Feeding the poor

John Carlisle, columnist for the Detroit Free Press, wrote a much needed 8 page article for last Sunday’s edition.

I have strong disagreements with the Salvation Army because of their work lobbying against LGBT people. Even so, they do important work. Carlisle highlighted one of their projects. Every day SA sends out a fleet of trucks across Detroit, bringing meals to poor people. They serve about 4,000 meals a day.

Carlisle wrote the article to sound like the story of one day in one of the trucks. In a separate article he explains that he rode with the truck for several weeks, talking to the people who came to the truck for food, then selecting a few to highlight their stories in more detail. That meant going to their homes for lengthy interviews and then fact-checking what they said. Carlisle wrote:

There’s no single lesson to be drawn here, no grand conclusion or policy prescription. The story's simply a look at some people's real lives, and real life is complicated. There’s something to confirm everyone’s biases in this story. For those who believe the poor are lazy or undeserving of help, some of the people interviewed will fuel those convictions with every word they say. And for those who think society doesn’t do enough to help those who need it, there are some characters who provide telling proof of just how hard it is for the desperately poor to improve their lives, no matter how hard they try.

An example of that last sentence is Michael:

He has no job, no car, no money, no phone, no prospects and no real employment history beyond part-time work. For someone like him, there are few options to make life better.

Michael says a big reason for no job is a mental problem. But he isn’t taking medication for that problem because he can’t afford it, because he doesn’t have a job.

And Felicia:

She has no job, no transportation to get to work if she finds a job, no family … and thus nobody to watch the kids and no money for child care. She’s caught in a loop of inertia with no clear way out.

Back to Salvation Army for a moment. I’m delighted they are doing this work. This food makes a big difference in perhaps 4000 people every day. Some would have no food without these trucks. I am pleased to hear the staff on the truck feeds everyone, regardless of why they come to the truck.

But Salvation Army is a highly ranked organization. The members of the church are awarded ranks similar to the military. They are also highly conservative (see note above about LGBT people). The strong belief in raking extends beyond their church. They are feeding the poor. But they are not advocating for the poor to help change policies that would help Michael and Felicia, policies that would perhaps allow Michael and Felicia to disrupt the ranking in society.

Alas, not very many churches (including my own), of any denomination, seem to do much advocating for the poor.