Kids draw the darndest interpretations of Mayor Bloomberg (NYT)

City Room had an adorable idea for a feature: Kids Draw the News, in which children submit artwork about current events. This could have been an overly precious concept. But from the beginning, it was clear that someone at The New York Times didn't get enough hugs as a child.

So the series started off by asking kids to draw
the New York Sports Club Brawl, in a two-part series!)

Then there was the swarm of bees, which we don't even remember happening.

Obviously, there needs to be a crayon drawing of adults punching slot machines. This is such relevant news that the article included a preamble explaining what gambling is and why people get mad at machines:

These are terrifying! Why are we putting New York's nightmare images into our children's heads? Is it because parents think that if their 4-year-old's drawing gets picked up by The New York Times, she gets moved to the top of Dalton's wait-list?

The most recent Kids Draw the News assignment isn't even news! It's just asking kids to draw pictures of beer gardens. We're assuming this is a plot by social services to pick up any child whose drawing is too spot-on. Park Slope mommies, watch out!

Congrats! Your little girl got beat up

We here at The New York Observer have no problem with the portrayal of little girls as kick-ass athletes. Break the glass ceiling! But this Target advertisement, found on the subway station at Carroll St. in Brooklyn made us a little uncomfortable.

Sure, this ad is showing a girl who is smiling and obviously happy with her trophy, implying that she is the victor of whatever Hunger Games karate class she's enrolled in. On the other hand, you have to wonder about the judgement of an agency that thinks that I bruised child will help sell peas.

It doesn't help that we originally thought that this was a poster for a charity for abused children. Or possibly next season's SVU.

While the decrease is positive, this data still means that about 7% of New York City’s homeless are without shelter on an average night. New York does a better job of sheltering its homeless than many other places – the City contracts with more than 150 non-profit providers of shelter and other services for homeless people, and since the early 1980’s New York State’s courts have maintained that all New Yorkers have the legal right to shelter. Yet, homelessness remains a horror for adults and a disaster for children and families.

For a number of years I have been on the Board of Directors of Homes for the Homeless, an amazing organization founded in 1986 by Hartz Group Chairman Leonard N. Stern. Homes for the Homeless is a public-private partnership between city government, private business, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  Since 1987, my good friend and Columbia colleague Dr. Ralph Nunez has served as President and CEO of Homes for the Homeless. Each year, the organization provides shelter for about 1,000 families and 2,500 children. In addition to a place to sleep, "Homes" provides meals, after-school day care, adult education, summer camps and other services designed to help homeless families escape poverty. For about 20 years Dr. Nunez taught quantitative analysis to public policy students at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. In addition to working to help homeless families survive, he has worked to analyze and understand the causes and effects of homelessness. To do that, he and his colleagues began a small think-tank called the Institute for Children and Poverty.  According to the Institute’s website:

-More than 1.35 million children from 600,000 families are homeless in America, and available shelter and housing for homeless families is decreasing.

-Overcoming homelessness is almost impossible without steady employment, and more than two-thirds of homeless parents nationwide are unemployed.

-Homeless children have less of a chance of succeeding in school. Frequent school transfers are the most significant barrier to the academic success of homeless students.

-Homeless families are more vulnerable to serious health issues. Mental health, tuberculosis and HIV are far more common than in the general public.

-Homeless parents and their children are more likely to have experienced violence. One out of three homeless teens have witnessed a stabbing, shooting, rape, or murder in their communities.

-Homeless parents and their children are more likely to be separated from each other. In fact, 34% of school-aged homeless children have lived apart from their families. More than 60% of children placed in foster care come from formerly homeless families.

As the new Hoovervilles springing up on the West Coast indicate, homelessness is a symptom of poverty and the lack of low-cost housing. As President Obama indicated, we have a responsibility to help our neighbors who do not have the means to help themselves. One difference in New York City, when compared to some other American cities, is that homeless people are more difficult to ignore here.  While many homeless are “invisible,” many are not. This is a city of mass and walking transit. Most people can’t simply hide up high behind the wheel of their SUV and drive to the mall.  The responsibility for our neighbors here is not simply an abstraction – we see real human beings on our walk to work.

When I think about taking responsibility for our neighbors and building a community, I have to think about Leonard Stern, the wealthy and powerful business leader who founded Homes for the Homeless and then recruited Ralph Nunez to run it. Theirs is an inspiring partnership comprised of Stern’s strategic business sense and Nunez’s deep understanding of city politics and organizational management.  Homes for the Homeless is not perfect, but it is an impressive organization. It shows what can be done, and it has made a material and significant difference in thousands of lives. If you are interested in their story, check out this video and you’ll see what I mean.

I believe that we will come out of these difficult economic times, renewed and reminded of what matters. If you see a homeless child given a place to sleep and a chance to overcome the poverty trap, you can’t help but be motivated.  That motivation is the source of the hope I feel for the future.