Persistent is a person whose
heart is full of hope

The cutbacks in government service have had serious consequences for the poor. One friend has gone months without his food stamps because he and his caseworker have not been able to get through the bureaucracy that has accumulated around this essential service, basic need to eat. Waiting on phones for automatic machines seems to be the norm.

Another friend, a young adult, is struggling in life now getting her education and just surviving. A car ran a red light and hit her car in the side. The person tried to get away but she stopped him and called 911. The operator said unless there was a physical injury the police could not be sent out. She did all the right things, taking information from the other person, reporting it her insurance company, to his insurance company and going to local police district to report the accident. The police just gave her some basic information and told her to fill out a form and send it to Madison, Wis. The insurance company given to her said that the person had not been insured by them since 2009 and her insurance company said they would repair the car but she would have to pay her deductible, money she cannot afford. She called the police district again but they put her on hold for 40 minutes. So she called the police central district, told them about the person running a red light, giving false information, having an outdated license and no insurance. They just told her to send the form to Madison and there was not much the police could do.

During drive time the street in from of my house is a raceway, with cars going 10 or 20 miles over the speed limit. This is because for nine blocks on this street between two freeway entrances there are no stop signs, so our street becomes a shortcut. On this stretch of road there are three grade schools and a home for the visually impaired. I reported this condition to our alderman who reported it to police. For a little while we got a digital sign telling cars how fast they were going but it made no difference. The raceway remains waiting for a tragic accident for action.

Our police chief has said the police do intense policing, stopping cars that are suspicious, only in neighborhoods with a high crime rate, which usually are neighborhoods suffering poverty. Poverty breeds crimes but unless we get at cause of poverty intense policing in poor areas does not work.

My two friends are poor but I am not. However, I am not rich enough with money and influence to get change the speeding on our street. However, like my friends we must consistently seek what we know is right and necessary and maybe our persistence will pay off. So if one is trying to get food stamps, or trying to get justice or to slow down cars on a street, one needs to be persistent and hope.

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