Homeless Children Living & Surving in the Woods In Florida

This last week I was in a conversation with someone that brought my attention to children living in the woods in Florida.

Most of these children have become homeless because of the recession in America. Families are not surviving financially all over the country.

Most of them are going hungry and do not have food to eat. They are going to bed at night worrying about the next meal they are going to have, when and how they will recieve it. Every day a new child is becoming homeless. Often we only know what is going on in our own communities, sometimes not even aware people are going hungry right here amongst us.

Non-profits can not keep up with the supply or demand for food. The pantries are low, and try to keep the pantry filled with food so they can meet the needs of the people in the community. Families are being divided due to the fact the state can take your children away because you don't have a job, and unable to support your child. If you have no electric or heat, it is just a given that your children will be removed from your care. Often there are not enough non-profit programs to help those in needs with utilities or rent. The ones that do are often cut short of money due to they only survive on grants and donations from the community. If th government doesn't provide those grants they can not help people. Fortunately because we are in a recession it makes no sense our government is cutting the programs that people need to survive. They are taking away the programs that benefit people the most in these times. Instead of wasting money in other areas, they are cutting the life support that is needed for families to survive. Whose idea was it anyway to send our business out of the country and left many unemployed workers out of a job as well. In the shuffle of the times the people are the one's suffering because of the simple fact it is cheaper labor and parts in another country.

What our country once was thriving on, is no longer here as many factories have got up and left.Yet our country doesn't provide new jobs for it's people. All we have to do is look around at all the empty buildings, foreclosed houses, and businesses that has gone bankrupt.

It is a catch 22 situation when parents don't have a diploma, degree, or training to get a job. Even the one's that do have degrees and diplomas are not able to get jobs, because there are no jobs available, or corporations don't want to hire, because they have learned to run their business on a few amount of employees the last few years due to budget cuts, and trying to survive in their business.

Families are trying to figure out how to jump the red tape to keep their families together. Sometimes having to separate going different ways just to survive.

In Florida they have built portable showers for the children that live in the woods, and tent platforms. Children are living in bad situations, without getting their basic needs met. They have to rely on clothing pantries to give them clothes, and shoes. They sometimes go to the elderly communities or homes around the woods to beg for food. They eat out of garbage dumpsters, and look through them as well to find materialistic things they can use.

People do what they have to do to survive in America, collecting pop cans, and bottles. It's outrageous that so many people are struggling to survive, and even if they have jobs, they can't get out of their situations. There is not enough government homes and shelters available to house them and some will not go, because their families will be separated, or their things will be stolen from another person trying to survive.

They don't have soap to bathe themselves with, or shampoo to wash their hair. They don't have laundry soap, or somewhere to wash their clothes. They don't even have a wash cloth to wash off their face.

It is sad that children in America are starting to live like they are in a Third World Country. We are off saving the world, when our own country needs help.