LoveTulips
Senior Member
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada
No.
Compassion for The Homeless
- Thread starter Radrook
- Start date
Grailhunter57
New Member
- Location
- Farmington, Mo
Homelessness is a complicated topic.
There is no nice way to help them.
We did not use to have this many homelessness.
The older people here probably remember the white trucks and men with straitjackets.
People with mental issues were incarcerated in mental institutions. They were cared for and feed and kept warm.
And there were vagrancy laws.
Then America shutdown this process and the mental now live in the streets.
Most would rather live in box than go to a homeless shelter.
Had a church that wanted to take blankets and food to homeless people living in a drainage tunnel. The police stopped them and explained that most are mental and on drugs and they are likely to attack you because they consider your compassion as pity and looking down on them and they are insulted by that.
The homeless litter the streets with urine, fecal matter and hypodermic needles.
Again, no nice way to help them.
They need to be rounded up and institutionalized. There they will get health and mental care and keep them safe and keep us and our children safe from them.
Regular folks that are down on their luck will work their way out of it.
There is no nice way to help them.
We did not use to have this many homelessness.
The older people here probably remember the white trucks and men with straitjackets.
People with mental issues were incarcerated in mental institutions. They were cared for and feed and kept warm.
And there were vagrancy laws.
Then America shutdown this process and the mental now live in the streets.
Most would rather live in box than go to a homeless shelter.
Had a church that wanted to take blankets and food to homeless people living in a drainage tunnel. The police stopped them and explained that most are mental and on drugs and they are likely to attack you because they consider your compassion as pity and looking down on them and they are insulted by that.
The homeless litter the streets with urine, fecal matter and hypodermic needles.
Again, no nice way to help them.
They need to be rounded up and institutionalized. There they will get health and mental care and keep them safe and keep us and our children safe from them.
Regular folks that are down on their luck will work their way out of it.
we worked with a kid whose wife kicked him out and he was living in his car. the coworkers that let him stay at their homes he stole from them.
a lot of the hospitals are letting mental patients leave when they shouldn't be and they go back onto the street. between that and the drunks and druggies i would be too afraid.
a lot of the hospitals are letting mental patients leave when they shouldn't be and they go back onto the street. between that and the drunks and druggies i would be too afraid.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Not if people have reached a stage in their life where they're too old or too unwell to work , and earn enough to pay local rents, and mortgages...
Youtube is filled with Videos of middle aged, and elderly people, not drug addicted or alcohol dependant, who are homeless, who are living in cars and vans, some still workingfull time, with no chance of being able to afford to get out of that situation
Teacher Terry
Well-known Member
I know a married couple that lost both of their children to cystic fibrosis and the husband became an alcoholic because of their losses. Eventually, he’s got sober and they had a small home. They turned the basement into many bedrooms.
They had many AA meetings in their large backyard. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to be in that backyard. It’s hard to describe, but I could feel the positive energy and that’s before I ever knew the story. They were relatives of my husband.
They would go on the street where the homeless people that were alcoholics were and helped them to become sober. They let these people live in their home until they got on their feet.
They both were recognized years later by their community and actually a building at the university was named for him because of all the good he did for the community. When you entered the building, they had a large curio cabinet that told the history of the couple that had helped so many alcoholics become sober. There were also many newspaper clippings throughout the years of them that were featured in that cabinet. They turned their personal pain into a quest to help other people get sober.
The wife was instrumental in getting donations to buy up old houses that served as a place to live for women with children that were alcoholics to give them a new start. they also donated much of their own money to the cause .
I remember thinking at the time that they were a lot braver than I would to let strangers stay in their house especially since they lived in a large city. I met these people 20 years ago and by then the husband was dead and his wife was in her 80s. They were truly remarkable people.
They had many AA meetings in their large backyard. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to be in that backyard. It’s hard to describe, but I could feel the positive energy and that’s before I ever knew the story. They were relatives of my husband.
They would go on the street where the homeless people that were alcoholics were and helped them to become sober. They let these people live in their home until they got on their feet.
They both were recognized years later by their community and actually a building at the university was named for him because of all the good he did for the community. When you entered the building, they had a large curio cabinet that told the history of the couple that had helped so many alcoholics become sober. There were also many newspaper clippings throughout the years of them that were featured in that cabinet. They turned their personal pain into a quest to help other people get sober.
The wife was instrumental in getting donations to buy up old houses that served as a place to live for women with children that were alcoholics to give them a new start. they also donated much of their own money to the cause .
I remember thinking at the time that they were a lot braver than I would to let strangers stay in their house especially since they lived in a large city. I met these people 20 years ago and by then the husband was dead and his wife was in her 80s. They were truly remarkable people.
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
I’m too old to invite any kind of drama into my life.
When I was young I helped a few couch surfers my age with no regrets.
Sometimes giving direct aid to an individual can be awkward, even dangerous. Better to find a group or organization and make a donation, volunteer, etc…
When I was young I helped a few couch surfers my age with no regrets.
Sometimes giving direct aid to an individual can be awkward, even dangerous. Better to find a group or organization and make a donation, volunteer, etc…
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
It's a simple question that hides much nuance. Would I take a well-balanced, needy person into my home? Yes. Would I roll the dice on a complete stranger? No.
The solution for homelessness isn't to house them with strangers. All homeless aren't the same. Some are there for personal disaster, some are there through addiction. There's a difference. But seeing them on the streets, you can't really tell which is which.
The problem is societal. Empathy is to be expected, and if it's absent, a sign of something worse. Yet when I hear people complain about the homeless, it's mainly in terms of the inconvenience, the eye-sore, the suspected crime. It's more fundamental than that. It's a reflection on society as a whole. We have, and we tend to look down on those that don't. But for any of us, one decision can be the dividing line.
I'm not judgmental about homeless people, because it can to a wide range of people and when it happens it can be quick and catastrophic. Homelessness changes people and some are permanently affected, they would steal the harness off a nightmare simply because they could.
Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
I remember my mothing taking a homeless woman into our home. She was a victim of domestic violence and needed sanctuary. If I could, I would do the same but my home is chocablock right now.
No
But then I wouldnt take any other stranger t o stay in my home either, homeless or not.
I would take a friend or family member as a temporary measure.
I am happy to support programs for homeless people but, like another thread, one also has to be mindful of ones own safety and one's own limitations
But then I wouldnt take any other stranger t o stay in my home either, homeless or not.
I would take a friend or family member as a temporary measure.
I am happy to support programs for homeless people but, like another thread, one also has to be mindful of ones own safety and one's own limitations
Messy
New Member
What about Ukrainians fleeing war?
We didn't have enough places for them, so they asked people to take them in and a lot did, but then a year later there still was nothing else, so can they stay a bit longer.
They needed help with everything, needed to be driven around. I was glad that I have no big house, so I didn't have to feel obliged to do it. I read some stories and saw one on tv. One time it went swell and other times not so swell.
A controlling man who wanted to play the boss for instance and they wanted to eat warm all the time and live warm. We live cheap. It's often cold to save money. You don't heat at night, some do 18 degrees or hardly heat since gas is expensive since the war. We eat bread. Not fancy meals 3 times a day. And then you get spoiled people wanting that, costing loads. That gave irritations.
We didn't have enough places for them, so they asked people to take them in and a lot did, but then a year later there still was nothing else, so can they stay a bit longer.
They needed help with everything, needed to be driven around. I was glad that I have no big house, so I didn't have to feel obliged to do it. I read some stories and saw one on tv. One time it went swell and other times not so swell.
A controlling man who wanted to play the boss for instance and they wanted to eat warm all the time and live warm. We live cheap. It's often cold to save money. You don't heat at night, some do 18 degrees or hardly heat since gas is expensive since the war. We eat bread. Not fancy meals 3 times a day. And then you get spoiled people wanting that, costing loads. That gave irritations.
Grailhunter57
New Member
- Location
- Farmington, Mo
You are right. But no explanation can cover every situation. If the conditions are right the elderly can find themselves homeless, but a lot has to go wrong for that to happen.
1. Did not plan for retirement.
2. No Spouse to help.
3. No Social Security or Medicare because they never worked.
4. No children or friends to help them.
5. No church affiliation.
6. Live in an area where there are no programs to help the elderly in these situations.
Like I said--->Regular folks that are down on their luck will work their way out of it. An elderly person has a lifetime of experience and can usually figure it out. The first step is to ask for help.
If they are senile, we are back to, most of us are not qualified to help, but we might be able to find help for them.
People can get lost in the masses. I live in Farmington Mo, population around 18,000 and I have never seen a homeless elderly person. For one thing this place is wall to wall churches and if an elderly person walked into one of these, they would help and know where to get help. Churches have elderly people and Pastors have some that need help.
Either way if we see an elderly homeless person, what should we do? If it is safe, talk to them and find out why they are homeless. If they are not mental and will accept help, feed them and point them in the right direction for help.
For those that are Christians----> What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no Good Deeds? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no Good Deeds, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without Good Deeds, and I will show you my faith by my Good Deeds.” James 1:14-18 For the homeless in general we should pray for them.
God grant me the serenity To know the wrongs that I cannot change.
Courage to change the wrongs I can; And wisdom to know the difference.
And what about the elderly in general. In the neighborhoods I have lived in, we have yard sales and barbeques which gives some opportunities to socialize with the elderly. Some of us have golf carts and drive around the neighborhood checking on the elderly and invite them out to socialize.... barbeques and holiday dinners. Those that are alone can be living a life of lonely existence. That can be miserable.
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Been There
Well-known Member
- Location
- Florida
I have a home, but it wouldn’t matter, even if I had an apartment or a tent, the same answer would apply, NO.
CallMeKate
Well-known Member
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic US
I view "compassion" as doing what I can for those in need whether hungry, homeless, ill, etc. Feeling empathy and seeing what I can provide to help. This does *not* however, including taking a stranger (homeless or not) into my home. I will find other ways to help.