Homeless Man

[Kadee]

I was sitting on a bench in the park next to a homeless man, I asked him how he ended up this way.
He said, “Up until Last week, I still had it all, a cook, cooked my meals, my room was cleaned, my clothes were washed, pressed, I had a roof over my head, I had TV, Internet, I went to the gym, the pool, the library”.

I asked him, "What happened, drugs, alcohol, divorce?”
“Oh No, nothing like that,” he said, “No, no ... I got out of prison!

 

[RadishRose]

:lol:

 

[Sassycakes]

 

[Falcon]

How true. It's almost like you want to go out and commit a crime.

 

[imp]

The actual homeless that I have both known and talked with always had two things: cigarettes and excuses for their plight. They were invariably homeless "through no fault of their own".

How many Members of this Board are homeless? Why are they not? Whose fault is it that they are not? imp

 

[Kadee]

I normally don't get into heated or slanging matches ,However a couple of days ago I popped into a Opp shop ( here on the Gold Coast where I'm on holidays) , when the assistant said she wanted $2 for a second hand coffee cup I said that's to expensive she started preaching me in a loud voice ...The money is to help the homeless !!! I asked her calmly is there any reason for anyone in Australia to be homeless?? ....She continued preaching to me YES she said .."........I said in return a single pensioner in Australia receives $850 per fortnight plus extra in rent assistance if renting/Sharing etc ..Her answer was most people .they help spend their money on DRUGS .. So they help the homeless with essentials/ Food ......ciggaretes ect

 

[ndynt]

Am I reading you right, Kadee? They provide the necessities of life..so the homeless can spend their money on DRUGS ???

 

[imp]

Evidently, addictive behavior CAN cause homelessness. Living in Vegas, my wife hired a young woman from Ohio, recently separated from her husband, who had gambled away all their possessions, including their house! They had a little girl, to boot! But again, was it not his own fault? What, blame the Gaming Industry? IT forced him into addiction? imp

 

[Don M.]

Booze, Drugs, and Mental Illness are probably the biggest reasons for being homeless. Alcohol and drug addiction will make a pauper out of a person. The sorry state of treatment for the mentally ill leaves them with few options. If they
can't hold a job, they quickly wind up on the street.

 

[Kadee]

Am I reading you right, Kadee? They provide the necessities of life..so the homeless can spend their money on DRUGS ???

Yes that's exactly what she said to me .....She felt they had a right to spend their welfare check on drugs , and in my opinion they were not teaching them anything by then supplying handouts ...The Opp shop just happens to right opposite a chemist where I have witnessed many obivious drug effected people lining up waiting for the chemist to open for medicine the chemist gives them .... I worked with people with disabilities /Mental illnesses ,for 25 years, I did take some people to chemists to get their medicine ( Which was only once a week I took them) However they attend daily to receive the Meds ....The people I took were previously Herion users ..But it was none of my business to ask what the Meds were!.... I was only aware why they were given the Meds

 

[ndynt]

Perhaps Methadone. In the US they have Methadone clinics for ex Heroin users vs going to a chemist/drug store. I can not understand that woman's mind set, regarding enabling users. Hopefully she is in the minority in your community.