Spending $30 Million On Purpose

Week of Positive Blogging Day 4: If you had 3 months with which to spend $30 Million in order to change the world what would you do?

I teach at the St. Francis of Assisi Adult Education Center and every night that I leave there, the homeless men and sometimes women congregate along the sidewalk of the church to sleep. They are allowed to sleep in front of the church, and no one tells them to move. Every morning at 7 am, the church distributes sandwiches, coffee, and a word of encouragement.

Leaving there last evening, some friends and I were talking about the sad state of this wealthy nation not being able to house these people. Thirty million dollars may not be able to do everything, but it can get the ball rolling. What has happened to the SRO’s (single room occupancy) in the city? We need to work towards getting the people off the street and into dwellings with addresses – addresses then lead to work. Being able to work is part of the dignity of the human person. Even if someone is unable to work because of a disability, where would their disability check go to? The street?

Again, thirty million dollars is not enough to “fix” all the ills of society; but it is a start. And even if we start small, the effort would hit critical mass and then who knows? There is enough wealth in this country to fix the ills of society. The heartbreaking truth is that society has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to those ills. I don’t have $30 million, not even close, but I do have time and I can pray. I exercise both in an effort to combat the social dis-eases of our time. Bringing awareness to these issues is also half the battle. What people know, they must be responsible for. That’s where the deaf ear and blind eye comes into play. What we are ignorant to, we cannot be held responsible for.

Live passionately,

Coach Carolyn