Zonta Club: helping those who need help! Holiday Season Edition

Garden Island Newspaper and the Zonta Club of Kaua'i team up again, in the yearly drive to give a little help to those who truly deserve it! CLICK HERE NOW TO HELP/KOKUA!!

*NEW* UPDATE CLICK HERE!(1)

*NEW UPDATE CLICK HERE*  (2)

I will be updating these links as they appear in the newspaper throughout the holiday season, so check back to this blog entry for updates!

And PLEASE KOKUA!!

AP

Welfare Reform, Economics

Here is a great article about yesterdays food giveaway.  They have helped out my family through a few Thanksgivings, the food is fantastic and top notch, and we are very grateful!

Here is the link to the article:CLICK HERE

 Welfare Reform needs to be reformed. Here are some rules:

If You manage to find a full time job that pays 12 or 13 dollars, you are a single mom with 2 children(the average) these are your "rewards"

1. If your child(teen) does not attend school fulltime, or a combination of work and school, the ENTIRE family gets cut off from assistance. (No, I'm not kidding)

2. If you are a single parent with 2 children and find a fulltime job that pays you between 12 and 13 dollars an hour, you LOSE your public assistance, including foodstamps. (Remember, this is Hawai'i. Food prices are off the charts. At least 1/3 of your income will now be going to groceries. Any gains you could have made or money you could have saved will be going to food.

3. If you are also lucky enough to have a HUD or Housing unit, your rent will increase 30 percent of your GROSS new earnings. (I.e. your rent will increase)

4. You will not be eligable for gas allowances, or insurance coverage.

5. If you happen to become pregnant during any time during your receiving welfare assistance, that child will not receive benefits. (Pro-Lifers should LOVE this, huh? It practically encourages abortion, supports a father having no responsibility for the child, since the child will not be covered, and encourages giving up the child. If abortion was no longer an option here, this would almost certainly cause the breakups of families, mental health issues and unfair adoptions.)

There is a five year LIFETIME allowance for welfare benefits. This causes severe economic hardships for mothers with 2, 3 and 4 children many of whom have been abandoned by the fathers.  In the past, you could always get help up until the child was 18, and you were not required to find a job or work until all of the children were of school age. Now, the law requires you to go to work or school by the time the child is 6 months old. With single parents this is very difficult, as separate childcare must be found, and not all childcare covers all of the costs of childcare. So once again, the system puts an undue burden on the mother.

6. Child support: The state of Hawaii is NOTORIOUS for NOT going after fathers for child support. CHild support issues in Hawaii are extremely complex as many single mothers are fleeing abusive spouses and marriages and partners with small children.  Under these circumstances welfare allows an exemption to go after the fathers in order to protect the family.

However, most fathers here, supported by bosses and family members are hidden and protected, while threatening the mother if they go after them they may fall into physical harm. Temporary Restraining orders and court proceedings further complicate the life and stress of mothers, who are also trying to comply with other agencies in order to keep a roof over their heads. Many end up homeless due to the loss of jobs because of absenteeism or stress and poor work performance.

All mothers are forced to reveal who the fathers of their children are, except when there is physical abuse threatened which must be proven. Many women have been threatened, so many women have this excemption, which the  fathers know will keep them out of trouble.  Many single mothers on welfare never get releif from the fathers of their children in Hawaii, becvause the physical abuse and threats are so prevelent.

Even when childcare has been ordered, many fathers in Hawaii get away with the minimum payment of 50.00 a month, which the mother never receives. It goes to welfare to pay back the system for the benefits she and her children have received.

After the welfare benefits have run out, a mother is still entittled to help from the state for a time to recover her money, and if there are any payments, sometimes they pass through to the mother. But most get out of paying this by working under the table, living with family members who do not reveal any information, or have sympathetic bosses who hide their true hourly wages and hours.

There is no way to track a father who is working under the table and hiding with relatives. Many will do it until the child is 18, and then resurface knowing that they have beaten the system and are now out of the woods. Most will drive illegally, or not have car insurance or bank accounts, or bills in their names. Many are supported in this by family members who do not care for the mother, and have no interest in the children, or who side with the man in these cases.

7. In general this is a paternalistic solution, asserting that basicly the mother is entirely to blame for her circumstances and it is she who must abide by dozens of rules and regulations from various agencies, with volumes of paperwork, appointments to keep, jobs to hold down, housing to secure and keep, ect. If one thing is not done correctly or something changes the whole house of cards can fall, and a single mother can lose everything, or worse end up homeless on the street, which happens a lot.

In conclusion, we all need to understand in this country that the rights of a mother just don't exist anymore. That undue stresses and burdens are put on women who have had the misfortune to have given birth to children that are unwanted by the fathers that were at least half responsible for them being here. With the Pro Lifers talking about how important it is to support the rights onf an unborn child, they seem to miss the fact that without a mother a child born into these circumstances will have at best a miserable existance, and doom them to poverty and unhappiness.It may force mothers to give up children, or lose them through the system. Then how does that bode for her other chilrdren? How can any human being survive this? Why are women being so archaiclly punished. Most women who now become pregnant during their 5 years on welfare, through unscroupulous men who offer partnerships or even marriage only to abandon them desperately now seek abortions to prevent giving birth to a child they are doomed to not be able to support. Is this what is meant by "right to life"?

So, this holiday season, perhaps read this blog article and think hard about the entire picture before judging, and understand that this is really what is causing the hardships on Kaua'i. Throw in the lack of affordable housing, plans to place limits on the number of years someone can live in public housing, the lack of jobs and it becomes even more dire.

So this holiday season, lets all reflect on being non judgemental about someone elses situation in life, and realizse that we are all in some way responsible for each other. It takes a village to raise a child, AND support the mothers as well. Let's reflect on that for a change.

If anyone is wondering why people are needing more help, these are some of the biggest reasons for the working poor.

The President Pardons "Courage". Why I Am Thankful For Our President.

I am thankful for a lot of things. My kids, a roof over my head, great friends and ohana, help with my health, and trying to get better, and thankful thqat  I can rest and recover from my illness. I am thankful that my girls are growing up, tall and proud, and secure in who and what they are and what they stand for. I'm thankfull that after 30 years of living here, I am still here, lucky live Kaua'i.

But this year there is something a bit extra special to be thankful for as well, and that is being thankful for our President. I was a real "Mama for Obama" during the campaign and I wept before, during and after the inaugueration..tears of joy of course. Yep, I'm a weeper.

When I read the Presidents pardoning of "Courage" the turkey, it just brought home all the reasons I just adore my president. He has kids, two girls, and is bi racial, just like me. His wife Michelle is 5 foot 10 almost as tall as me. He is cool, hip, and someone I can totally relate to. He believs in things that I beleive in too. And he does things exactly the way I would do them, if I were president.

Just read this transcript. All of the wonderful qualities of our President and the First Family come out in this speech. I am thankful for our president. You should be too!

HERE IS THE TRANSCRIPT:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

November 25, 2009

Remarks by the President on Pardoning of the National Turkey

North Portico

11:41 A.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.  Welcome to the White House.  On behalf of Sasha and Malia and myself, we're thrilled to see you.  I want to thank Walter Pelletier, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and Joel Brandenberger, its president, for donating this year's turkey.  His name is "Courage," and he traveled here from Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he was raised under Walter's own precious care.

     (Turkey gobbles.)

     THE PRESIDENT:  There you go.  (Laughter.)

Now, the National Turkey Federation has been bringing its finest turkeys to the White House for more than 50 years.  I'm told Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson actually ate their turkeys.  You can't fault them for that; that's a good-looking bird.  (Laughter.)  President Kennedy was even given a turkey with a sign around its neck that said, "Good Eatin', Mr. President."  But he showed mercy and he said, "Let's keep him going."  And 20 years ago this Thanksgiving, the first President Bush issued the first official presidential pardon for a turkey.

Today, I am pleased to announce that thanks to the interventions of Malia and Sasha -- because I was planning to eat this sucker -- (laughter) -- "Courage" will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate.  Later today, he'll head to Disneyland, where he'll be grand marshal of tomorrow's parade.  And just in case "Courage" can't fulfill his responsibilities, Walter brought along another turkey, "Carolina," as an alternate, the stand-in.

Now, later this afternoon, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will take two of their less fortunate brethren to Martha's Table, an organization that does extraordinary work to help folks here in D.C. who need it the most.  And I want to thank Jaindl's Turkey Farm in Orefield, Pennsylvania, for donating those dressed birds for dinner.  So today, all told, I believe it's fair to say that we have saved or created four turkeys.  (Laughter.)

You know, there are certain days that remind me of why I ran for this office.  And then there are moments like this -- (laughter) -- where I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland.  (Laughter.)  But every single day, I am thankful for the extraordinary responsibility that the American people have placed in me.  I am humbled by the privilege that it is to serve them, and the tremendous honor it is to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the finest military in the world -- and I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to every service member at home or in harm's way.  We're proud of you and we are thinking of you and we're praying for you.

When my family and I sit around the table tomorrow, just like millions of other families across America, we'll take time to give our thanks for many blessings.  But we'll also remember this is a time when so many members of our American family are hurting.  There's no question this has been a tough year for America.  We're at war.  Our economy is emerging from an extraordinary recession into recovery.  But there's a long way to go and a lot of work to do.

In more tranquil times, it's easy to notice our many blessings.  It's even easier to take them for granted.  But in times like these, they resonate a bit more powerfully.  When President Lincoln set aside the National Day of Thanksgiving for the first time -- to celebrate America's "fruitful fields," "healthful skies," and the "strength and vigor" of the American people -- it was in the midst of the Civil War, just when the future of our very union was most in doubt.  So think about that.  When times were darkest, President Lincoln understood that our American blessings shined brighter than ever.

This is an era of new perils and new hardships.  But we are, as ever, a people of endless compassion, boundless ingenuity, limitless strength.  We're the heirs to a hard-earned history and stewards of a land of God-given beauty.  We are Americans.  And for all this, we give our humble thanks -- to our predecessors, to one another, and to God.

So on this quintessentially American holiday, as we give thanks for what we've got, let's also give back to those who are less fortunate.  As we give thanks for our loved ones, let us remember those who can't be with us.  And as we give thanks for our security, let's in turn thank those who've sacrificed to make it possible, wherever they may be.

Now, before this turkey gets too nervous that Bo will escape and screw up this pardon -- (laughter) -- or before I change my mind, I hereby pardon "Courage" so that he can live out the rest of his days in peace and tranquility in Disneyland.

And to every American, I want to wish you, on behalf of myself, Malia, Sasha, and Michelle, the happiest of Thanksgivings.  Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)

Happy Thanksgiving. Aloha.

"Christians", conservatives and other cynics: TAKE HEED!! My pre Christmas Rant.

I have not been associated with any religion (organised) for quite some time now. I beleive in many religious ideals, in so long as they support compassion, justice, equity, and do not promote war or racism. However many of the worlds religions do not practice what they preach.

My personal crusade to take up the cause of the poor, opressed, discriminated against, misunderstood, forgotten and unwanted in society is has been and will be a battle waged by my own personal stpry. As an orphan, an adoptee, as a child that was "taken away" adopted out, and bought and paid for and essentially sold by a so called "Christian" organization, to two poeple who when they were done playing "dress up" and being a parent literally tossed me to the curb at the age of 12 because of my non conforming looks.

I take this stuff very seriousely. I found this little video clip.  I feel like here in Hawaii, we are more of a third world country, with many of our people suffering very badly here. We have haves and have nots, and those who have prospered even within our own ranks. But they insist that it is to be christian and christian only that saves you. Its your own fault otherwise. A lack of compassion, or just showing face at certain times of the year.

Granted our little ohana has been the recipient of much "good will." How much was given out of guilt to assuage the conscience I will never know. How much was given in the spirit of true aloha? I can only hope that all of it was. At any case there was always two times a year our little ohana has been remembered by the community. Thanksgiving and Christmas. After that, we would wait another year for someone to want to do something for someone lesser then them, and we were the recipient of that "lesser gift".

Of course that does sound like I am being ungrateful, un aloha, rude, and just plain terrible doesn't it? I mean after all, how DARE! Right? Human dignity means far more then what people who give from their true hearts really comprehend. Giving back someones dignity to them, and making them feel like an equal, is a far greater gift then anything physical you could ever give in a lifetime of boxes of cookies or bags of used clothing, although they are appreciated and needed.

Human dignity and respect for all humans, everywhere, no matter what. That is my goal for this world. My personal crusade. It is not about giving and getting points in heaven. The god that christians beleive in seems to be a god of Las Vegas at times, keeping score, racking up points and throwing out chips onto the roulette wheel of life. "Hey you gave that poor family down the street a bag of your used clothing from your kids! You recycled, saved the planet, did a good deed! I mean after all, the clothes would just go to waste otherwise!".

OK, heres a thought. How about doing without some of your comforts and buying that family NEW CLOTHES! How about buying them NEW THINGS instead of all of your hand me downs? Now I can see your brain becoming a lava pit of anger.  "Whats wrong with this woman has she lost her mind? Why I wore my siblings hand me downs if its good enough for us its good enough for them!"

Well, yes thats probably everyones gut reaction. I mean if you are giving something to the poor they should be grateful for anything that is given them. Well they are, but you are entirely missing the point.

HUMAN DIGNITY is NOT A COMMODITY.
Its NOT something you wear, and its not something that you can buy.
Its not candy, or a well cooked turkey, or christmas ham.
Its not a toy, or a hand me down jacket.

Human dignity goes much deeper then that. If you were to ask anyone who is truly SUFFERING what they would prefer: A tin of Christmas cookies, or a half an hour of your time where you speak to each other as equals, or you proudly take them and indroduce that person as your friend, and invite them into a conversation as an equal, I guarantee you, they would not take the cookies, trust me.



Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.