the necessity to skirt helping those here in their own community.

Here are some people in my own community who I know could use just the same amount of help as those in need in Haiti:

1. The homeless – Yes, I am aware many of them take advantage of the “system” and get belligerent.  However, after seeing the news last night of how many are upset that they are not getting help fast enough in Haiti, they were pretty irate and belligerent!  I get that they need help, but they do not factor in that they are in the middle of massive heaps of rubble and dead bodies.  It is hard to work around that.  It isn’t going to help the situation by becoming very negative like that.
2. Title I students – For those who are not aware of what Title I is, here is the gist of it: the students who come from homes of poverty, or have no homes at all.  They get their food and clothes from charities that collect items for them to have in order to stay on track with school and work.  Not many stepped up to ensure the Three Squares program that provides meals for these students through the USDA Free/Reduced School Lunch Program and when there are breaks in school (weekends, winter break, spring break, and summer break).  It takes a lot for these charities to scramble enough for those who have been hit hard in these times.  It has becoming a growing demand since the foreclosures in our city have growing increasingly quick!
3. Diseases research and foundations – While I know not ALL of us are effected by the different diseases and syndromes out there, many of us do have people who we hold close and dear to us become effected or have lost them to such natural things in life.  Even just walking in the different walks for causes and paying the registration fee helps.  Not many actually participate, though.  For me personally, I have dealt with juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and various cancers that I have either lost close friends and family to or are currently fighting the good fight to stay alive.
4. Our education system – I know that technically the educational system that is under the public sector is supported by local, state, and federal taxes.  In the private sector, they are supported by those who enroll and pay tuition.  However, people can still help in different ways.  Businesses can donate their goods or money to help when school districts cannot get funding.  For instance, Clark County School District (CCSD) faces harsh times here in the near future.  We have already had drastic budget cuts and have gone through a reduction in force (RIF) process with most of the entities that are present in our district.  Teachers have been surplused out and shifted around.  Supplies are not being provided by parents because they cannot afford them.  Teachers are trying to supply as much as they can, but we cannot afford much ourselves.

This list can go on, I am sure.  I am pretty positive those who read this can add a few more.  But my point is pretty clear: we do not help those around us as much as we should.

I don’t know about others, but I feel I have a civic duty as a community member to help those around me.  This is not a new concept to come up in my writing prior to this school year.  It has not changed simply because I do work at a Title I school, a high school in a low-income neighborhood.  My standing on this has always been the same: help those when I can.  I now do it mostly in my classroom, but nonetheless, I help.  I purchase school supplies when they are on outstanding sales ( mostly the penny sales, or anything that is at least $0.25 or less).  I scramble around helping my students through different charities and resources I have worked with in the past.  I listen and counsel.  I read and work at my children’s daycare when I can to promote literacy among those young kids that will be entering our school district in the next year or so.  I donate our items we no longer use to Shade Tree and we save up money and buy toys throughout the year to donate to the KLUC Toy Drive that is held every year to help support Help of Southern Nevada.  We buy fleece and create blankets for the blanket drive every year. 

When I say we, I mean my family.  I feel it is important to instill these lessons in my children as well.  I don’t just promote these ideas in my classroom, but also in my home.

I guess what saddens me the most is that many families do not instill these values and carry them out in their communities.  While seeing Haiti in need and promoting a sense of togetherness by helping them is a novel and awesome idea, it just seems unfair to those who are closer to our own homes.