• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

OMG HURRRICANE!!!!!!!111!!!!1

Unfortunately, all of this comes down on a lot of people who are vulnerable, either in Wilmington or in Charlotte. People who can't afford to spend money for a hotel for the weekend in Charlotte need shelter, which means we should open up whatever we can to welcome them. People in Charlotte who are working 2 min wage jobs count on school to keep their kids during the day, and at least some of them will be fired if they don't show up for work today and tomorrow. It's inconvenient for people with the means to cope or who have jobs that don't fire you for a missed day, but it's potentially devastating for people without that safety net.

I work with homeless people regularly who have lost a job because a family member got sick and they had to help them. They can find a new job, but best case it takes a few days, more likely a few weeks. And in the meantime, they often go three weeks without getting paid. They get evicted, they lose their car. They lose their health insurance and suddenly their prescriptions become unmanageable. It's a nasty spiral, and it can all start because of something like this. Of course, the barely-getting-by family from Wilmington or Whiteville has the exact same issues, except their job suddenly is GONE and they don't have a place to live at all.

What's the solution? To start with, it would be great if we could have school AND use the gym for shelter. Other than parents bitching about their kids having to go to school while poor people are in the gym, I don't see a reason why that wouldn't work.

Anyway - sorry for the rant, but while I'm annoyed that school is out today, I am trying to appreciate all of the sides to those decisions.
 
DeacDiggler said:
Unfortunately, all of this comes down on a lot of people who are vulnerable, either in Wilmington or in Charlotte. People who can't afford to spend money for a hotel for the weekend in Charlotte need shelter, which means we should open up whatever we can to welcome them. People in Charlotte who are working 2 min wage jobs count on school to keep their kids during the day, and at least some of them will be fired if they don't show up for work today and tomorrow. It's inconvenient for people with the means to cope or who have jobs that don't fire you for a missed day, but it's potentially devastating for people without that safety net.

I work with homeless people regularly who have lost a job because a family member got sick and they had to help them. They can find a new job, but best case it takes a few days, more likely a few weeks. And in the meantime, they often go three weeks without getting paid. They get evicted, they lose their car. They lose their health insurance and suddenly their prescriptions become unmanageable. It's a nasty spiral, and it can all start because of something like this. Of course, the barely-getting-by family from Wilmington or Whiteville has the exact same issues, except their job suddenly is GONE and they don't have a place to live at all.

What's the solution? To start with, it would be great if we could have school AND use the gym for shelter. Other than parents bitching about their kids having to go to school while poor people are in the gym, I don't see a reason why that wouldn't work.

Anyway - sorry for the rant, but while I'm annoyed that school is out today, I am trying to appreciate all of the sides to those decisions.
Click to expand...

seems like a big security risk to have kids on campus while people are sheltering. with as strict as schools are now regarding visitors, doesn't seem feasible.
 
Agreed. It would be great but that requires a big leap of faith from everyone working together.
 
BarcaDeac said:
seems like a big security risk to have kids on campus while people are sheltering. with as strict as schools are now regarding visitors, doesn't seem feasible.
Click to expand...

Or, again, just close the schools that are being used as shelters. Using 5 schools as shelters is not justification for also closing the other 165 schools in the system. If one school had a pipe burst they wouldn't close all other 169 schools, they would just close that one.

Or, have the shelters at other locations (church gyms, YMCAs, UNCC, Merchandise Mart, etc) until the weekend, and then move the people to the schools if for some reason the schools serve as better shelters. Hell, tell each CMS parent that they can pay $1 per day for Thursday and Friday for the schools to remain open, and take that $300k and rent plenty of enormous open space through the weekend. That is a far lower cost than the millions of dollars in lost productivity that occurs because of a stupid decision like this.
 
RacerDeac said:
Here's the thing. For me, sure, it's just a huge annoyance and my employer gets screwed out of a day of my productivity. But my wife runs her own business and has struggled this summer with kids at home after our plan for the kids fell through, so it's a much bigger issue for her as she has to put her business back on the back burner today/tomorrow after just finally being able to devote some time to it.

For the entrepreneurial immigrant dude that runs the convenience store and coffee stand downstairs for 12+ hours a day with his wife, it's dollars out of his pocket, and his kid has to spend the day sitting behind the counter.

For my neighbors who eat breakfast and lunch at school, it means they may not eat today/tomorrow, and may not eat Monday/Tuesday either. Meanwhile, due to early dismissal yesterday and working parents, they will likely spend 6.5 straight days at home unsupervised. Or, their parents will forgo getting paid today so they can be home.

For the teachers, admin and school nurses I know, it means their summers just got shorter.

The list could go on and on. The 2nd and 3rd order consequences for the decision that pertains to 147K+ kids, their parents and all of the staff are massive, and often have the greatest effect on people least able to absorb them.
Click to expand...

You have neighbors that may not be able to afford food without school lunches provided? That's terrible. What part of town do you live in?
 
RacerDeac said:
For my neighbors who eat breakfast and lunch at school, it means they may not eat today/tomorrow, and may not eat Monday/Tuesday either. Meanwhile, due to early dismissal yesterday and working parents, they will likely spend 6.5 straight days at home unsupervised. Or, their parents will forgo getting paid today so they can be home.
Click to expand...

Would be good to work toward a way to continue the free meal program when school is canceled.

Imagine some school districts have that in place.
 
JuiceCrewAllStar said:
Would be good to work toward a way to continue the free meal program when school is canceled.

Imagine some school districts have that in place.
Click to expand...

Most generally do, but depends on parents being able to get their kids to the distribution points, unlike the bus being able to pick them up and get them to school. In a lot of situations, school social workers can send kids home with a backpack full of food if there is a larger need.
 
Max winds the same, but Florence looks a lot more put together on the South and East sides of the eye. There was basically nothing there earlier (other than clouds).
 
Is there still some question about where it goes? Looks like it smacks Wilmington in all scenarios (or damn close) but then can go either straight inland or down to Charleston.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top