As the officers pulled back the jacket that was covering this person's face as he slept, they discovered it was a boy. A boy appearing to be the age of my daughter, about 13. The boy tried to get away, as he feared being taken in by the police. The police officer ran him down and was confronted by a belligerent, angry boy.
As the story unfolded, the boy had been dropped in New York City with his aunt, because his mother went to prison for a drug conviction. The boy was sure his aunt was dead at the hands of her boyfriend, a drug dealer named "Ghost."
The plot takes a turn. After Ghost was apprehended, he calls the aunt who was very much alive and the police track her down. She is angered that she gets arrested for child endangerment as she claims that "she never wanted him" and "he is not her responsibility."
The boy is eagerly awaiting to hear the news. Is my beloved aunt dead?? Instead he is faced with--no, she is alive, but doesn't want to be bothered by you. Your mom and your aunt would prefer a lifestyle of abusing substances rather than to be tied down with the responsibility of raising a child...maybe that is too harsh with some of these situations in reality...maybe they have had so much heartache in their own lives, it is easier to anesthetize themselves than to climb the arduous, unreachable mountain of healing and responsibility that is layered with disappointment, failure, and mistrust in order to give this young man a chance? That is my social worker answer, anyway...always believing that somewhere inside, people want to reconcile with what is right and have peace, yet they are so far from having the skills and fortitude to do so...yet I digress...
Back to my original thoughts...
Many of the people I am connected to would say...it's a TV show, that doesn't happen. When you live a middle class lifestyle, most of us are relatively unaffected by this reality.
THE FACT IS...IT IS MORE REALITY THAN YA'ALL THINK!
I am a school social worker in a northern sister border city of 14,000 people. The city has two decent rivers and is on one of the Great Lakes. Paper mills and other industry made this city thrive at one time. At some point in history, this area became plagued with job loss due to industry coming and going and globalization. The declining economics of the area, like many small towns, gave way to hard times. My husband's father had been laid off three times in his childhood and his mother was constantly piecing together part time work. It is my theory that it was through this period of economic depression in the 80s and 90s that gave way to the following generations that are unable to provide for their families. Those that had resources, either intellectually or economically, left the area. Those that did not, stayed. They stayed without meaningful work or purpose. They struggled economically and emotionally...families became broken, disheartened, and dependent on welfare. Substance abuse became the new industry for the community. Now a community that once had the traditional American pride that we often hear sung about in a good country song, is run down, defeated, and under-resourced. This is a similar story across the country, I know.
What does this have to do with Blue Bloods?
There are just as many youth living either on their own, or, with a family member in a desperate, unstable situation, in our small American city as there are youth living with their families. Roughly 50% of our youth come from income guidelines that are under the poverty level. They are living in motels, bouncing from place to place, doubled up with family, sometimes not being raised by their mom or their dad or both, some as young as four (as far as I know). These kids are disheartened. They don't give eye contact, they don't trust you, they don't experience positive connections and stability, and they don't value themselves enough to believe that they can be successful at anything. The ones that do, have someone who is speaking life into their existence, but unfortunately, that is not the norm. Many of them have seen family violence, abuse and/or neglect. Many of them are far more educated about substances at an early age than you can imagine. A Child Protective Services social worker I know told me once that a three year old once explained to her the process in which to administer heroin. This population is exponentially growing.
Later in the episode, the Reagan extended family was sitting around the dinner table as they did on a regular basis. Jamie, the officer that found the young boy, told the family about the boy. He said how grateful he was to realize...he had a roof over his head, and, more importantly, FAMILY. Pops, the grandfather commented,
"FAMILY: THE ORIGINAL HEALTH AND WELFARE PROGRAM."
Speaking of my own father about this, he told me of his own childhood. His father had died when he was 15. His mother and his three brothers lived in a garage. His mother bought second hand vegetables and fruit from stores and resold them. She fed them with the leftovers. She was industrious and persevered. Three out of her sons were financially successful and climbed out of their financial situations. How? Through other family members...an uncle that mentored one brother, who, consequently, is a 92 year old millionaire right now. My own father joined the Navy through an ROTC scholarship, attended Duke University, and had a long career with Owens Brockway. How? Through a teacher who took the time and opportunity to assist him in guiding his steps.
What is the point?
1,168,354 students in our public schools were considered "homeless" under the McKinney Vento Act in 2011-12 nationwide. Last school year (13-14), 110 students in my little "normal" city district of 2,148 students met the criteria for homelessness under the McKinney Vento Act. Some of these students were considered "unaccompanied youth" or "throwaways."
No one took responsibility for them.
Does that make you mad?
Me too.
What can we do about it?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best when he said
"We cannot change the world unless we change ourselves."
We are at a tipping point and the momentum is beginning to pull us downward...
We need to look inside of our own hearts.
We need to look outside in our communities.
We need to look at who and what we follow.
The collective "we" need to gain perspective--where are we heading?
What legacy are we leaving for generations to come?
We need to strengthen our communities...our schools...our resources.
As a friend in college used to say...if you aren't a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.
