
CNN.com: She's being hailed as the "face of the economic crisis," and now Henrietta Hughes has become something of a media star after reaching out to President Obama in an emotional plea for help. Her message: My son and I are homeless, and we need immediate help.
"I have an urgent need, unemployment and homelessness, a very small vehicle for my family and I to live in," Hughes told Obama Tuesday at a town hall rally in Fort Myers, Florida, as he pushed for passage of his stimulus plan in the Senate. "The housing authority has two years waiting lists, and we need something more than the vehicle and the parks to go to. We need our own kitchen and our own bathroom. Please help."
Hughes said she had been homeless after her son lost his job and, subsequently, their home. Although her son has been looking for work, Hughes says, so far, no luck.
The Fort Myers-Cape Coral area -- in heavily Republican Lee County, which went for GOP presidential nominee John McCain in the 2008 election -- has seen record housing foreclosure rates.
According to the White House, the area had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last year, with 12 percent of housing units receiving a foreclosure-related notice.
Median housing prices in the Fort Myers metropolitan area have plummeted from $322,000 in December 2005 to less than $107,000 in December 2008, the Obama administration notes.
And nearly 12,000 jobs have been lost in Fort Myers in the past year.
The president offered Hughes a kiss on the cheek and a promise: "We're going to do everything we can to help you, but there are a lot of people like you."
Amen! Praise Him! Hallelujah! The Messiah is soooooo good to us! This homeless woman appears at an Obama rally (what a coincidence!), blubbers on about her trials and tribulations and the Messiah leans down, kisses her on the cheek and tells her that everything's gonna be alright. And now, just like Jesus when he cured the blind, Henrietta Hughes is no longer homeless! Ol' Henrietta now has her own rent-free house, kitchen and website (no word on whether or not Henrietta accepts Paypal) with jobs offers and money from around the world pouring in! Praise Jesus! No, Praise The Almighty Messiah! Forget pursuing hard work, get your ass down to the next Obama town hall meeting and tell your sob story!