Truly sad, esp. the stories of small children sleeping on the street with no food. It's also frightening to me. You've all read recently about major knowledge workers (significant people with Flickr/Yahoo!) who have been pink slipped. I'm sure the supremely skilled will find other offers of employment, but the bottom line is that it can happen to anyone.

I want to do something to help, and have volunteered at the soup kitchen-type ministries, but I just keep wishing it could be more than just a meal. I want a long-term solution that would end with capable people becoming productive, paid, and employed again. It's a staggering problem, and I don't know how to get there.

My parents visited San Francisco for the first time around 2000. When I asked them how they liked the place, expecting to hear stories of beautiful weather, Golden Gate park, Alcatraz, the cable cars, or the scenic vistas, all they could talk about was how many homeless people there were. Literally, when I tried to change the subject, it went like this:

Me: So did you go to Lombard Street?

Mom: Yes, but we didn't stay long because there were so many homeless people.

And so on.