I’m a great Dr Who fan having more DVD’s of the series than anything else.
One great episode was called Daleks in Manhattan where the TARDIS lands in 1930s New York in the midst of the Great Depression. People go missing and of course the Doctors’ arch enemies the Daleks are involved.
The episode also included the huge tent city in set up in Central Park called Hooverville ; it was one of many throughout the country. The US Library of Congress has this to say:
During the Great Depression, many families lost their homes because they could not pay their mortgages. These people had no choice but to seek alternative forms of shelter. Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover, who was blamed for the problems that led to the depression, sprung up throughout the United States.
Portland 1930's
Lost their homes because they could not pay their mortgages – sounds familiar.
Well, at least the world has moved on. We would not expect people from the richest country in the world to find it necessary to form shanty towns on the banks of rivers.
Think again!
Sacramento 2009
Here is what The Times Newspaper has to say
There are more than 300 people living in scattered encampments stretching a couple of miles along the river bank. As many as 50 more arrive each week. Unemployment in Sacramento reached 10.4 per cent in January and California is suffering some of the worst repossession rates in the country, with as many as 500 people losing their homes every day last year.
Should this concern us in the UK. Well, when America sneezes we catch cold not long after. Let us pray that we and our Churches are up to any challenge that may present itself.
Tags: Add new tag, Ministry, poverty, sharing, Social Justice