Hurricanes and Heartaches

Losing a home is devastating. Losing a home and a family is catastrophic. Some people will never get over the trauma, especially those who have lost loved ones. The recent hurricanes remind us, again, that we are not always in control of our lives. Many will respond to the devastated with compassion, consoling, counseling, and service.

My prayers are with all of those who are suffering today because of loss. I also can not help but think of the children who are losing their homes everyday. The consequential winds of death and dysfunction create "homeless" children everyday. Below are some troubling statistics from the Child Welfare League

Our Most Vulnerable Children

Referrals of possible child abuse and neglect - 2,673,000
Children substantiated or indicated as abused or neglected - 903,089
Children who died as a result of abuse or neglect - 1,321
Children in foster care on September 30, 2001 - 542,000
Children adopted from the public foster care system - 50,000
Children waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2001 - 126,000
Children living in poverty - 12,000,000
Children living in extreme poverty - 5,000,000


* Statistics for 2002
Statistics for 2001; numbers of children estimated

Bless all the hearts of compassion who are caring for the "least of these."