Homeless in America "eye-opening"

While the focus of this blog is international aid, clearly conditions for some in relatively wealthy western countries are beginning to mirror conditions that, unfortunately, have been a way of life for the many in developing nations for far too long.

Well before the brunt of the foreclosure crisis, 3.5 million people in the U.S. were experiencing homelessness at some point during the course of a given year.

Reflecting on her struggles over the last few years, one single mother who is now homeless in America calls it "eye-opening." "It's like they say you never know [someone] until you walk in their shoes, so truly I know now and if I ever get out [of] this situation, I will always give back to people less fortunate than I am because I know their struggles," she said.

School officials where the children of this particular family go to school, say a day doesn't go by without the need to enroll another child as homeless. "Some of them are embarrassed, some of them are scared, some of them are sad. They're just not sure what's going to happen next," the supervisor says. "Students who are displaced or homeless students feel that school is a safe haven. They really want to come to school."

For better or for worse, this emotional mixture of angst and anticipation, hopelessness and hope, so prevalent in developing nations, is an emotion that many in the west now share.