So I just got back from photographing Sleepless in San Diego 2009. Sleepless in SD is a yearly event put on by the San Diego Rescue Mission. SDRM is a well established institution I wholeheartedly support. The purpose of this event is two fold. The first is to bring awareness to the homeless situation in San Diego. The people that you see on the street corners carrying cardboard signs with”any change will help. God Bless!” are actually only a small fraction of the homeless. And because the Rescue Mission does not accept any Government Money, the second reason is obviously to raise funding.
And while the thoughts are fresh in my mind, I wanted to share what tugged at my heart this weekend. As part of the activities they played a short video titled “Is Anybody Listening”. This video was done by an English AP class in Northern California.
The affect of the economic downturn and potential homelessness on children was never something that crossed my mind. Up to this point we’ve been hearing about unemployment lines, loss of jobs, 401K’s disappearing, Economic downturn, decrease in stock market and the greed of our highest financial institutions. However very little has been shown about how all this has affected the younger generation. The fact that they KNOW when rent is due or how many months they are behind. The fact that they constantly fear for being homeless. Or the fact that it stresses them out so much they can’t focus in school. Perhaps President Obama said it best when he addressed this video by saying “It was heartbreaking that a girl [from this class] so full of promise, was so full of worry that they titled the video: Is anyone listening.” Obama then went on to say quite dramatically, “I am listening. We are Listening. America is Listening”
Needs are all around us. The question is, are we listening?
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