Life without hope..

It is sad that the earthquake in Haiti has caused more pain and suffering to people who already have more than their fair share.

I encourage those who can, to provide donations to help those in need.

However, after the dead are buried, and roads and buildings are repaired, the poverty that was there in the first place, and the problems that caused it, will still be there.

This is no different than the poverty in urban America. Here's a research article showing how "believing that you won't be alive beyond your teens" fuels negative actions and calls for different policy and solutions.

Finding ways to get people who don't live in poverty, personally connected with the youth and families who do, so they become personally interested, and thus more willing to go beyond "random acts of kindness" in the ways they use their time, talent and dollars, is the goal of Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection.

This thinking can help people build better lives in Haiti, New Orleans, and many other places, not just Chicago.