The needy; the homeless? and the forgotten?

gumbud

gumbud

Member
Location
australia
I wasn't sure were to put this clip - this is happening in OZ - the country of plenty and sunshine and wonderful beaches - but we have our social problems like everywhere else -maybe a little bit smaller??

I know some people have talked about the homeless and what to do - oh yes that was on another site in Britain which of course has a huge population twice as much as CA - but our materialistic societies and 'let the market decide' mentality will always produce unemployment ; hungry and homeless. Speech over:

here's one attempt to help - I like it

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ut&utm_term=281046&subid=26363714&CMP=ema_632


ps: I'm struggling with this one like everyone - we all live in materialistic societies ; I've been to US and CA and seen the lifestyles - lived in UK and now OZ - we are driven by being successful ; getting qualifications and doing well - BUT there is always the "hard core" - I've been in mental health care work all my life but still don't have the answer. But this one example is ONE way to help ; not solve just help.

We shouldn't turn our backs should we??
 

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We were in Hawaii the middle of May with one of our Granddaughters and one of our Grandsons. One morning, I asked my Grandson where he would like to have breakfast and of course he chose, McDonald's. When we went inside at about 8:30 that morning, there was a man of about 35 y/o sitting in a booth with his head down in his arms. I came to the conclusion that he was sleeping. I walked over to him to offer to buy him breakfast, but he smelled to high heaven, so I walked back to my seat. This man really smelled awful. I watched other people that wanted to sit near him, get up and move.

The more that I thought about it, the more I felt kind of ashamed of myself. So, I want back over and excused myself to get him to wake up. He did so immediately, so I guess he was not fully asleep. I asked him if I could buy him some breakfast and he said coffee would be fine. I got him his coffee and an egg mcmuffin. I quickly looked over at him and he was eating that sandwich like he had not eaten in awhile.

I have no idea of why he is the way he is. He looked healthy enough to be working, but I don't know his situation. I guess that I helped someone and that is all that really matters to me.
 
oldman said:
We were in Hawaii the middle of May with one of our Granddaughters and one of our Grandsons. One morning, I asked my Grandson where he would like to have breakfast and of course he chose, McDonald's. When we went inside at about 8:30 that morning, there was a man of about 35 y/o sitting in a booth with his head down in his arms. I came to the conclusion that he was sleeping. I walked over to him to offer to buy him breakfast, but he smelled to high heaven, so I walked back to my seat. This man really smelled awful. I watched other people that wanted to sit near him, get up and move.

The more that I thought about it, the more I felt kind of ashamed of myself. So, I want back over and excused myself to get him to wake up. He did so immediately, so I guess he was not fully asleep. I asked him if I could buy him some breakfast and he said coffee would be fine. I got him his coffee and an egg mcmuffin. I quickly looked over at him and he was eating that sandwich like he had not eaten in awhile.

I have no idea of why he is the way he is. He looked healthy enough to be working, but I don't know his situation. I guess that I helped someone and that is all that really matters to me.
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well done Oldman - sometimes it's hard to start and frightening to start but you got over all of that. Remember I think it's the sort of thing that Jesus Christ would do and also the good Samaritan!!
 
good thoughts, gummie
nice angle on food waste and filling a needy hand
ain't hurtin' those kids working the counter, either

cheers to that
 
I received a couple of thumbs up from a few posters, which I was grateful to receive. But, I have been taught that we should all do a little to help the unfortunate. I realize that some of these types of people are out there because they are just lazy or maybe even millionaires trying to add to their wealth. However, I truly believe that most are unfortunate and if I get stuck a few times, that's OK. I also know that I do help one person out now and then.

This man, like I said earlier, smelled really bad. I have to believe that he falls in the "really needs help" category. I was kind of surprised that McDonald's didn't chase him out. Some cities have programs were the police will pick up these people and take them to a shelter to get them cleaned up, physically checked out and fed before putting them back out on the streets. I think Cleveland had a similar program a few years back. Yeah, I have no idea why anyone would make Cleveland their city of choice to be homeless in. Miami, yes, but Cleveland? With all the cold and snow they get, I would hope it's just their summer home.
 
I use to volunteer every Tues morning for 6 yrs at a soup kitchen called 'loafs&fishes' in the basement of a local church.There was a different crew each day,we only served lunch. We were open M-F from noon-1:30 Many of the people that we served,this was their only meal of the day. There were a couple people who took advantage of the situation,they were asked to leave.All or most of the food was donated from Food Bank of WNY,at times we got deliveries from bakeries&restaurants which made the people happy..The soup kitchen closed in 2015 because the church converted our space into apts.
It certainly was a rewarding experience helping others in need. Sue
 
We have a Loves and Fishes restaurant in Sydney too. It started in an old church which had a small congregation of just a few older women. With such small resources you would think it an impossible task but it has thrived because it has the support of a much wider community, including many who would never consider going to church and a number of committed atheists.

A foundation has been established and besides feeding the homeless and hungry they provide free dental services because it is hard to get a job with a mouth full of rotten teeth. They also work with school children who are having trouble with reading because literacy is so important to opening the door to future employment.

Man does not live by bread alone and the Exodus Foundation works to provide a pathway out of poverty where it is a possibility and cares for those who cannot make it on their own.

https://www.exodusfoundation.org.au/
 
The city that I live in has over 30% of the population living below the federal poverty level and we have several food pantries, soup kitchens, etc... to assist the poor.

I think that these efforts are great but I have an uneasy feeling that poverty and the poor are being used to disguise business opportunities as charity in my community.

This is the interior of one of our soup kitchens that was recently outfitted for 1.4 million dollars, a local chef makes his living with a mobile outreach program to feed the homeless and another charitable organization that serves 700 meals/day is launching a 5.8 million food service center expansion. These are just a few examples that help to illustrate my concern.

I suppose the important thing is that people are being fed but the motive behind helping the poor seems to have shifted over time.

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I was very upset when I was putting my groceries in my car at Kroger's yesterday. A girl around 26 wearing very nice jeans and tee shirt came to me and said she was homeless and could I give her some money. I told her no and she started toward the other customers doing the same. I was wary of her as I am handicapped and walk with a cane and she could have easily knocked me down and taken my car and purse. I don't feel bad about not giving her anything as there are a lot of places here to get help if she needed it. I don't know if she was legit or not but I was not taking chances. I reported it to an employee in the parking and he said that they had already offered her some food from the deli and she refused it so they were calling the police as they felt she was scamming people. They have signs posted saying no solicitors on the lot. I give to the Star of Hope homeless shelter here in Houston so I know there are resources she could use. She was very thin and I wondered if she was a drug or meth user. Call it judging but I have to look out for my safety first and I felt very uncomfortable with her.
 
If I may take a different view of this.... In the UK, we have so called 'food banks' where the 'needy' can get free groceries which have been donated by stores or members of the public. No doubt many of the recipients are deserving cases, but my view is somewhat tempered by the sight of some of them smoking and / or talking away on their "smart" phones. The cynic in me then asks, well, if they can afford to smoke (and tobacco costs a fortune in the UK) or own and use mobile phone, shouldn't they first be using that money for food?

I would also challenge the statement that people in financial difficulties have difficulty in accessing fresh food and vegetables. Here in the UK a least, most major supermarkets have offers of fresh fruit and vegetables, and it's not hard to pick up a bargain from the meat or fish counter. The problem as I see it, is the mistaken beliefs that fresh food is a) expensive, b) difficult to prepare) c) too time consuming.

I don't know the answer. I only know that as a child and not a lot of money was coming in, my mother always knew how to manage and kept us well fed and clothed. Those skills seem to have been lost by some.
 
In 2006,I along with 8 members of my church and 3 other Presb churches from WNY were sent to Mississippi for a week to help with the cleanup from the damage done by Hurricanes Katrina&Rita. We were in a small gulf coast town,D'Iberville, where half the residents lost everything.I had seen on TV before we left, the destruction these 2 storms did,but to see up close in person was mind boggling.Every day I was thinking 'what if this happen to me,who would be there to help'?
Every where we went,the residents thanked us. One day at lunch I was sitting with a couple church members and 2 local residents.They told us their stories and Mary one of the residents said to us'You are all God's angels for coming to help us'
It was a rewarding experience,came back a different person,ever since then I've tried to help out with people less fortunate Sue
 
I remembered posting the following from December 2016. I'm still filling backpacks, still finding homeless people to give them to, still glad I'm doing it. When I can scare up enough $$, I'll get a Kroger or Publix gift card for $15 (because either one is close to the area when I see homeless people and those stores have a deli where a hot meal can be had or they have things that a homeless person might need).

So...I can give a few dollars to some chartible foundation and trust that probably $.03 of each dollar might actually go to helping somebody/something. OR...I can do something truly helpful for one person.

Last winter, I put together (in a 2-gallon plastic zipper sack) a couple of pairs of sox, a sweatshirt, some thermal long johns, a watch cap, gloves, scarf, a few granola bars, two bottles of water, and a couple of $1 bills, and kept it in my car. Without taking any foolish chances, of course, when I saw someone obviously homeless during the day who was alone and in an open area, I pulled over, handed it to him and wished him a good day.

This year, I started gathering things here and there as I could afford them. Included sweats, long johns, sox, cap, scarf, gloves, a flannel shirt, a rain poncho, and found a men's travel kit that was intended to pass muster with TSA that had a couple of razors, travel size shaving cream, shampoo, deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste, soap. Also put in some granola bars and $2. Got a waterproof backpack with pockets on the outside meant for water bottles from Walmart cheap. Stuffed the backpack, added the water bottles to the outside pockets.

On Christmas Eve day, I was going down to visit my son. Between home and his place there are a couple of parks where the homeless hang out during the day (because they're required to leave the shelters first thing in the morning and can't go back until evening). I knew there would be at least one person to give that backpack to so stopped at Subway to get a foot-long with plenty of meat, cheese and veggies to go with it. Sure enough, the right guy was trudging along the sidewalk near one of the parks, and I was close to a curb cut for a business that wasn't open, so I pulled in and whistled him over...a bit nervous because he had something clutched in his hand but otherwise had nothing except a heavy jacket that he was carrying. I handed him the backpack and the sandwich, and he thanked me and started crying. Dear me. He showed me what he had in his hand...a rosary that he said had been his mother's. He said he'd been praying for something to eat and never thought he'd get a Christmas present as well. He told me I made his day. No. He made mine.

All told, it probably cost about $50 over a period of a couple of months, but it ALL went to help one very grateful old man.

We can't save everyone, but we can each do something to help one person at a time. I've already started gathering things for the next backpack. It will be for a man again, though, because while there are homeless women they stay pretty well hidden.

ETA: sometimes I see a homeless person with a dog. I'm going to keep some dog food in the car, too.​
 
Capt. I see your point about smoking instead of buying food. I think a pack of cigs here is about or close to $10.00 a pack. I quit over 3 years ago, so not sure.

As for cell phones, we give them free to people who are on welfare, at least we do in CT, so that may explain the phones you're seeing. There are very few public or pay phones these days.

Sometimes we see that all the supermarkets are often clustered in the same area and sometimes people without cars can't even get to them often enough, so they buy snack-foods at little corner shops. Or, at food banks because they are generally located near the low-rent areas.
 
Wow, when I used to visit the US on business, I could buy pipe tobacco quite cheaply. I never realised that cigs were so expensive there - much the same as the UK. I doubt if mobile (cell) phones are handed out here. Basic phones are quite cheap, but just about everyone has one of these 'smart phones' and a contract that might cost $50 a month. You're right about pay phones - they're probably all in museums now.

Supermarkets here are generally in town or accessible by public transport - although that has suffered cutbacks. My point though is that many people seem to have lost (or never been taught) the skill of good money management and thrifty cooking. We are too surrounded by convenience and message that we're all too busy to cook. Why make a good healthy economic meal at home when you can pop a ready cooked , relatively expensive one into the microwave?

OK, there will always be people who through no fault of their own, need a bit of support to get back on their feet. There are others who need help to help themselves and we should help all these people however we can. Unfortunately, there will always be those who just play the system, aren't interested in helping themselves, and want everything handed to them on a plate.
 
Capt. there are those here too, that play the system.

I agree that some people never learned how to cook due to those frozen, processed meals, and especially fast food places, etc. It's a shame.

The cost of cigarettes is greatly inflated by the state's "sin" tax.
 
The homeless have no way to cook anything. And I don't care if their homelessness is through bad choices, bad luck, drugs, alcohol. I only care that there are things they need, like a change of clothes/clean socks/underwear, a bar of soap, a towel, a bottle of water, a pair of shoes, something to eat.

I've found things in the grocery section of Walmart that are little "meal kits" that don't have to be refrigerated or cooked and are actually only snack size. When I see something that would be useful or help in some small way and costs only a dollar or so, I pick it up. Multiple granola bars in a package and individually wrapped so that a couple of them can go in each backpack, sometimes just a cookie...something that would be a treat and that they wouldn't ordinarily get in, say, a soup kitchen.

Clothes and shoes almost always come from Goodwill for just a few dollars and more often than you'd think, there are brand new clothes and shoes with the tags still on them.
In winter (usually mild here), flannel-lined shirts are the same price at Goodwill as regular shirts. Jackets are less than $10. ​
A cousin who's a runner gives me his shoes when he's done with them because he only uses them for a week or two. I keep them in my car for when I happen upon a man who needs shoes and by a stroke of luck wears that size. If I have more than four pair in the car at a time, I donate them on my next Goodwill shopping trip.

My son often sends me money when he gets paid so I use some of it to buy a gift card or two to a fast-food place and keep them in the car. Depending on where I find someone to give a backpack, if it's close to one of those places, I'll also give them a gift card for $10-$15. Soup kitchens are fine and definitely serve a need, but sometimes folks just appreciate getting to choose what they eat.

I do a lot of my grocery shopping at Aldi, and when my son sends me money that's enough to be called a windfall, I buy two Aldi gift cards for $10 at the checkout and leave them with the cashier (they know me there!) with instructions to give one to each of the next two people who come through the checkout using EBT cards. Why? Because if they're in circumstances that necessitate needing EBT, they're short on cash, and EBT won't pay for paper products and other things like aspirin or bandaids. And sometimes, they just want to get something as a treat for their kids or themselves but can't spare enough from the EBT cards to buy it.

I've never been downright poor, but certainly have been downright broke! At one time as a single parent, when I worked four jobs (yes! four), I made $2/month too much to qualify for any kind of help. Nothing. Nada. Never homeless and never "really" hungry, but poor enough that there was never "extra" and what I had was used for my kids. And I also remember right after the war coming back to the States and my mother qualifying for what was called "war surplus commodities." She'd send me to the neighborhood store on a Saturday morning with the coupon where I had to stand in line where everybody there knew me so knew that we were struggling. I won't ever forget what it was like.

Just the little stuff doesn't cost much when it's spread out over a period of a couple of months. ​
 
Every human being is worth something. Back in college, there was a homeless man who used to "spare change" me all the time. I always gave him something. My friends started ragging on me about it, saying he probably would just go to the package store and buy liquor and get drunk. I gave him two dollars one time. His eyes bugged out and he went right to the deli and got a sandwich and a soft drink and when he came out he was eating like he hadn't eaten in days. I watched him. It was the best two dollars I ever gave away, and I never doubted the value of helping those in financial distress ever again. If you've got the money to give, and you can, maybe it's the best thing to do. It could really help someone. :love_heart:
 
chic said:
Every human being is worth something. Back in college, there was a homeless man who used to "spare change" me all the time. I always gave him something. My friends started ragging on me about it, saying he probably would just go to the package store and buy liquor and get drunk. I gave him two dollars one time. His eyes bugged out and he went right to the deli and got a sandwich and a soft drink and when he came out he was eating like he hadn't eaten in days. I watched him. It was the best two dollars I ever gave away, and I never doubted the value of helping those in financial distress ever again. If you've got the money to give, and you can, maybe it's the best thing to do. It could really help someone. :love_heart:
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I salute your compassion. ❤️
 
Poverty is as old as man. No cure in sight. It is the reason for the rise of religion believing life is so miserable there must be a reward for it after death.
 
fmdog44 said:
Poverty is as old as man. No cure in sight. It is the reason for the rise of religion believing life is so miserable there must be a reward for it after death.
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I believe we must try to help where we can. I was rescued from the streets, it is incumbent upon me to help others. Paying it forward. The chain of hands may not help everyone, but even one person helped is worthwhile. Who knows what effect the simplest kindness may have?
 
There are really two separate issues here. There is the Hurricane situation - that is a come, do the damage, and leave thing. Yes, it causes devastation and the victims need help. The victims have contributed nothing to their condition and their condition is no harbinger of the future.

Then there is the beggar in the street. The words, "Charity sees the need not the cause" are valid. But the solution comes in two flavors. One is "buy him a sandwich" which does nothing to address the cause an insures he will have to beg for his next meal. On the other hand, organizations like the Salvation Army which do address the cause assists the individual getting off of his dependency on charity.
 

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