Who helps those who cannot help themselves

I really tried to go with funny tonight. I did. Go read my song. I thought it was funny. At least cute, if not funny. Its not ha ha funny. Its just chuckle funny. I think. Anyway, I was sitting here and I was wondering........who helps those who cannot help themselves?

Stop and think about that for a minute. We are a country of hundreds of millions. I don't know how many. I am too lazy to look it up. But if you are reading this, you are either reading it on a tablet, a smart phone or a computer with an internet connection. I have a sense of who reads this. You are probably a native English speaker, more likely than not college educated, or you went to a good high school, you live in a middle class to upper middle class area and you make a good living. You may not be rich, but you are more likely than not comfortable.

Have you thought about what its like for the people who aren't reading this? The people who can't read. The people who don't have the education to find this or have a language barrier. Maybe the people who have low IQs or educational needs that make it impossible for them to read this.

I was talking to a client tonight about something. And I posed the question "Who helps the people who don't have the same resources?" And there is no question.

Yes, we have social aid. We have agencies that give aid. We have food banks. We have job training. We help the people at the lowest rungs of the ladder. And that is a good thing. But, what about the people who aren't quite there. What about the family where mom and dad both have blue collar jobs, didn't graduate from high school or barely did, and have a kid with special needs but can't get the help for their kid? Or the guy who is working 2 jobs to pay his bills but falls behind and gets harassed by bill collectors when he takes out a payday loan and cannot repay it?

Don't tell me that these people aren't screwed. Every day I see it. I hear it. We all have. I sat there as I was told my autistic son had nothing wrong with him - just bad parents. I listened as I was told her didn't need help from the school. I have seen grown men cry because they do not know what to do for their families, they make too much for government assistance but not enough to get professional help.

Those people seem to get lost in the system. There is no advocate for them. Who is going to take that family and explain to them that there are agencies whose sole purpose is to provide services to their children? Who is going to tell the dad that he can help his child, even if help means having someone else teach his child? I know how hard this is, I live it every day. The difference: I know how to work the system and advocate for my child.

I wonder where we are as a society where we take those who aren't poor and aren't middle class and just ignore them. We don't provide services for them. Maybe we don't need to. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime, right? Maybe we don't need to give these folks the help. Maybe we just need to teach them how to find the help, how to advocate for themselves.

Advocating is complex. Its not a matter of demanding. Its a matter of massaging. You have to play the game. You do things you don't agree with to reach a great goal.

I don't have the answers. I know that. I do see a problem. I do wonder what happens as the group below middle class and above poor continues not to be able to get access to services. Somewhere, someone must have an answer on helping these folks. I will leave that for those smarter than me.