Seniors living in tent encampment desperate for safe housing

VaughanJB said:
Thank you for the work you did.
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I loved it. It was really interesting. Plus, it felt good.

The stories I have. We had this one patient, a young man who talked gibberish all the time...or so we thought until we got a new psych administrator who said "I think that kid is speaking a foreign language" so she recorded him and took the recording to a linguistics professor at Denver U. The professor flew out to see the kid himself and took some video and sent it to a professor at Texas U, of all places, and that professor said the kid was speaking a dead language.

I am dead serious.

On their dime, Texas U flew several people all the way to Colorado to pick the kid up, and flew back to Texas with him for study and research. A coworker told me he'd be living in an excellent care facility there. He had severe retardation and some scary dangerous behaviors, but he couldn't help that, so I hope so.
 

So I have seen a couple videos lately that really should be better known.

The first was in Mexico City, Mexico. Cutting a long story short, the city is overwhelmed by tourists. So much so, that landlords are turning their properties into Airbnb units. It's at a point where landlords are evicting long-standing tenants in order to make that Airbnb cash. The video highlighted a single woman who had been living in her home for 20 years, but had been given a month to get out. She has tried to look for alternative properties, but because of this cycle of growth, she can't find anything. The video ended without resolution.

The second was based in the US, in a mobile home park. In this case, rents were increased by 60%, making them unaffordable for the long term residents. This increase came about when the trailer park they were in was bought by Private Equity. In order to get the return they wanted, they raised prices. Since mobile homes tend to be the cheapest properties to own/rent (both are affected by the change due to ground rents, etc), it means the lowest earners are going to be priced out.

Food for thought.
 
@VaughanJB, Los Angeles has clamped down on AirBnBs and VRBOs because of our housing shortage.

The Mexico City woman's story is being replayed in high demand tourist areas throughout the world. Very sad.
 

More and more, people are going to start looking towards UnitedHealthcare style "solutions."

Like the saying goes... "When people have nothing left to lose, and they've lost everything, they lose it."
— Quote by Gerald Celente.

People are just starting to "lose it." We're going to see a lot more people fighting back as things get worse. A lot of the problems originate on Wall St. What ever happened to the Occupy Wall Street protests?
 
There are so many factors at play in homelessness.

What I don't care for is those judging other's opinions of what the problem is and or thinking some need to share, other than in all the taxes we all pay and jobs we support by being responsible citizens.

At one point after a divorce that cost me more than $200,000. I had to start over; I had $750 a month of income. I was 58 years old, had college degrees that had timed me out of the workforce. I ended up with three part time jobs: one being an usher in a movie theater, one being a receptionist at the the same theater, and another cleaning bathrooms; I even scrubbed floors, it was disgusting, as public restrooms are. But it was WORK.

I will do anything but lie, cheat, steal or sell my body to NOT be homeless. There are others who do not think this way.

I was a mother at age 20. I had no high school education, I came from a family of hell - one where you do not want to see, let alone live in. I could have become a serious alcoholic or a drug addict and I've had professionals stand and wonder at me NOT being such, after what I lived through.

But I had choices I could make, I have a will to use. I CHOSE to face life and survive.

I owe no one anything other than advice on HOW to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and CHOSE life.

Many people in homeless camps WANT to be there because they don't have to jump through the "hoops" of being in a civilized society, to work, to keep certain hours, take responsibility for themselves, to live by boundaries other people set, boundaries that are much needed and there for society to function, let alone one function in their own life.

As someone else said: there have been homeless since time began and nothing any of us can do.
Am so tired of seeing all the excuses I am more for making homelessness more miserable BECAUSE If it hurts bad enough, people WILL rescue themselves, eventually.

If not, it is what it is. I know it sounds harsh, but you can "save" some people 100 times and they will still drown in their own self destructive decisions.

Everyone has choices, except those who are born with disabilities. Those I will help, those and ones who are ill due to no fault of their own, i.e. they worked, they saved, they ate right, they didn't do excess alcohol/smokes, do illegal drugs, do stupid death or maiming behaviors.
 
CooCooforCoCoPuffs said:
There are so many factors at play in homelessness.

What I don't care for is those judging other's opinions of what the problem is and or thinking some need to share, other than in all the taxes we all pay and jobs we support by being responsible citizens.

At one point after a divorce that cost me more than $200,000. I had to start over; I had $750 a month of income. I was 58 years old, had college degrees that had timed me out of the workforce. I ended up with three part time jobs: one being an usher in a movie theater, one being a receptionist at the the same theater, and another cleaning bathrooms; I even scrubbed floors, it was disgusting, as public restrooms are. But it was WORK.

I will do anything but lie, cheat, steal or sell my body to NOT be homeless. There are others who do not think this way.

I was a mother at age 20. I had no high school education, I came from a family of hell - one where you do not want to see, let alone live in. I could have become a serious alcoholic or a drug addict and I've had professionals stand and wonder at me NOT being such, after what I lived through.

But I had choices I could make, I have a will to use. I CHOSE to face life and survive.

I owe no one anything other than advice on HOW to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and CHOSE life.

Many people in homeless camps WANT to be there because they don't have to jump through the "hoops" of being in a civilized society, to work, to keep certain hours, take responsibility for themselves, to live by boundaries other people set, boundaries that are much needed and there for society to function, let alone one function in their own life.

As someone else said: there have been homeless since time began and nothing any of us can do.
Am so tired of seeing all the excuses I am more for making homelessness more miserable BECAUSE If it hurts bad enough, people WILL rescue themselves, eventually.

If not, it is what it is. I know it sounds harsh, but you can "save" some people 100 times and they will still drown in their own self destructive decisions.

Everyone has choices, except those who are born with disabilities. Those I will help, those and ones who are ill due to no fault of their own, i.e. they worked, they saved, they ate right, they didn't do excess alcohol/smokes, do illegal drugs, do stupid death or maiming behaviors.
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As a Canadian I was struck by your words.... "After a divorce that cost me $200,000 " . I don't think that would happen here, as we have "no fault divorce laws " in Canada. Property is equally divided between the couple . Many divorce actions in Canada proceed with out any lawyers being involved, using a paralegal to type up and file the paperwork. In Canada, simply living apart for a year, is grounds for an uncontested divorce decree to be granted. JIM.
 
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CooCooforCoCoPuffs said:
At one point after a divorce that cost me more than $200,000.
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That's odd. It's usually the wife that gets the better settlement in a divorce, or it's a 50/50 split.

CooCooforCoCoPuffs said:
I was 58 years old, had college degrees that had timed me out of the workforce.
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How does a college degree time you out of a workforce? Are you saying that your degrees became worthless because of advances in technology?
 
While homelessness can affect individuals from various socioeconomic backgrounds, those from low-income families are at a higher risk due to systemic factors that limit their access to stable housing and financial resources. Low-income families often face challenges such as high housing costs, limited access to affordable housing, and insufficient social safety nets, all of which can contribute to homelessness.

Poor people are often home renters and are far more subject to housing inflation than homeowners. Because of that, they're more likely to be forced out of their homes when their neighborhood becomes gentrified, and when they're forced out, they can't find anything else they can afford.

The prevailing mindset used to be that education was the answer to poverty. If people just had marketable skills, they'd go out and get good jobs, which would lift them out of poverty. While that worked for some, the poverty rate has actually increased in the past 50 years.
 
jimintoronto said:
As a Canadian I was struck by your words.... "After a divorce that cost me $200,000 " . I don't think that would happen here, as we have "no fault divorce laws " in Canada. Property is equally divided between the couple . Many divorce actions in Canada proceed with out any lawyers being involved, using a paralegal to type up and file the paperwork. In Canada, simply living apart for a year, is grounds for an uncontested divorce decree to be granted. JIM.
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US is also mostly non-contested; it WAS a non-contested divorce.
There are no limits to how often an ex-to be can drag their spouse into court. Lawyers in the US will burn through as much money as the ex-spouse wants to in order to harrass/intimidate and make the responding spouse (me) go broke.
 
That w
HermitHogan said:
That's odd. It's usually the wife that gets the better settlement in a divorce, or it's a 50/50 split.


How does a college degree time you out of a workforce? Are you saying that your degrees became worthless because of advances in technology.
HermitHogan said:
That's odd. It's usually the wife that gets the better settlement in a divorce, or it's a 50/50 split.


How does a college degree time you out of a workforce? Are you saying that your degrees became worthless because of advances in technology?
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That was not a "settlement" those were expenses I had to pay to have a lawyer ANSWER, depose, research, respond, witness costs, etc...over a THREE year process.

At age 58, my degrees and experiences were nearly over 10 years old when I needed to get back in the workforce. A divorce process that involves a court appearance nearly every month over 2-3 years is not only expensive but also mentally debilitating - the stress, when you are the spouse with no money, is incredible.
 
dilettante said:
Gosh, very sad. I wonder how many doggy strollers, veterinary medical procedures, sweaters, new upholstered chairs to sleep in, and luxury refrigerated pet meals might have to be given up so that Judy and George could experience safe housing, clean clothing, and basic food?

Ah well. Who do they think they are? Pets or something else more important than them?
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And you know this how?
 
dilettante said:
Gosh, very sad. I wonder how many doggy strollers, veterinary medical procedures, sweaters, new upholstered chairs to sleep in, and luxury refrigerated pet meals might have to be given up so that Judy and George could experience safe housing, clean clothing, and basic food?

Ah well. Who do they think they are? Pets or something else more important than them?
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No one is more important than you and what you think That is pretty obvious.
 
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Aunt Bea said:
I believe it is.

Most of us go through a part of our lives living paycheck to paycheck without much if any financial or social safety net.

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I agree .... then if we live through that ? things start to ease up a-bit.

But I also believe that any of us can 'get-hit' with something horrible, and suddenly find ourselves 'bleeding' money, till we're broke/close to broke. And even if we have a nice income, it may not keep up with the drain.
 
StarSong said:
Can we? Yes. Do we? No. Why? Because today's elected officials are largely career politicians whose re-elections rely heavily on donations to pay for signage, mailings and media ads. That leaves them beholden to these folks to some degree.

People and corporations with a lot of money want to maintain that status. It's not that they want others to live in poverty, it's more that they don't want to foot the tax bill that will fund the poor's elevation from that status.

Federal tax rates for the wealthy are ridiculously low. Some of the super wealthy have recently pointed this out. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, for sure, but there are likely others.

The US and other countries need to heavily legislate and tax REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and for-profit corporations so that it becomes financially unappealing to own numerous private homes, apartment buildings, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, charter schools, etc., or to continue swallowing up independents.

These corporations put me in mind of the immensely powerful Borg collective from the Star Trek Voyager series. They have the same goal - to assimilate that which will enrich them and increase their power: "We are the Borg. You will be assililated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."
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I hear you. The situation is exactly analogous to the Borg.
 
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