It is NOT ethical to supply aid to others while ignoring and even covering up the needs of
those in this country that do not have enough food to eat, are homeless, ill and are subjected to
all the paperwork,confusion arrogant behavior from those who have the responsibility to provide help.
Of course the two tier Medical System that exists here is also a stain within Medicine.

While I do think it's great to help other nations, I do think it's hypocritical when our own poor people are marginalized and ignored. Frankly, I agree with Sebastian and Maurice. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we ignore our own impoverished people and unite together for causes outside our borders.

Some celebrities use the earthquake in Haiti and other disasters around the globe as an opportunity to make themselves look and feel good.

This is exploitation.

I'm rather confused by the question and the assumptions, which strike me as false.

The U.S. has a vast array of services available to the indigent and homeless, both public and private.

The one huge component we're missing, in my opinion, is mental healthcare that treats illness before it gets to the point of people losing their homes, their jobs, their health, and falling prey to addictions. (I think the eradication of community mental health centers was ushered in by the Reagan Administration. Perhaps his AD was so advanced at that point he did not anticipate the consequences of this move.)

The studies I've seen show that many of the homeless population are mentally ill, and they often are in "denial" of their illness. This is common with any condition psychiatric condition affecting the frontal lobes, including substance use disorders, bi-polar disorder, ADHD, and of course the more extreme forms of schizophrenia, etc. It takes special types of therapy to reach through a person's "denial" -- which is not simply psychological (or defensive) in nature but physiological as well. Based in the symptoms. Otherwise, these people PREFER to live under subways and AWAY from shelters, where they must submit control and trust others.

I've noticed here in the San Francisco Bay Area that there is a bias against recognizing the impact of psychiatric illness. There is a tendency to blame all of the homeless population's problems on the environment. This is an extreme position that doesn't seem to bode well for ever addressing the root causes of homelessness. We can throw lots of money at job training and housing, and if we ignore the psychiatric component, we will get nowhere in helping these people.

Same with the foster children who "age out" of the system at age 18. Many of them suffer from highly heritable psychiatric conditions as well, and are in no shape to make their way in the world alone, despite apartment subsidies, job training, etc.

But back to your point, I am rather shocked to see responses that indicate we should ignore the desperate need in Haiti. As if doing that would solve all the problems of the poor here. That kind of black-white perspective isn't the kind that solves complex problems.

Gina Pera, journalist-author
Is It You., Me, or Adult A.D.D.?

I totally agree with Maurice. I never said we should ignore Haiti or deny help to other countries. What I am saying is that the aid we give to other Americans in need is insufficient. I have friends in the social service arena who agree that we are not sufficiently helping those in the armed forces who are coming home with all kinds of mental disorders.