how can i help

i have been fortunate in that my quest to start a non profit has met with many people who are interested in helping me realize this goal. i wrote this in response to the last post and wanted friends to read these words... it is deep within my heart and i hope all those who read it will find answers within and share... with openarms

can you accept that we are raising children who are slowly losing their capacity for love, respect, and basic human morality?
can we expect these same children to produce healthy and happy children when the time arrives?

this is my point exactly.

i grew up as an army brat. my daddy and momma both worked hard to ensure we wanted for nothing. there was never a moment in my life that i felt alone, unloved, or without support.

it is vital that all children feel welcome and loved upon entering this world from the moment they breathe their first breath. especially nowadays as we view so much violence and sexual misgivings.

it is unfortunate that children today have parents who have no other choice but to work long hours. how difficult it must be for these kids to come home from school and have no one there to greet them, listen to their fears, concerns, or joys. it is sad that when these parents finally do make it home, they are worn out, beat down and tired because they work a job for the check. where is the joy? how can a child grow fully if their support system suffers because their professional life offers no spiritual, emotional or financial happiness? how can a child understand the sociological and psychological stagnation that comes from a support system who has to check out mental in order to maintain strength so as to function adequately at a job that is thankless and fruitless? the amount of pressure that is weighed on a child in a given day is high... and the stress is hard to endure on a young mind. now take that scenario and apply it to a man or woman who has no time for self and must be every thing to every one... daily?

what are we doing to help?

we know the reasons people try to make a better way for their kids. everyone wants their child to do better, have more access to opportunity, and to have an easier time of it then they did. it is an admirable idea. the problem is no one is helping them to realize this dream. most impoverished families and communities have very little social and economic structure and access so how is a family meant to figure it out and implement it in a way where success is almost guaranteed? we know resources are available, but how does a community get access?

pressure is not healthy for the family structure, either from the parent(s) or the child. why do we wonder at seeing young girls in prostitution from as young as 12, and, young boys selling drugs or committing robberies as young as 9? what the hell are we doing as a society that this behavior is allowed to progress, endure, and become a staple of certain impoverished communities? truth be told, we can see traces of this type of behavior in suburban areas as well. young boys and girls whose parents can afford the western ‘goodies' that most dream of. yet these goodies don't create happy homes that are without parental contact, support, and availability.

these children need a space to find solace and healing as they grow. we force our kids to experience much before the become adults. becoming is hard enough without a lack of support, opportunity, and love. it is for these mothers and fathers that i dream of an organization to assist them. it is for these children that i demand the creation of a place to take refuge in, find comradery, understanding, and assistance to evolve into the person they want to be by choice... not because of conditions. circumstances are not an excuse for social disregard. situations can be improved upon... changed. it is not enough to say that these families are troubled, we have to look at why this phenomena is occurring and find ways of inciting the joy back into their lives so that they can move on to become healthy, happy, and whole.

its time...
its hard...
i've always felt that there is a lack of urgency in response from our government when addressing these issues. our motivation as a community or society to do what is moral and ethical seems lacking as well. as a society, we are aware but inactive, and because of this, we facilitate our governments' rejection of the poorer population. there are other economic, public policy and political issues that could be addressed as well.

i care about the social and humanity questions this conditioning produces and the social and psychological implications of these conditions for these lives now and what that means for their futures.

1. how do we impress upon these children that they are just as good and deserving as the next if we don't provide adequate nutrition and health care?

2. how do we instill pride when these children see their parents subjugated by hopelessness?

3. how do we generate the tools to instigate and nurture the capabilities hidden in the poorer population?

4. how do we maintain and structure the courage these children will need in order to step up and achieve access to a world that, for some, seems unquestionably out of reach?

it's a big topic and i don't think we can really address it with going deep. asking these questions about the well being of the family and child is a step towards addressing this issue in a social way rather than political or economical. i do not want to dismiss these variables but we don't spend enough time empathizing with the participants of this phenomena, and maybe through humanization, we can begin to chip at all the variables will protecting and nurturing the children who are caught in the middle of a unfavorable experience.

this is my goal. to shed light on the resources, treatment programs, employment trainings and internships, camps, education programs and funding, and whatever else i can get my hands on and make a direct link to these families who are suffering and confused about how to get out from under.
i am hoping that these children i see out at 12am on a tuesday night will make their way to this place i hold in my heart and become the child (and eventually the adult) they can be... not the depressed, physically and emotionally distraught or worse... absent child/ adult i see emerging? i know they are seeking peace of mind, but children know so little... how can we expect them to understand that what they will find in these places will only further their alienation, isolation, and possible corruption? we must led by example. we must get our hands and our hearts in the mix and adjust our thinking to what we know deep down is right...

i am saddened by these forgotten children and want to be a part of the reason they smile... i want to help these mothers and fathers find comfort and peace within their own life, and give them the tools they want to become available to their kids.

its time we take the initiative and correct some of the social ills which have sickened our society for centuries and heal the heads and hearts of so many. changes can occur before we leave this life and return as part of the oak tree or the river with no voice or hand to act. we are only here briefly and change takes time... i'm hoping this organization that I hold in head and heart can create a bridge... and allow those who think in the same way to find ways of continuation and at some point reconciliation ... and so it begins.