Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Welfare Reform - A child in the system

With each new presidency we hear a promise of welfare reform. A promise of better jobs and program availability. I say pause a moment. How often have these officials taken a true walk through the system? Lived a day in the life of a child in the system?

A child in the system lives a life of uncertainty, fear, low self-esteem and self conciousness.

A child in the system grows never understanding trust or love for they have never received either in which it wasnt taken away.

A child in the system lives behind shields and protective walls, never letting anyone close.

A child in the system never knows what it means to have a home and always looks for when they will come to take him away.

A child in the system does not understand the value of an education because they have never stayed in one school long enough to gain that value.

To a child in the system the words Mother and Father are just simply words without deeper meaning.

To a child in the system family is the people you live with for six months to a year then are placed somewhere new.

For a child in the system there is no happily ever after or rainbows.

A child in the system is afraid to make friends for fear they will see the ugliness that lives inside them that made their parents not want them.

A child in the system wonders every night why their parents didnt care, when someone will care, and are unable to see when those around them do care.

A child in the system grows to adulthood but they never leave behind the child in the system.

When these officials decide to reform welfare, maybe they should take a walk through the life of a child in the system.

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