Poverty Lives in Land of Plenty, and We Must Take Responsibility

* It would be easy to dismiss Arianna Huffington’s column (“Perspective on Children: Little Ones Overlooked Amid the Prosperity,” June 25) as being not relevant to affluent Orange County. After all, the “disconnected, drug addicted, stricken” children she refers to are in the inner cities of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. But then, I hope that the people of Orange County are smarter than that. Or are we?

For the past seven years I have sat on the advisory board of the Salvation Army of Orange County. Each month we hear statistics, challenges and possible solutions to the very things that Huffington discusses. Yes, right here in Orange County!

And for all the wonderful philanthropy we do here, it’s not enough. For all the wonderful donors to “not for profit” social service organizations, it is just not enough.

County statistics last year indicated that more than 400,000 people were at risk for going to bed hungry, and a new recent statistic suggests that there are 14,000 on the streets--many of them children. Sheriff Mike Carona recently gave the shocking figure of 80,000 kids here in Orange County living under the poverty level.

Politicians must address this issue. Isn’t it ironic that we are seeing a boom in the economy, a low unemployment rate, a drop in the crime rate and less teenage pregnancy? But that’s only part of the story. Low unemployment? How many of us could survive on minimum wage? A drop in crime rate? If I’m hungry or homeless or left at home alone, where is my food going to come from? What am I going to do with that unstructured free time? Fewer teenage pregnancies? Well, go figure.

Not only do we need to demand that our politicians address this second America, but as citizens we must take responsibility for those who are less fortunate. Not in a dole-it-out charity sense but in a build-the-person-up sense. This only comes through quality character-building programs through our not-for-profit organizations throughout the county.

I ask the citizens of this county to think seriously about how they are spending their disposable income. Take a look around, and perhaps it could be better used in another way.

JAN LANDSTROM

Chairman, Advisory Board

The Salvation Army

Orange County