(감동) 가난한 한 소년 스토리
(감동) 가난한 한 소년 스토리
And when we first introduced you to Tristan, he was homeless and hopeless. “Life and death.” “You think about life and death? Why are you thinking about things like that?” “Because I gave up.” Tonight, Tristan one year later. From CBS News world headquarters in New York. The recession is often seen as an adult problem. Men and women on the unemployment line. Husbands and wives losing their homes. But it’s also having a major impact on children. 1.5 million are homeless. That’s 1 out of every 50. Tonight chief national correspondent Byron Pitts catches up with two children of the recession
It is through the lives of two boys. We can see the progress the nation’s economy has made this past year and the distance left to go. Two boys who, for a time한동안, were the best of friends.
11-year-old Tristen Clarke and 9-year-old Gus Hernandez Junior. They were living here a year ago at the El Dorado Motel in Salinas, California. They played together, shared the same risks. Brought together by the hard knocks역경 of the recession. Job losses left both families homeless. A year ago, Tristen and I talked, “How’s life?” “Pretty bad because we don’t have enough money to pay. We can’t afford food.”
At times때때로, things felt pretty desperate. “Find a word for me.” “Life and death.” “Why are you thinking about things like that?” “Because I gave up.” “Last year was hell on earth.” What a difference a year makes. “I just didn’t think God had planned for us, and now I do” He does because his mother Rhonda finally found a job as a salesperson after a long year of looking in a depressed area with high unemployment. "I'm happy because I have a new life." His spirits and his grades have soared, too. Although he is repeating the 5th grade, this year he's done so well,
he'll be attending the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in DC. And It gets better. No longer does he sleep on that air mattress at the motel. Now his walk home from school ends at the doorstep of their own studio apartment. “I’ve learned to keep myself hoping and keep dreaming.”
Across town, Gus Hernandez Junior is still at the motel with his family. “Hopefully he’s going to take this as a learning experience.” It is a hard lesson now facing even more children here in Salinas. According to the latest statistics, the number of homeless children seeking help in Salinas, California jumped from 308 last year to 425 so far this year.