In Elkhart: "Cara the Unemployed Mother"

A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article about the psychological damage done by unemployment. The sense of powerlessness and emotional pain are very hard to describe. I referred to a tragedy in L.A., where a man who had been recently laid off flipped out and killed himself, along with everyone else in his family.

There is a tendency to look at the huge numbers: over 600,000 unemployed last month. 4.5 million since the recession began. And millions more overall. No question about it, we are definitely in deep, deep trouble.

There is still no sense of urgency on the behalf of many of our congressional representatives. They have no sense of the psychological damage that exceeds the financial harm that is being done to our country because what has happened to one individual who is laid off is being multiplied millions of times.

When all that our representatives see are the gigantic numbers, be they stimulus funds or unemployment rates, they run the danger of no longer identifying with the people involved. Indeed, it a the dehumanization of the problem - an anonymity if you will - that is a result. The message ends up being, "You are nobody."

What follows the sense of anonymity is a pain that cuts to the center of the heart and often makes its way out in the form of confusion, tears and rage.

This phenomenon is rippling quickly throughout our society and among folks of all socioeconomic levels. I was out talking with my neighbor George this afternoon. He works at a regional pharmaceutical company and feels lucky not to have been pink slipped...yet. Ten thousand have been cut so far this month and there are 15,000 more to come next month.

But these are only numbers until you consider George's questions: "How are they going to pay their bills. What about health insurance? What'll happen to their kids who are in college?"

Exactly. While Rome burns...

Tomorrow President Obama travels to Elkhart, Indiana to discuss the stimulus plan in a town hall meeting. Why Elkhart? It's just an out of the way town, right. What's the big deal?

Well, in the surrounding region of that "out of the way town," reside over one million people. And of that million, 153,000 are out of work. Yep, 15.3 per cent.

There was an editorial in the local paper, The Truth, this morning. I'd like to share from that piece cause it makes some important points:

The president knows the statistics. That's why he's returning to Elkhart. He knows how many area people lost their jobs last year. He knows how many local companies closed or moved.

But he's probably never met Cara Servantez. She lost her job as a convenience store clerk in December.

Cara, a single mother of two, told a reporter Friday that she can't make ends without the help of churches and friends.

"It's just never been this bad," she said outside the WorkOne Center, choking back tears. "The whole year of 2008 was bad. My kid, we didn't even celebrate his birthday."

You hear that kind of thing all the time now. Honest, hard-working people who once held jobs building RVs, trailers, manufactured homes and car parts all tell similar stories.

If the president can put Elkhart back to work, the rest of the nation will benefit. Our goals are the same.

The president wants to create jobs by promoting green energy. We want to supply the labor for emerging industries.

The president wants to fix roads and bridges. We want to build parts for the cars and trucks that cruise those highways.

The president wants cheap, clean and renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. We want to build lighter and more fuel-efficient recreational vehicles.

Finally, the president wants to end the nation's credit crisis and stimulate the housing market. We want to see the Federal Housing Administration back 30-year mortgages on manufactured homes to make them more affordable for low-income buyers.

Nobody here wants the government to spend a dime more than necessary, but the spending needs to begin now. Every Hoosier kid knows if you're not hitting treys, shoot twos. Not very exciting, but you can still win a lot of games.

President Obama needs to help Congress understand that the stimulus package isn't about politics. It's about survival -- the survival of people such as Cara Servantez in places such as Elkhart.

It's big news that the President is visiting Elkhart tomorrow. I'm glad that he's going there. But, there are two more important elements of this piece that stand out to me: first, a name - Cara Servantez and second, the paper's observation - "You hear that kind of thing all the time now."

This local paper did something very important here. They humanized the problem. By giving Cara's name, the reader is able to humanize her. The anonymity, at least for a moment, is removed. Also, they stated the obvious that the problem Cara has is spreading.

I hope that President Obama can meet Cara. She could become a face for our nation to look at directly. To heck with "Joe the Plumber," I think we need to see "Cara the Unemployed Mother." You see, Cara is not a number; she's a living, breathing human being who is struggling mightily right now because she is out of work. With her face and story on news programs across the country, the entire issue of unemployment could be also given a face.

From now on, we need to hear names and see faces, not numbers. Each of the 600,000 from last month - and the millions before them - need to be recognized. Congress need to hear of them and their plight.

We can be thankful for Obama traveling to Elkhart to recognize the suffering that the region is going through. And, the rest of the country must pay attention. Do not say, "There but by the grace of God..." The rest of the country is quickly becoming just like Elkhart, filled with individuals falling into unemployment.

Everyone who has lost a job is struggling with anonymity, the feeling that no one cares. As they go through this, their psychological and financial states collapse.

It is crucial that we not forget them. They are not nobody.

Every one of these people is hurting and needing support, just like "Cara the Unemployed Mother."