The Upper, Middle, and Lower Class of homeless people

packleader

packleader

Member
Location
Southern California
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released the results of the 2022 Homeless Count ... estimated that 69,144 people were experiencing homelessness in LA County at that time https://homeless.lacounty.gov/news/2022-homeless-count-results/

Thousands are living in RVs on Los Angeles’ streets. Leaders want to shrink the number, but the solution is elusive
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/us/los-angeles-rv-dwellers/index.html

The Upper Class lives in RV's; the Middle class lives in tents; while the Lower Class has nothing.

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PS, I am keeping our 40-year old Pick-Up Truck and Move-On Camper with a pop-up roof for the sole purpose of having a place to live in case the long overdue San Andreas Eartquake Fault shakes, our house is being red-tagged, and we are also "homeless."

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packleader said:
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released the results of the 2022 Homeless Count ... estimated that 69,144 people were experiencing homelessness in LA County at that time https://homeless.lacounty.gov/news/2022-homeless-count-results/
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The homeless situation is extremely intractable, at least partly because the west coast is a less terrible place to be homeless than other areas. Mild weather is a big draw - survival on the streets is far easier in Los Angeles than Fargo, North Dakota. People on the edge arrive or lose financial traction far faster than western cities and states can finance and provide remedies.

For context, Los Angeles County has a total population of over 10 million, so while 69,000 is a lot of homeless folks, that number translates to less than 7/10 of one percent of the population.

This is a complicated national/international issue and should be treated as such. Fentanyl, other drugs, and alcohol help fuel this crisis as does untreated mental illness.
 
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Jeni said:
they mostly have much older models of RVs that some are a step above junkyard... they do not look like they could ever make it too far down the road.
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....but they've managed to get them to California, or some sunny beach area...in many cases. Even an old RV costs more than a deposit and first and last months rent... or a deposit on a home.. Where are these people working?.. mostly nowhere because they've chosen to park up and be a blot on someone else's landscape.. I'm not being insensitive to the homeless, I worked for years for a homeless Charity.. but these people are just not in the same dire poverty as people living in cars or in tents on the pavement.. They can get a job.. they can use the money they paid for the RV not to mention the cost of the fuel , to secure a home.. there's different levels of Homelessness..
 
StarSong said:
The homeless situation is extremely intractable, at least partly because the west coast is a less terrible place to be homeless than other areas. Mild weather is a big draw - survival on the streets is far easier in Los Angeles than Fargo, North Dakota. People on the edge arrive or lose financial traction far faster than western cities and states can finance and provide remedies.

For context, Los Angeles County has a total population of over 10 million, so while 69,000 is a lot of homeless folks, that number translates to less than 7/10 of one percent of the population.

This is a complicated national/international issue and should be treated as such. Fentanyl, other drugs, and alcohol help fuel this crisis as does untreated mental illness.
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I've mentioned this a few times: the Calif state gov't was given 3 chances to address the homeless issue and failed. Voters approved $billions in spending and the homeless population only grew.
 
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hollydolly said:
....but they've managed to get them to California, or some sunny beach area...in many cases. Even an old RV costs more than a deposit and first and last months rent... or a deposit on a home.. Where are these people working?.. mostly nowhere because they've chosen to park up and be a blot on someone else's landscape.. I'm not being insensitive to the homeless, I worked for years for a homeless Charity.. but these people are just not in the same dire poverty as people living in cars or in tents on the pavement.. They can get a job.. they can use the money they paid for the RV not to mention the cost of the fuel , to secure a home.. there's different levels of Homelessness..
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In some cases, Calif will offer you a free tow, but in any case, homeless people have become extremely resourceful. One of the streets near my old apartment is lined with various types of RVs, all occupied. I have no idea how they got there. They just appeared like freaking magic.

And, there are what's called "working homeless." Some do have jobs but still can't afford to rent.
 
hollydolly said:
....but they've managed to get them to California, or some sunny beach area...in many cases. Even an old RV costs more than a deposit and first and last months rent... or a deposit on a home.. Where are these people working?.. mostly nowhere because they've chosen to park up and be a blot on someone else's landscape.. I'm not being insensitive to the homeless, I worked for years for a homeless Charity.. but these people are just not in the same dire poverty as people living in cars or in tents on the pavement.. They can get a job.. they can use the money they paid for the RV not to mention the cost of the fuel , to secure a home.. there's different levels of Homelessness..
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In most cases they got the RVs after arriving here. As @Murrmurr said, many of these RVs are old, don't run and are no longer road worthy so they can only be moved by towing.

Opportunists always find ways to make a few dollars from other people's miseries, thus a thriving rental market where for a few hundred dollars a month people can rent dilapidated RVs. Living in any kind of RV, even a crappy one, is safer and provides better shelter than a tent or sleeping bag on the street.

Most homeless folks receive some income from Social Security, Disability, TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, formerly known as welfare), SNAP (aka food stamps), and so forth. They aren't starving or completely destitute.

People with the self-discipline and mental acuity to organize obtaining an RV can generally manage to keep body and soul together and develop some sense of community. Hard core alcoholics, drug addicts and mentally ill tend to live on the streets, overnighting in tents or doorways.

Can many get jobs that will pay enough to cover rent? Hard to say. A goodly percentage of homeless - like up to 70% - have been incarcerated. In addition, most homeless are likely to have disastrous credit histories including stiffing previous landlords, so who'd be willing to take a chance on them when more stable applicants are available? Evictions for non-payment of rent are no easy task.

A question that begs to be asked is what happened to their personal safety nets? People who aged out of foster care without getting traction in the world, and never did had a soft place to land? They're pretty much screwed. Those who burned out family and friends' good will after years of bad decisions and/or substance abuse issues are also probably on their own.

There are no easy fixes.
 
StarSong said:
In most cases they got the RVs after arriving here. As @Murrmurr said, many of these RVs are old, don't run and are no longer road worthy so they can only be moved by towing.

Opportunists always find ways to make a few dollars from other people's miseries, thus a thriving rental market where for a few hundred dollars a month people can rent dilapidated RVs. Living in any kind of RV, even a crappy one, is safer and provides better shelter than a tent or sleeping bag on the street.

Most homeless folks receive some income from Social Security, Disability, TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, formerly known as welfare), SNAP (aka food stamps), and so forth. They aren't starving or completely destitute.

People with the self-discipline and mental acuity to organize obtaining an RV can generally manage to keep body and soul together and develop some sense of community. Hard core alcoholics, drug addicts and mentally ill tend to live on the streets, overnighting in tents or doorways.

Can many get jobs that will pay enough to cover rent? Hard to say. A goodly percentage of homeless - like up to 70% - have been incarcerated. In addition, most homeless are likely to have disastrous credit histories including stiffing previous landlords, so who'd be willing to take a chance on them when more stable applicants are available? Evictions for non-payment of rent are no easy task.

A question that begs to be asked is what happened to their personal safety nets? People who aged out of foster care without getting traction in the world, and never did had a soft place to land? They're pretty much screwed. Those who burned out family and friends' good will after years of bad decisions and/or substance abuse issues are also probably on their own.

There are no easy fixes.
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Most employers who don't require specific skills only offer 15 to 28 hours per week at minimum wage and no benefits besides basic worker's comp.
 
hollydolly said:
Why are people homeless if they can afford $150k of RV ?
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We sold our 21 year old motor home to 2 sisters in their 60’s both still working minimum wage jobs. We were asking 7k as it ran and hadn’t been used much. They had 3 little dogs and couldn’t find an apartment that they could afford and would take the 3 tiny dogs.

Both of them were divorced by their husbands. We felt sorry for them and sold it to them for 5k. Nevada is in the west but we have real winters. I admire them for not giving up their dogs as that would have made it easier to find an apartment.

It was only 27 feet long and only had a double bed so they were going to have to share it. The little chihuahua came up and snuggled my neck. I like to think he was thanking me.

Our rents and housing has skyrocketed to the point that if I couldn’t have afforded to buy my condo I would have had to leave because I couldn’t afford rent on a decent place with my pension and SS. That’s the reality for many people and it’s incredibly sad.
 
I rented an RV right after retirement just to see if this is something I would like to do for a year. I quickly decided not. On the open road, they are fun to drive. Get into a city and I will pass.
 
hollydolly said:
....but they've managed to get them to California, or some sunny beach area...in many cases. Even an old RV costs more than a deposit and first and last months rent... or a deposit on a home.. Where are these people working?.. mostly nowhere because they've chosen to park up and be a blot on someone else's landscape.. I'm not being insensitive to the homeless, I worked for years for a homeless Charity.. but these people are just not in the same dire poverty as people living in cars or in tents on the pavement.. They can get a job.. they can use the money they paid for the RV not to mention the cost of the fuel , to secure a home.. there's different levels of Homelessness..
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well many get government checks use a post office box etc....

Not sure of California but........ by Seattle many many parked along residential streets ........ many are mini meth labs and drugs dealt out of said RV's.
Honestly if they wanted to be industrious and have an RV they can travel the country work at various campgrounds as camp hosts and get paid in the process.
 
Rv covers a lot of territory…so to speak. The destitute people I have seen with RV’s did not pay much…if anything for them. I gave one away last year. Good luck getting that beast to california…or even 100 miles. They are hard tents. And good luck convincing some campground to let you host when you look like most of these do.
 
There are many slum landlords that rent out these RVs around here. Also a base for some drug dealers. Or a home for n’er do wells. All kinds of stories.

It’s’ really hard for the people living in the areas they’ve decided to settle in. Lots of stories of overflowing sewer tanks, etc, etc.

Remember @Disgustedman. We haven’t seen him for a couple of months. He lived in Vancouver, Washington in an approved area for homeless. Last thing he was hoping to get an apartment in Idaho.
 
Some are homeless are in hard times but there are alot of druggies, bums and people that want no rules and 'the freedom' that comes with homeless although be it a hard life. These homeless encampments or camp sites are notorious for drugs and violence against woman.

Problem is that when a homeless traveler sees a 2 mile long encampment they assume they won't be bothered or no one cares. They eventually will be 'evicted'. The RVs are blocking the shoulder/emergency lanes in many areas. Just takes one incident or accident on that stretch of road to cause issues and they're gone.
 
Jules said:
There are many slum landlords that rent out these RVs around here. Also a base for some drug dealers. Or a home for n’er do wells. All kinds of stories.

It’s’ really hard for the people living in the areas they’ve decided to settle in. Lots of stories of overflowing sewer tanks, etc, etc.

Remember @Disgustedman. We haven’t seen him for a couple of months. He lived in Vancouver, Washington in an approved area for homeless. Last thing he was hoping to get an apartment in Idaho.
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OMG Jules I didn't know that about Disgustedman. I must have missed his posts on this. I hope he is OK.
 

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