I know people are being wrangled up and put in jails. I know we have food shortages. Also I realize that squats are being wiped out and these people are having to live on the streets. What I dont know is WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THESE PEOPLE?
There is very little communication in regards to uniting and living affordably. What is becoming of the impoverished in this country? I am not getting the answers I require. Any kind folk out there have any advice for me?
Most homeless people I run into have problems in their lives that cause them to be homeless.
Said problems also cause them to be dirty, crazy, addicted and often criminal.
Said problems also prevent them from organizing and engaging in political activity.
If they could solve these problems, they would be well on the way to political participation. They would also be well on the way toward having a home.
BTW, WE don’t have food shortages. Homeless people sometimes do, although many will gladly forego a meal in favor of another substance.
I have known a couple homeless people. They did not live in cardboard boxes, but generally slept in thier cars, or crashed at a friends house once in awhile. One of them, Bob, (named changed to protect him) refuses to work. He thinks he is above those types of things. (intellectual eliteism I guess) He does drink alot, and when he gets money, instead of saving it blows it on Achohol.
The second one is reformed, somewhat. He refused to work for years, living wherever he could, borrowing cars (I don’t know why people let him use it, but he generally had transportation) He smoked way too much pot (other peoples), and never liked to shower. He actually has a job now, and lives with his grandparents, saving up money to buy a car.
These two homeless people I know both could have helped themselved but refused to put in the effort. They wanted things handed to them. Or just didn’t care. That is what I hear about most of the truely homeless. How accurate that is, I don’t know, but it makes sense, there are alot of outreach programs. These programs work well if the party is interested in reform. Most of the time they are not, from what I gather. They just look for a free handout, a quick buck for a bottle or a rock.
As you may have guessed, there is a lot of debate on this topic.
Please don’t say we have food shortages - we have silos full of grain rotting and the US feeds a large portion of the world.
I would say the first place to look is at the bums themselves - what did they do to become bums.
The trouble is that if homeless people could organize themselves and unite to help each other and get better treatement, they’d be able to help themselves enough to get off the streets. The people on the streets are the people who–for various reasons–have lost the ability to organize themselves.
Moving back in with Mumsy & Poppy in Great Neck, removing all their piercings and getting a job at the Gap in the mall.
Many of the homeless are either sick with alcoholism or they are mentally ill. Sometimes it’s NOT just a matter of will power. Much mental illness is caused by physical problems with the brain.
No one in their right minds would choose to live like that.
I have a friend who is brilliant and funny but mentally ill. He is living in the back of a truck with no electricity and no running water. He said that he is going to stay there until he can figure God out. So there he has been for years.
I hope that some of you who think it is all* their fault are young enough that you can still learn to feel a little compassion for your fellow human beings. It can happen to you or your brother or your mother.
I don’t have answers, cloudhopper. Most large cities have some sort of help for the homeless – but it isn’t enough. Thanks for the reminder though. I will donate a little to one of these organizations in your name. (That should put a smile on someone’s face to have a Thanksgiving dinner provided by someone named “cloudhopper”!)