After the spook and magic of Halloween has passed, the season dedicated to thankfulness and charity presents itself.
November and December are holidays sacred to the American spirit. Thanksgiving provides a time for everyone to come together and realize how much there is to be thankful for. Christmas fills the streets with joyous carols and special gifts, and knick-knacks are bought to show loved ones how much they mean to them.
But what about those who are not as fortunate?
There are 610,042 people living homeless on a single night in the United States.
In 2009, the percentage of Lee County residents living in poverty was 21.7. In the state it was 17.5 percent.
There are at least four homeless shelters around Lee County that are available as day shelters, emergency homeless shelters and halfway houses. These facilities serve to help those in need. The holiday season brings forth volunteers hoping to aid theses facilities and some churches by providing meals, blankets and even presents to help during the season of giving.
Two pastors and a 90-year-old man were arrested in Florida on Nov. 5 for feeding the homeless. According to USA Today, one of the many news sources that picked up the story, the men could face up to 60 days in jail and hundreds of dollars in fines.
The arrests stemmed from a recent ban in Ft. Lauderdale dictating "feeding sites cannot be within 500 feet of each other, that only one is allowed in any given city block and that any site would have to be at least 500 feet away from residential properties."
This allows the homeless to be pushed out of the public eye, in an effort to try and conceal the amount of homeless living in the city.
A CBS station, WFOR-TV, based out of Ft. Lauderdale, reported the city had been looking for ways to solve its homeless problem for years and have also been trying to find a way to clean up a park in the city that is usually a haven for homeless men and women.
The station also reported "the city believes the sight of the homeless is affecting tourism, nearby businesses and tarnishing the city image."
In an attempt to try and hide the city's undesirables, the city is destroying what the holiday season encompasses.
While I hope those in Ft. Lauderdale try to challenge the ban, I encourage those living in Auburn to give back during this holiday season. Volunteering at soup kitchens and participating in Christmas charity drives in Auburn can help more people than can be seen.
Hiding the homeless is the problem. Understanding and actually seeing the problem of homelessness during this holiday season, and year round, is a step toward finding a solution.
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