April 2008-Summer 2008

Homelessness is Faceless

1 billion people are homeless in the world
900,000-1.4 million families with children
800,00-3.5 million are homeless in the U.S.

To be homeless in the United States means to have no stable and/or adequate place of residence for any length of time. Even though people may live in a home or transitional housing, they are considered homeless because they have no permanent place of residence and/or the housing may be substandard. How one feels about that current situation also reflects the ideologies of homelessness. For instance, many people feel insecure about their financial situation. They have no money to enjoy their life and have no control of their assets. There is no exact definition for homelessness but there are factors that contribute to homelessness. The homelessness epidemic is generated by the lack of affordable housing, no or little education, incarceration, and the cycle of concentrated poverty that exists in the United States.

(Information Retrieved from National Coalition for Homelessness)

Coupled with high concentration and unaffordable housing, some people living in urban and rural areas are susceptible to the homelessness epidemic.
• Changing housing markets for extremely low-income families and single adults are placing
people with below the poverty line out of the market.
• Dwindling employment opportunities for people with a high school education
or less are contributing to the widening gap between rich and poor.
• The removal of institutional supports for people with severe mental illness, epitomized
by drastic reductions in the use of long-term hospitalization for the mentally ill, are leaving many individuals with few housing options.
• Racial, ethnic, and class discrimination in housing, along with local zoning restrictions
that exclude affordable housing alternatives, persists in many areas.

Agencies you can get involved with:
Habitat for Humanity
Housing Coalition
Place of Hope
Catholic Charities
City of Saint Cloud Human Rights 


                           February 2008-March 2008

Educated Voting in 2008

"We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands: we have a check upon two branches of the legislature, as each branch has upon the other two; the power I mean of electing at stated periods, one branch, which branch has the power of electing another. It becomes necessary to every subject then, to be in some degree a statesman [/stateswoman]: and to examine and judge for himself [/herself] of the tendencies of political principles and measures. "

John Adams, The Papers of John Adams, Robert J. Taylor, ed. (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1977), Vol. 1, p. 81.

December 2007-January 2008

*Picture taken from the tsinghua website.

Can You Imagine Your Life Living on $1.00 a day?

Globalization is one of the main causes of the extreme disparity between the rich and the poor. Large corporations are benefiting greatly off highly-priced internet, fax, and other technologies, as well as industries that create shoes, clothing, jewelry and other accessories. On the flip side, employees are suffering from extremely low wages.

“The results have enlarged profits for the investors but offered pittances to laborers, providing a strong backlash for civil society,”-Global Policy Organization.

Sub-Sahara Africa and South Asia are the most underdeveloped countries, who are suffering tremendously
from the effects of globalization.

As of 2000, globally there were:

(Keep in mind the total world population was comprised of roughly 6 billion people)

-1.2 billion people who lived off a $1.00 a day
-3 billion people who lived off of $2.00 a day
-110 million primary school age children were out of school (60% of them were girls)
-31 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS
-Many people lived without adequate shelter, food, clean water, and sanitation

Unfortunately, the people living in these impoverished countries today have yet to see drastic improvement.

Even though globalization provides people with jobs, they are not given health care, education, or other services essential to human beings’ survival and the overall quality of their lives. In addition, extremely impoverished countries face civil wars over resources. Since natives are not only being deprived of resources, but also paid next to nothing for them, by transnational corporations, there is only a small abundance of material to be shared among the people of developing countries. Not only do these people suffer from extreme poverty, but they have limited resources available to them to purchase—even if they had the money.

(Above information obtained from the Global Policy Forum website and the World Bank website)

Open your Eyes to Women's Rights Around the Globe

The struggle for women's rights and equality have existed since the beginning of time.  Women around the world still face poverty, unequal treatment, and abuse in other aspects of society, which makes the lives of women extremely difficult.  Especially in unindustrialized regions of the world, one encounters some of the most appalling adversities that women face. 

In South Africa:
     -women are underpaid compared to white males, who have corporate positions in South African countries
     -white men are 5,000 times more likely to be in a managerial position than an African woman
     -The African National Congress comments on this issue: "The bulk of our women are still lowly paid, underpaid, or employed as domestic labor."
     -Many women in Africa still endure genital mutilation, extreme poverty, and disease  

In Latin America:
     -Similar to the women's status in South Africa, women in Latin America are considered inferior to men, only capable of serving as domestic workers  
     -The laws favor the abuse of women and children
     -Teenage girls are forced into prostitution to make money for their family and in order to survive themselves
     -7.5 million children earn a living working on the streets of Latin American countries, including drugs and prostitution
     -The Mexican Foundation for Health found that 3,600 out of 6,000 people who die violent deaths are women; most of the women are 13 years old or younger
     -Each year 25,000 children suffer physical or psychological abuse in Mexico. 

        In addition to South Africa and Latin America, women around the globe are being oppressed.  Some of the countries include Bhutan, Lebanon, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Vatican City.
       
        It should be noted that the United Nations established the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979.  The United States helped draft this document.  However, the U.S. still has yet to ratify it, along with 8 other countries.  185 have ratified this document...why is it that the United States is not on board?