As economy breaks, those with least are hurt the most

Philadelphia Inquirer: Camden’s Tent City homeless keep up hope:

… The homeless say that this year’s census will show their numbers are swelling. Tent City is a microcosm of the homeless, with recovering addicts, jobless veterans and the mentally ill – ages 22 to 74 – all represented, Banks said.

In each tent, amid piles of donated blankets and cans of ethanol used for heat, there is a tale of heartbreak.

…Tent City is also known as Veterans Camp, for the several Vietnam War vets who live there, or J-Camp, for Banks’ native Jamaica. In the summer, Banks said, as many as 60 people stay there.

Some of those interviewed yesterday have been at Tent City for only a few months, and most don’t plan to stay.

“I still have dreams,” Floyd said. “I still have things I want to do. I want to be a father, a family man. I don’t plan to stay here all my life. I told [my daughters] I’d make it.”

Speaking under a steady, freezing rain, Floyd declared: “It can’t stay rainy every day.”

Some inspiration from a co-worker

Scott Westerman: If you will it, it is no dream:

I tell the people I serve to start from the premise that all things are possible. Work backwards from there. Charles Kettering’s wise counsel that “Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future,” was never more true.

Here’s hoping that more of my geek friends can develop that outlook.