General Chat

I watched this and my heart went out to all of these children.

Collecting cans & doing gardening work to help with the family finances, those kids are old before their time.

Yes we are lucky that we have free health care, and some financial help with housing. But I do think we are just a few steps away from this devastating poverty in this country, especially with all the current and proposed cuts.

I shudder to think how bad things will have to get, before they start to improve.

Me I am a hard hearted b*tch and this programme brought tears to my eyes.

I was impressed by the maturity of the girls, I wasn't too impressed with the red haired mother who took on a new home but relied on her mother to pay the rent then they had to leave again and ended up back in the same motel after several other stop offs. I understand she was depressed and such but she was very hard on that young girl but didn't seem to take the lad to task much. Sad when they had to take the dog to the pound, wonder if they still kept the other one after all those moves.

It was also a shame that so much of their things seemed to have been left behind, surely as they knew things were bad they would have started packing stuff up so as to have time to take it with them. The children lost out on school too, but still that girl had ambitions and dreams bless her.

There must be many children and families in the same boat - I think we are luckier here that we can get health care and help with housing and such, altho I know there are many families in hostels and such, most of the time I think families with children get helped more than in the States.

Things will become much worse before they get better, in most countries no there are children suffering hardship.

Just wish I could do something to help

Lizx

lol Brenda I think there would have been a queue to have her :-)

Watched this.
The little girl with glasses....could have taken her in myself....makes you think that our poor are not as badly off as all that.
The other little girl was so calm about it as well...suppose they don't know anything else.
We may moan about this country,but believe our low income families don't have it as bad as that.

"Child poverty has reached record levels in the US, with more than 16 million children now affected, food banks facing unprecedented demand and homeless shelters dealing with long waiting lists. This documentary offers a unique insight into the impact of the country's economic crisis, as three children affected by the downturn reveal how life in modern America is viewed from their perspective."

"In San Francisco, 11-year-old Sera lives with her mum and sister in a one-roomed flat, their belongings in piles. “This is not the great American dream,” she says with a wisdom that is heartbreakingly beyond her years."

I defy anyone not to be touched by young 'Sera', I hope life will be good for her, and for all of them. Makes you think!

If you haven't just been watching it on BBC2, then it's worth watching on Iplayer.