Don’t forget ‘The Other America’

The hurricane also brought many to the realization that they, too, could have been waiting in the Superdome for those buses to arrive to carry them away to a safe and clean shelter. Many of us don’t think we live from one paycheck to the next, but if a hurricane devastated our home, job and school what would we do?

If we were living in Louisiana or Mississippi and had to be evacuated, we probably would be like many of the evacuees in Arkansas. We would have a few precious belongings and nothing else. We would qualify for government assistance and free school lunches for our children.

The poor in this country are a growing population. It is estimated we have 37 million people living below the poverty line and 1 million more people qualify for that distinction each year.

It has become clearer that there are "two Americas." There is the one largely portrayed on television and the movies — middle- and upper-class families that have bank accounts, their own transportation and the possibility of improving their situation with the right education and determination.

Then there is the one we now must face. It is the poor America that many outside of the United States cannot believe exists. Before the hurricane, nearly 17 percent of Louisiana residents and 18 percent of Mississippi residents lived in poverty. These are people who desperately needed help before Aug. 29 and will need even more help today.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is addressing the issue of poverty following the hurricane. They call it "Rebuilding With the Poor in the Aftermath of Katrina." They are asking some tough questions that some people might not be thinking about whenever people can return to New Orleans. Will the new jobs pay a living wage? Will the poor be included in decisions about reconstruction, housing, employment, health care and education?