I am not sure where a topic such as this would belong. I think it doesn’t fit GQ or GD, but is not mundane(well maybe it is) and definitaly not a rant so…
My husband and I went out to lunch on Monday at Jack In The Box and outside of the restaraunt, there was this homeless guy digging through the trash bin out front. He was pulling food from the trash and eating it. At the time I was so disgusted by this (we had already finished eating and were getting ready to leave) that if I would have seen this while eating I would have lost my appetite. We gave him a few bucks on our way out, to get food that was not from the trash.
Then yesterday, I was thinking about it and I have come to realize that I have no idea what it is like to be so hungry that I would eat food from a garbage bin. It makes me wonder why the homeless would compromise thier or what is left of thier health by eating (possibly) spoiled food and possibly contracting someone elses cooties (for a lack of a better word).
I would like to understand the way the homeless think/act/live because I would like to help them out more than I feel I am doing by giving them money for food. (The ones begging outside places that really are/look homeless, not the ones that are scam artists-plenty of both in Vegas) Is there a website or group that would have good info on this? Or does anyone here have any, dare I say :o , firsthand knowledge of what this is like??
I guess it’s either risk food poisoning or die of starvation. This kind of thing just, well, makes me want to cry. In Nagoya (city in Japan), there is a homeless “settlement” in a park next to several museums. Wealthy, well-fed tourists were standing in line to see an exhibit on Impressionist art, while nearby a man was brushing off and eating a lump of rice he picked out of a garbage bag. The homeless settlement was spotless and orderly, with tents built cleverly from blue tarp and items salvaged from refuse. Many of the tents were decorated and personalized, and yes, the homeless took off their shoes before entering their tents. Many of the homeless here are men who have been “restructured” out of jobs and kind find work, given the endless recession and age discrimination.
Anyway, about what you can do. You would probably get better information from charities in your city. There are probably LV-area newsgroups with more specific information, too. Homeless people fit many profiles: the mentally ill, single mothers and their kids, single men (who seem to get the least amount of sympathy), etc. If you have an interest in a specific group, maybe you could help with things like job training or drug counseling or what have you.