Safety Net

A few weeks ago before the Republican Presidential candidates got all hung up trying to shrink government to a size small enough to fit inside a women's uterus, the gaff d'jour from Mitt Romney was his statement that he wasn't concerned about the poor in America. He explained that we don't need to worry about the poor because they have a "safety net". To further illustrate his ignorance (or lack of concern) he said "if  it needs fixing- I'll fix it"- as if he had no real idea that the safety net doesn't work very well for far too many Americans. Of course, he's not the only one.

 I'm showing you the images of a few people from my own community who have fallen through the safety net, some so confidently speak of. I should note that I live in a medium size city in the inland Pacific Northwest. It is by most standards a middle-class community that is largely dominated by service industries, agriculture and rail shipping. It is also a regional hub for the health care industry, and it contains a small Air Force base. Some high-tech manufacturing happens here, but far lass than during the late '90s and early 2000s. I live in average city. Yet, even in this average, all-American town there is abject poverty.

You will note that I have only pictured adults. These are images of destitute and homeless people who experience the Safety Net as mere threads to cling to during most days. I made the conscious  decision not to picture impoverished children and families because I believe it's improper to display children on the Internet. However, my work-day is filled with young families and young children who suffer the pains of poverty and hunger every bit as much as those you see here.  It was wasn't difficult at all to find the subjects of these photos. All I had to do was step on to the streets I travel everyday. They are always there-but they are not always seen.

This is only a small sample of the photos I could have taken to illustrate the ever deepening level of poverty in most of our cities and towns. For what ever you may think of these people who stand on the streets, I always try to think of them as some one's son or daughter- some one's mother or father- some one's sister or brother- or someone who once had a family with people who cared about them. Politicians from both sides of the aisle haven't done enough to recognize the pain that people like these experience everyday. They are a growing part of the fabric of our country and should be noticed.

 

I thank the men and women who allowed me to photograph them. The people pictured (who you see in close-up) are people I met and spoke with. I noticed that when I shook their hands each held on just an extra instant longer than most of us do. It stuck me that they probably don't get offered a hand shake very often. Their view of the safety net isn't very hopeful- I hope our view of the safety net will be more realistic than what is being expressed by some today. I hope that those who make public policy begin a real dialogue about them, and create a better world for them and our community.

Thanks for looking in. 

All Photographs by Dave Williams- DRW Images