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mark thompson
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Dale Weighill is out in our city making difference and educating the public. At the Resource Center, Dale helps those who might not even know where to find the help they need. Here is a speech Dale gave at the annual Empty Bowls of Soup charity event. Let me know what you think.....
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Good afternoon.
Since I began serving as President & CEO of the Resource Center seven years ago, I have seen the needs in Genesee County increase significantly. The number of calls we receive at the Resource Center has gone from roughly 4,000 per year in the year 2000 to 8,000 last year.
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Many local people are in need. Many local people are in crisis.[/b]
I should mention that there is not always an easy answer for these folks. Sometimes no service exists for the people who call our information line. Other times the service exists, but the agency that provides it is out of funds and can’t serve the client. Other times, the person in need may not be eligible for the service. The bottom line is that unmet needs do exist in our community.
Against this backdrop, people have families to feed. The bills don’t stop coming even though the paychecks might.
Because of our reliance on the auto industry, Michigan, Genesee County, and Flint have always felt the national economic ups and downs more acutely than others. In recent years, good-paying jobs have been harder and harder to find. The manufacturing sector in the United States -- something we used to rely on to support an ever increasing standard of living -- has been battered by global competition.
This has led to an increase in the number of people who require some kind of human service here in our community. This has led to an increase in the number of people who find themselves in crisis on a daily basis. Last year, figures were released that show Flint is the city in Michigan with the largest percentage of people living in poverty.
So, what are we as a community to do about this?
I’ve always felt that observing the Golden Rule is a good start: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That means that we as individuals need to step up and provide support to our neighbors.
How do we actually put this into practice, you ask? We can begin by supporting the many outstanding human service providers and not-for-profit organizations we have in our community. What we’re doing here today is a good example of this.
T.R. Harris Community Development Corporation is one of the go-to organizations in the City of Flint for people in crisis. T.R. Harris treats people with care, concern, and compassion. In other words, the staff at TR Harris treats people as they would want to be treated. I think we should take a moment and acknowledge the great work of Barbara Griffith Wilson and the other folks who come together to make this outstanding organization what it is. Please give her and them a round of applause.
So, I would ask that all of you continue to support TR Harris and the rest of the human services system here in Genesee County. This system is an indispensable and vital part of our community fabric. It gives aid and comfort to people in crisis – men, women, and children who might otherwise be forgotten.
I also want to mention the importance of our local United Way of Genesee County. United Way has become an important mechanism by which individuals like you can support and strengthen the safety net that exists in this community. By giving to United Way, you are supporting a number of local human service providers that are sometimes the only thing standing between a client in crisis and disaster.
Again, I want to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today. |
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Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:52 am |
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So I'm supposed to vote for Dale because he has a heart for the poor and down trodden? That's the problem with Flint, we make excuses for everybody's problems (supposedly high crime is the result of no jobs, increased poverty is the result of no jobs and bad education). There is no such thing as poverty in America, just missed opportunity. If you need a job, move to Wyoming - become somebody else's problem. If you're living in "poverty" stop having kids so you don't make your problem theirs.
Flint is a cess pool b/c for too long we've allowed the mentality of entitlement. Let's clean the friggin house and start over! |
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Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:22 pm |
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JBToolFist
F L I N T O I D
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| Have any of you guys made the extrapolation that since Michigan is the most economically disadvantaged state in the union, and since Flint is the most troubled city in the state of Michigan, that we truly are living in the armpit of America. And yet, I still like this city. Hmm.......maybe America ain't such a bad place to be. |
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Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:09 am |
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JASON
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quote:
Anonymous schreef:
So I'm supposed to vote for Dale because he has a heart for the poor and down trodden? That's the problem with Flint, we make excuses for everybody's problems (supposedly high crime is the result of no jobs, increased poverty is the result of no jobs and bad education). There is no such thing as poverty in America, just missed opportunity. If you need a job, move to Wyoming - become somebody else's problem. If you're living in "poverty" stop having kids so you don't make your problem theirs.
Flint is a cess pool b/c for too long we've allowed the mentality of entitlement. Let's clean the friggin house and start over!
Youre something else! you are whats wrong with Flint ...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS POVERTY???? DO YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK OR ON A MOUNTAIN HIGH ABOVE US ALL????You talk down about someone just cause they have a heart for the less fortunate? Maybe if will all helped out someone a little less fortunate than ourselves as Dale does.... it would make this a better place to live. Geez not even the Wizard of Oz could find you a heart. |
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Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:30 pm |
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