The saddest thing

chic

chic

SF VIP
Location
U.S.
I saw something really sad yesterday as I was driving on the highway. A young man in shorts and tee shirt (significant because it's way too cold for that now) was holding a sign which read he was part of a homeless family and he needed work. I've never seen anything like this in my life and don't know if he was for real or not, but the very thought that he might be bothers me.

When I was a kid I only saw things like this in Three Stooges shorts, which turned an irreverantly funny spin on the great Depression, but never in real life. America had seemed to make such progress as respected world power providing a strong middle class rewarding and successful lives. Now, I wonder what has happened to all this especially when experts say children will not have better lives than their parents. What is the solution to this problem?
 

It's all crashed down again, worse than the Great Depression (or at least fairly close), and it isn't as funny as it was in those 3 Stooges shorts.

Now it's just sad - an everyday occurrence.

What is the solution? I'm no wise man, but I would think it's a very complicated one involving education, housing, government and social mores.
 
We have a lot of safety nets and people in this situation should be helped to utilize them...
 

I just read there are 600 homeless children in Palatka, FL. With 3,880 households and a median income of 18,000 in 7.5 sq miles, these are the only the identified children. I was talking with a woman at a MD office one day, who told me she grew up homeless, in the woods of that area. I have such difficulty digesting this. That this number of children drop through the cracks. Why?
 
Don't know about the Three Stooges shorts but homeless people in the street/highway holding signs wanting work or saying they will work for food is nothing new here, unfortunately. That's been going on for decades - way before this current economy. Chic, I'm surprised you've never seen it.
 
Last edited:
Ralphy1 said:
We have a lot of safety nets and people in this situation should be helped to utilize them...
Click to expand...

Till recent I believed so too, l come to understand it's gotten way more complex. Considering all the working class who have become displaced due to rising cost of basics and still some don't meet guidelines to receive help, can't find extra work. Mentally ill funding was cut drastically by our local gov, now that these helpless folks are way more of burden and eyesore to many areas the gov is now doing backflips to get money into the budget to at lest fund mental health issues. We in this rather top rated retirement/tourist area have a serious homelessness problem. Even worse worse here on the news just yesterday reporter was talking about how there's a fight locally to decriminalize the homeless, how sad is that being arrested for not having the means to find a place to rest your head.
 
No one person can save the world. It's been tried without success. Like the poster already has stated, there is help for those who ask for it. I have pulled up along side several homeless looking for a handout and offered them a ride to a shelter. I have also offered to take them to Burger King after hours and get them some food, but most have turned me down. I would say that out of a 100 people that I have offered to help, maybe 25 have accepted.

I can remember taking a woman and her two children that I found in an old car parked along the highway to a shelter for food, showers, a change of clothes and a bed for two nights. Two weeks later, I came across them again. I asked her that I thought you told me that you had a sister nearby that was going to take you in when she returned home from vacation? She confessed that she was lying and needed to get back home and her brother said he would help her. I asked her for his phone number, so I could verify her story. It turned out to be true. I then asked her what was keeping her from getting home. She said that she needed $20.00 for gas. That sounded about right to me because I saw that she had an empty tank and I knew how far she had to travel, so I got her the gas. I never saw her after that, but I did get a card from her thanking me. I hope that her and the kids did OK. They were all very nice and respectful and probably a little afraid. The little girl has asked me if I was going to put them in jail. The money came from my church. I called the Pastor and asked if he would give her the money from our endowment fund, which we use for almost any kind of emergency in the community.

There are a lot of people out there that need help. I read stories all the time about people that don't give because they think every one of them drives a Mercedes and lives in a half million dollar home. I can tell you that isn't always the case, but I don't deny that maybe some do.
 
I've seen homeless people like that with signs since I was a child Chic, surprised too that you haven't seen any. Some are legitimate and some are scammers.
 
Seen Asking for Help

We began seeing many such folks in the lates '80s and on, as we went about the Phoenix area. Prior to that, (we got there in '79) hardly ever saw other than the homeless living on the grass grounds in front of the Capitol Complex downtown. Many asking for money developed most original ideas and locations. Once, one of the local T-V stations, wanting to one-up the others, chose a couple of people to do a few news stories, picked them from freeway on and off ramp locations.

They paid these folks to tell their stories. One guy, amazingly adept, sold his own story to another station, claiming the first had bribed him and coached him in presenting his predicament! The guy was a MASTER! Must have had a PHD! City of Phoenix, acting on citizen complaints, began arresting the panhandlers, using existing ordinances, then adding new ones. All in all, a rather enlightening time, that "Reagan Recession"! imp
 
We can all come up with anecdotal stories about who's scamming, who's really in need it ibn no way negates the struggles of some of those who find themselves in less favorable circumstances. Nice some care, sad others see many of these people through a more wide sweeping singlur view. I look for facts and real info about what's going on in my area, so I assure you there's no one upmanship going on with what is occurring around this area: Plus we only have one real news station. Basically there's no one end all answer to cause some homeless are in fact responsible for their situation, but it's irresponsible to lump most in that category. Ok trying to get all this typed on a two by four. Screen. I'm worn out.
 
I live in a area of the world (Tasmania) which one would call reasonably prosperous but job situations are tightening and people who have worked all their lives and still have mortgage's and kids still at school are finding themselves out of work and either have to move away interstate or rely on social services until they can find something else here. and yes, we do have homeless people, some of these are teenagers with home and or drug problems and some have mental issues and this is becoming a more complex problem - some homeless don't want help and others cannot get it - housing is harder to achieve with high rents - living expenses have risen sharply - it is getting harder for everyone except I guess for the rich.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I've seen homeless people like that with signs since I was a child Chic, surprised too that you haven't seen any. Some are legitimate and some are scammers.
Click to expand...

I've absolutely never seen homeless families in my life. I live in a suburban area around lots of institutions of higher learning, hospitals, businesses and churches. Perhaps those things have helped whatever homeless families there might have been to keep their heads above water.

I'm aware that some peple are scammers, serial killers, etc. I just felt if this man was legit, it was a terribly sad thing to see while feeling impotent to help his situation. Who wants to think of homeless children in the cold north at this time of year. I hope he finds employment or moves south for the sake of his family. Though there are many safety nets to assist such people, not everyone qualifies for assistance. He was too clean to have been homeless for long. Hope he's okay.
 
The big issue is that there is help available for these people. There are homeless shelters and feeding facilities, food banks and counseling. Many of the homeless "choose" to be homeless because they do not want to obey the rules that are a necessity to keep these places running smoothly. They don't want to eat a hot meal at the Salvation Army when they can panhandle to get booze. This isn't a situation like you find in Mogadishu or Bangladesh or the horrible refugee camps in Africa where there ISN'T any help available to people. On the other hand, some people don't want to be helped; they just want to keep going their way.

Years ago, my daughter and I tried to help a young couple whose baby needed orthopedic surgery. We put them together with the Shriners Hospital people and arranged to get them to the hospital for the baby's surgery. They cancelled at the last minute -- why? Because there was no guarantee that they'd be able to see their soap operas while the baby was in the hospital. What can you do to help people like that?

And then there are the good stories. My daughter got a knock at the door about 10 p.m. one night. It was a man who lived in the neighborhood that they only knew to nod to asking for money for diapers and formula for his baby and promising to pay it back. My daughter gave him a box of her baby's diapers and money for some formula, being pretty sure she'd never be repaid and not even sure that it WAS for the baby and not booze or drugs. But, wonder of wonders, two weeks later, he was at the door with a replacement box of diapers and the money. He was most insistent about paying it back.
 
Again funding had been removed from these programs yes some don't want the help true it doesn't apply to all not all of the people in these situations seeking handouts I've seen many benefit who turned around and then went on to do great things with their lives some who go on to then pay it forward. Those not wanting help more often than blur have mental issues, many are vets. Remember them when we flag wave answer condisend
 
I've absolutely never seen homeless families in my life. I live in a suburban area around lots of institutions of higher learning, hospitals, businesses and churches. Perhaps those things have helped whatever homeless families there might have been to keep their heads above water.
Click to expand...

I find it hard to believe you’re never seen homeless people, chic. Regardless of where you live, unless you’ve been completely isolated all your life and never gone anywhere, you’ve seen homeless people. They often don‘t carry signs advertising their situation, but I guarantee if you’ve ever been to a store, restaurant, parked in a parking lot, been to a church, hospital, bank, library, office building or any number of other places you have seen homeless people.
 
Chic, having volunteered at shelters, unfortunately, I've encountered both. Its not pretty. Also, some shelters get so overcrowded they do have to turn people eleven families away. The conditions at some of the more urban shelters for some makes the street a better alternative at times. Harm can and does come to adults and children in some of the overburdened facilities at times. Please understand i'm not trying to make excuses for those who cause their situation to come about, I just wish to provide more info as there's quite abit of misinformation about homelessness which continues to float about. I'm not even asking people to support their cause I just wish people would consider seeing their fellow humans as just that and consider we don't always know the circumstances and not to be quick to judge.
 
http://homelessresourcenetwork.org/index.php/homelessness101/homelessness-causes/

Factors contributing to Homelessness
There are many factors that contribute to an individual or family becoming homeless. See the list below to see a few.



[custom_list type=”dot”]

Automobile related – Broken down car, no insurance, tickets, etc.
Decline in Public Assistance – Current TANF benefits and food stamps combined. are below the poverty level in every state; in fact, the median TANF benefit for a family of three is approximately one-third of the poverty level. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, welfare does not provide relief from poverty.
Divorce – Divorce often leaves one of the spouses homeless. Most often it’s the father, but sometimes it’s the mother and children or everyone involved.
Domestic Violence – Battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness.
Drug and Alcohol related problems – Rates of alcohol and drug abuse are disproportionately high among the population without homes.
Illness – For families and individuals struggling to pay the rent, a serious illness or disability can start a downward spiral into homelessness, beginning with a lost job, depletion of savings to pay for care, and eventual eviction.
Job loss – No income to pay rent.
Lack of affordable housing- The lack of affordable housing has lead to high rent burdens (rents which absorb a high proportion of income), overcrowding, and substandard housing.
Lack of child support – In families where child support is ordered but not paid, the decrease in income can lead to an inability to pay rent, utilities, or both.
Low wages – Declining wages have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent
Mental Illness – Approximately 20-25% of single adult people experiencing homelessness suffer from some form of severe and persistent mental illness.
Natural Disaster/Fire – Situations where due to chance a fire, tornado, flood or hurricane renders housing inhabitable.
Physical Disabilities – Disabled individuals may be unable to work or find appropriate employment. For those receiving SSI, they often struggle to obtain and maintain stable housing.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – This disorder is common with veterans and those that have been in violent situations. It can make it difficult to have a stable life.
Poverty – Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.
Roommates – When one or more roommates fall through with their end of the bargain that can be a reason for others to lose their housing.
Severe Depression – Can make it impossible for an individual to maintain a stable life.
Tragedy – It is surprising how many people just quit functioning because their families died or were killed. Sometimes recently, but other times years ago.
[/custom_list]



While it can be difficult to identify a singular cause of homelessness, here is a chart of self-identified causes that individuals experiencing homelessness in the Chattahoochee Valley reported at the 2010 PIT count.



Share this:
EmailPrintFacebook76
Back to top
MobileDesktop
All content Copyright Homeless Resource Network
And now I'm off to something light like reading a book. Wishing you and yours happy safe day.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top