Not So Positive

Over the last couple of days I have heard on Radio 1 of people who are unemployed but so disempowered that they don't quite know what to do.
One was an ex-crack cocaine dealer who had gone to the Home Secretary, with other Radio 1 listeners, and was telling her she needed to get him a job or he'd go back to dealing crack cocaine. The other was a 19 year old with 2 children, who had been out of work for 3 years, only having a job for a short time until his child was in hospital for a while.
Both these people saw it was the fault of the recession that they were out of work, not their own faults of not getting more qualifications, retraining, wanting more than just doing drugs or making babies. It just seems so sad that there are people out there in our country, which really even in these times of recession is so prosperous, who so do not know what they want to do or where they want to go that they drop out, esp when it is so easy to get into a college or similar.
I think this is why I would love to take the gifts I have got and take them out to these people. But would they come? Are they that are down the line that they think "someone" should give them something? and why should they do anything as its "their fault"?
I really would love to know how to help these people to help themselves but I do also wondering if we have produced such a "nanny state" that people cannot do that any more. Yes we do need to be able to give friee health care and free education, and to help those who do not have work so they do not starve and we should not make people feel guilty if they cannot do that, but we should also find a way to empower them and help them feel like they can achieve things.
Or, says she after having just watched 1984 and reading Animal Farm and Brave New World, is this what those in power want, a large amount of the population feeling powerless so they can use them as they see fit - which I do thing we see sometimes with people Ben comes across at college who see the army as the answer to life.
Who knows! But I will pray I can help those that God puts across my path.