Letter: Out of sight...

I TOO have lived and worked in the US, for a charity whose aim was to help the mentally ill and destitute in Miami - needless to say it was British-based. It was almost impossible to raise funds there - the cause was not "sexy" enough. Very few people were bothered that these mentally ill homeless people were in need as long as they were kept out of sight. Of course it bothered relatives, but not enough to put in the effort to raise funds.

I agree with your correspondent (Letters, 17 May), who was writing in response to John Carlin's indictment of America, that we should not suffer from the delusion that Americans who care are strangers in their own land. But how many are prepared to make a stand against the "complex social fabric" referred to and effect some change? It is a democracy, after all.