Food Pantry Blog – On Being the Homeless
We all risk being homeless for many reasons: poor credit, poor or no transportation, release from jail/prison, home foreclosure, eviction, lack of availability of suitable housing, substance abuse, lack of ongoing support services, being kicked out of or feeling unwanted at home, domestic violence, gambling, overcrowding, sexual abuse, family breakdown, release from military service, significant illness in the family, abusive relationship, lack of affordable childcare for poor working families, hurricane destruction, fire, poor or no communication tools to include cell phone, computer access, physical address for receiving mail, and on and on and on.
Residents throughout this country in recent years have had personal experiences with hurricane destruction as well as tornadoes, forest fires and other extreme weather events. Cars, homes, businesses were destroyed in these events. Entire communities were destroyed in New York State, for example, because of both Irene and Sandy.
Families were made homeless with no real warning. And, of course, this included the pets.
That raises two questions, as I prepare for the next disaster (which will come on its own calendar, not mine):
How do I deal with a serious weather event where evacuation is necessary?
What am I going to do with my pets?
After every major weather event throughout our country, lost, scared, hungry, possibly ill pets are rounded up by different rescue organizations and shipped to other parts of the country which have not suffered a recent serious storm. Under the best of circumstances, kind, loving people adopt these pets and give them good homes. Under other circumstances, the pets are euthanized.
After each event, much money is spent rounding up the pets, inoculating them, driving or flying them to distant locations where much more money is spent housing the pets and finding them suitable homes if possible.
Much of this money could have been saved if advance preparation had included allowing people to be evacuated with their pets.
I, for one, plan to “go down” with my pets…my three Chihuahuas and my two cats. I’m making advance plans to evacuate with them when it’s necessary. I’m scouting out places two hundred to three hundred miles from Woodstock where I can go and stay with them until we can return after the storm, fire, whatever traumatic event we’re experiencing.
But, the best laid plans are often impossible to carry out. I’m over 70. What if, when the next disaster strikes, I’m unable to leave my home with my pets because I’m unable to drive?
And, right now, I personally know of about two dozen households in the area which are inhabited by just such groups of people. Volunteers deliver food to these households weekly through the Reservoir Food Pantry.
These households, including my own, are not on anybody’s radar screen. We’re not connected to a nursing home, senior housing center, or any other facility where we may be counted. What will happen to us and our pets?
And, those of us in the area of the Reservoir Food Pantry in Upstate New York are not the exception to the rule. We’re not an isolated collection of households. Rather, there are households just like ours throughout this country.
Let’s do some consciousness raising.
Let’s identify ourselves.
Let’s let our legislators know we exist.
Let’s talk with the American Red Cross.
Let’s break the chain of separating people from their pets and then shipping the lost pets off after the disaster is over.
Let’s work to establish guidelines for rescue for ourselves and our pets too.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
