Eight Homeless Youth Die in New Orleans Fire -" What Does It Say About US?

[Joanne98]

Eight young people, who the Fire Department said were "trying to stay warm," perished in a raging fire during the night in New Orleans. The young people were squatting in an abandoned wood framed tin walled warehouse in a Ninth Ward neighborhood bordering a large train yard. The young people apparently had a barrel with wood burning in it for heat. Officials said this was the city's most deadly fire in twenty five years.

The eight young people, estimated to be in their late teens and early twenties, remain unidentified. "We don't know their IDs," said the Fire Department, "they were so burned we cannot even tell their genders."

Audrey, a young woman with brown dreads and a Polish last name, arrived at the scorched scene. She spent the night in the warehouse a couple of times. Because last night was so cold she and a few others begged money from people in the French Quarter and got enough to spend the night in a hotel. Do you know who was in there? "Usually 10 to 15 people, nobody uses last names, but Katy, Jeff, Sammy, Nicky, John and Mooncat usually stay there," she sobbed. Why did people stay here? "A lot of freight hoppers stay here," she said, pointing to the nearby trains. "We are just passing through, hopping trains. We don't have any money." Behind her a group of young people were crying and hugging as they picked up pieces of a navy blue sweatshirt from the burnt remains.

There are an estimated 1.6 to 2.8 million homeless youth in the US, people between the ages of 12 and 24, according to a June 2010 report of the Center for American Progress. Most are homeless because of abuse, neglect, and family conflict. Gay and transgender youth are strikingly over-represented.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Eight-Homeless-Youth-Die-i-by-Bill-Quigley-101228-192.html

This is a country that murders it's own people. Millions of foreclosed homes and million of homeless people. If that isn't EVIL, I don't know what is.

I wish other countries would tell our military and diplomats to GET out and don't come back until you are taking care of your people.

[japple]

1. I have no words to describe how heartbreaking this is. We are

definitely not a Christian nation. Christ burned with those children.

[niyad]

11. actually, this pretty much seems to be a christian nation, at least as christianity is defined by

the reichwing fundies and hatemongers.

[molly77]

16. japple

Creative talented kids. They should have been subsidized by the govt.

I agree with you. Christo Fascist nation.

[democrank]

2. We should be ashamed.

1,600,000 to 2,800,000 million homeless youth in the United States, the country that just bailed out banksters and gave tax cuts to multi-millionaires.

[fasttense]

3. Hoovervilles and Hobos

Remember the men who use to hop trains during the Great Depression? They called them hobos and treated them poorly. Well now it's teenage kids and 20 somethings hopping trains.

Remember the Hoovervilles, homeless families in tents, trying to survive during the Great Depression? Remember the black and white pictures? Well they are back too. They were called Hoovervilles after President Herbert Hoover, so maybe we should call them Bushvilles?

I heard an economist, right before the bush bail outs of banksters, say that if we bailed out the banks and Wall Street tycoons, the US will go through a slow motion depression. This is what is happening now.

People who lose their jobs never find one again. People who lose their homes are never able to afford one again. These abused and hungry people just keep accumulating and their populations keep getting larger. In the Great Depression it happened all at once, over a couple of years. But because the federal government threw out a life line to banksters, the depression is happening slower this time. Gradually, within the next 5 years, over 25 to 30% of our population will be unemployed and homeless.

America has lost her soul.

[Myrina]

4. They weren't "youth" - they were between 20 and 30 and ...

... they were musicians who 'chose' not to play the shelter/societal norm games.

It is sad that they died, yes but I'd argue that by no means were they 'throwaways' like so many others in our society are.

[fasttense]

8. People between the ages of 12 and 24, according to a June 2010 report

of the Center for American Progress. Most are homeless.

12 to 24 seems awful young to me.

I seriously doubt these young people would "chose" to live this way if they had alternatives.

If you read deeper in the story you find out some of these people are working as babysitters and waiters. They just can't afford rent or homes to live in.

[mudplanet]

14. Do you really think that New Orleans has

shelters for all these kids and young people? I think you may be from another planet. The one where things are like they are supposed to be rather than like they are.

[dorkulon]

5. I knew a lot of "gutterpunks" in N.O., most of them were homeless by choice.

That's not to say we don't have a homeless problem in the U.S., because we certainly do. But at first glance this particular story seems to involve kids who are content to squat, panhandle and party. I'm sure their family lives leave something to be desired, but I don't think this qualifies as "new depression" material. They were hanging around in the '90s too.

[county worker]

7. I ask you this. Why would a kid choose to be homeless rather than live in a nice

family home environment?
It's not that they choose to live like that, it's that the other alternatives they have are not so good either. We use what you said to as a means to protect our own vulnerability to the fact that we live in a society that can throw away people.

One my mother-in-law uses is that the people on the street corners would rather beg than work. Who in their right mind would choose to spend the majority of their life begging if there was a better alternative?

[dorkulon]

15. It may be hard for you to believe but there are some young people

that want the experience of being "on the street" for a time. I did it; it was fun. My home and family were just fine and I never had a serious drug problem. It was easier than working, and I met a lot of people, and that's what some people want to do for a period of their lives.

There is a real homeless problem in this country, and most people in the street don't want to be there, and need help. But there are some who want to travel and party on the cheap. They have always been out there, and they always will, because there is no gov't program they would sign up for.

Maybe it's time for you to admit that you don't understand everything that motivates people.

[Behind the Aegis]

17. Well stated.

You obviously are familiar with NOLA. And, as you say, there is a huge homeless problem in the US and there is still one here in New Orleans after Katrina, but there are more than a few homeless "by choice" here, as well. The biggest influx after Katrina was from Seattle. I have no clue as to why, but it was where many are from and even how they are referred to and refer to themselves as "Seattle kids." Though, most are not "kids," in the sense they are minors.

[Butch350]

20. Take em all out...

and shoot or burn them - right?

[county worker]

6. We are accepting this as the norm.

I work with grants for the homeless. There is very little money and very few places to house them that we can use. If we spent the money that we use for war on these kids, we could help them and create jobs for the people doing the helping. It is just plain self-centeredness that causes some people not to care and for others it is something that can't be dealt with mentally.

[Aleric]

9. But it's all OK because Michael Vick got a second chance

...the president even called to say so.

So we don't have to think about unpleasant things like this, right?

[niyad]

10. and the same kind of mentality that excuses vick seems to operate about the homeless and poverty-

stricken as well.

the level of non-compassion for those less fortunate, those unable to speak for and defend themselves, is staggering, and heartbreaking.

[Aleric]

12. Oh, how far we've come

...from those of earlier centuries who complained about the poor being lazy, stupid and not wanting to work.

[molly77]

18. How could Obama turn from the most brilliant campaigner in my

lifetime to someone who continually makes the news over Michael Vick type faux pas?

I think the answer is in the fact that the Obama administration is really the clinton administration.

Notice the asinine comments from WH sources have stopped since rahm and summers were fired?

Notice bill clinton is going to campaign for rahm even though his run for mayor of Chicago is illegal?

If you connect these dots you will see that the problem is our system , not whoever happens to occupy the WH.

[Aleric]

19. You are absolutely right. n/t

[Citizen Worker]

13. Where is the moral outrage of the political class? Our collective response is silence to the ever

increasing number of hungry and homeless in the "...world's richest nation." A response quite the opposite of less wealthy nations.

On a trip to Ireland in the mid-90s there was a front page photo of a group of men who were found sleeping on the front stoop of a Dublin church. The outrage leaped from the page with the reporter castigating his own government for allowing this to happen and that it must be immediately remedied. I don't know what, if anything, was done but at least one of the major newspapers demanded governmental action. Contrast that with how this story is reported in the US.

Thank you Bill Clinton for "ending welfare as we know it." Maybe the elite 1% will make some end of year charitable donations to lessen their tax burden.