Homeless.......

[Bammx2]

Ok...
I just had some twit tell me people are homeless only because they choose to be.

Who agrees with that statement?!

ARE people homeless,dirty,hungry,tired,humiliated just because its fun?!
What about the people who think its a good time for thier kids as well?!?!

Is it really by choice?

 

[terryl965]

Some have been that way for so long that it is a way of life others are there for unforseen circumstances we as alot have no reason to think anybody is there for fun, I mean does anybody like eating out of a trash can no but they do for servival. My 8 yr old goes with me to the park every weekend and we always take some extra food so we can hand it out to those less fortunate than us we are not trying to degrade just help those, at my son's age he understands the difference why can we as the most powerful country out there not see what a 8 year see. Society makes us believe those that have nothing is worthles that is not the case, there are alot of wealthy people that are worthless to society and we put them on a pedastool what a joke.

 

[ginshun]

I honestly think that most homeless people out there are so because they have some sort of mental illness or deficiency. I have no doubt that some are in the situation they are because they are just plain lazy and good for nothing, but I don't think that is the case with the majority.

I am sure that some homeless are normal families who have just fallen on hard times, but I doubt very much that this is the majority either.

 

[Bammx2]

I will admit,I have met 2 people in my life who have chosen to be homeless.

1 was in LA..he was,at one time,a professor of literature.
I asked why and he replied "now they can't find me for alimony payments"!
I have no idea if that was the real reason...but he did admit he was homeless by choice.
The other,I didn't actually meet,but he passed away last october in morecambe here in the UK.
When he passed,they found out he was a nuclear phycisist!
He walked away from the MOD years ago because he wouldn't be part of weapons development.
But on the other hand,I met an architect in columbus ohio who carried his uni papers in an envelope just in case he came across someone who would give him a job.He lived in an abandoned rail car.
I know some people are worthless..but what about those of us who fight and scrape and beg to stay up "in the eyes of society" and end up with nothing?
No....they are NOT homeless by choice.

 

[MA-Caver]

There are those who do choose to be homeless, I know of several where I live right now and perhaps a dozen more where I used to live (Dallas, TX). No not everyone on the street is there by choice. No one (well almost no-one) just ups and decides to live there with no money, clothes or whatever. But there are those who simply want to walk around with every item of their worldly goods on their backs.
It's a sad thing but until society decides to up it's welfare system there "will be poor among you always". Now there are the terminally lazy those who want to mooch off the welfare systems and not have to work and this is why the welfare system is in trouble partly because of those people. Then you have folks who are just simply dealt the bad hand and struggle hard to make their lives go from survival to living and just keep getting knocked down for some reason or another. Mebbe it's them mebbe not.
I feel that we as a society of decent human beings should still care for our poor and homeless. Particularly those with children. Its not the kids fault that their parents are one of the aforementioned types of people. They should be helped regardless.
We who are among those who do have work/jobs/homes/food on the table without begging for it; should be grateful that we are so blessed. There's nothing wrong with being compassionate and it benefits two people at the same time the giver and the reciever.
I've a friend who's father is a billionare <no seriously> and he and I were talking about his father's wealth (as to compare with other "ultra-rich"). Why isn't it so simple to just simply give a million or a hundred grand to someone they meet that is having a hard row? The odds that it will make that someone even lazier or become lazy rather do some good with the money and get their lives back on track like everyone else, the odds are too great and for the (ultra-rich) it's as wasteful to them as for us giving a "wino" fifty bucks because we know they'll just blow it on booze ... equivocally speaking.
There was another discussion about this topic here on MT sometime last year. Check that one out if you will.
Also check out the book "The Story Of B" by Daniel Quinn

By the way...

<snip> My 8 yr old goes with me to the park every weekend and we always take some extra food so we can hand it out to those less fortunate than us

To that I must :asian:

 

[terryl965]

Thank you Ma Caver but was not looking for graditude. we do it becouse it is the right path to take.

Thank You and I bow to your senciety

 

[punisher73]

Working in LE, I have dealt with many homeless people. A very large percentage of them are homeless because they are former vets that have a lot of mental problems, or had mental breakdowns.

I remember hearing a statistic in either soc or psych when we were discussing homeless that the average american is only 2 paychecks away from being homeless themselves. There are some homeless people who just got caught in the wrong circumstance and haven't been able to pull themselves up yet to get back on their feet.

As others have stated they have run across people who are homeless by choice, but I would say those are definately exceptions rather than the rule.

On a side note (and slightly off topic), saw a news special about high class businessman panhandling in big cities dressed as homeless people and some of them made close to $40k by doing so.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Ok...
I just had some twit tell me people are homeless only because they choose to be.

Who agrees with that statement?!

ARE people homeless,dirty,hungry,tired,humiliated just because its fun?!
What about the people who think its a good time for thier kids as well?!?!

Is it really by choice?

It's time I helped alleviate the myth of homelessness. The vast majority of people are not homeless because they choose too, nor are they homeless because of big meanie capitalists. They are homeless because of compassion. Yes, that's what I said. Most homeless are mentally ill.

Before 1962, states had HUGE state hospitals, where large numbers of mentally ill were warehoused. These hospitals were sometimes horrorshows of never ending neglect and mistreatment. The perception grew so bad, that in 1962 the idea that the mentally ill could be better treated in their communities was born. A good idea, except for one problem. We now poured out HUGE waves of mentally ill with the idea they would voluntarily go to community mental health clinics for treatment. Many did, but many more fell through the cracks.

In the 1970's, judges began to reform our mental health laws even further. Making it extremely difficult to place someone in to a facility against their will, unless it was proven conclusively that they were a threat to themselves or others. This created a circumstance where many mentally ill, who could not cope with an unstructured life, were left to fend for themselves. Many of those, including large numbers of schizophrenics who decided that, left to themselves, they didn't want to take medication, severed ties from their families and friends, who were powerless to force them to treatment.

Many of these individuals ended up as the vast sea of homeless we now see in our cities. Mentally ill and chemical dependent who are left to their own devices by a system who's compassion refuses to compell them in to treatment. Their very freedoms have forced them in to a life where they have no control. Ironic isn't it?

As for the homeless vet, that is another myth. While there are those veterans who HAVE ended up homeless, the vast majority of those who claim to be former vets never actually served in the military and are A) simply the mentally ill who have delusions of having been in the military or B) those who have realized they can get more sympathy, assistance and attention by claiming to be homeless vets C) Those who are trying to scam the VA.

This isn't to say that there aren't some who really were veterans, but the statistics are extremely flawed as the vast majority of those who claimed veteran status, aren't.

 

[arnisador]

I'm sure this is true of someone--homeless by choice--but overwhelmingly, poverty and mental illness are the causes, as counterintuitive as that is to some.

As someone alluded to, ask yourself how many paychecks away from being out on the street you are.

 

[evenflow1121]

He is somewhat right, some do choose that way of life.

A lot of them do not however, some are insane, others have just given up hope on anything and just accept this, some are drug addicts and too messed up to realize whats going on.

A very long time ago, I would volunteer at a homeless shelter and there are two things I saw at that shelter that haunt me to this very day: one was homeless guy who had a doctorate in physics and had just lost it, the other were two little brothers must have been around 6 who were there to recieve food along with their parents. I felt so bad for them, still today I do and its been nearly 10 years. Whatever the reason for homelessness, we have the power to feed the world 7 times around, we could certainly provide better care for the needy.

 

[bignick]

Actually, homeless people are homeless because they don't have a home...not a smart *** answer, but no matter what underlying problems a homeless person has, if any....if they had a place to live, they wouldn't be homeless.

A lot of people claim people are homeless for a number of reasons, they are mentally ill, alcoholics, drug addicts, beggars, lazy, so on....

Well, the majority of alcoholics, the majority of unemployed people have homes, the majority of drug addicts live somehwere, the majority of people with mental or physical disabilities have a place to live. Therefore you cannot say that any of these reasons are why people are homeless....they are homeless because they don't have a home...

 

[bignick]

On a side note, I highly recommend the documentary Dark Days for an insightful look at homeless life..

 

[sgtmac_46]

If we were to a find a better way of dealing with the mentally ill, the homeless problem would largely disappear. As it is, it is almost impossible to compell someone to get treatment against their will.

Here's a case example.

A 34 year old female is diagnosed schizophrenic. Her symptoms subside when she takes her medication, but her medication has numerous unpleasant side-effects. After taking her medication for 4 or 5 months, her schizophrenic symptoms disappear. She feels much better, except that she hates the side effects of the medication she takes to control the schizophrenia.

After 6 months without further symptoms, she decides to stop taking the medication. Gradually, her symptoms reappear and she begins manifesting increasingly more bizarre behavior. She begins have delusions and experiencing paranoia. Her family becomes concerned about her wellbeing and attempt to have her taken in to custody for treatment. Because she has done nothing illegal, nor has she done anything overtly threatening to herself or others, she cannot be held against her will.

She becomes more estranged from her family as their response to her bizarre behavior feeds her delusions about persecution from them, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. She then decides she no longer wants to be around them. She leaves. Where does she go? Not being in right state of mind she just takes all the cash she has and catches the next bus to....somewhere.

Again, she still doesn't take her medication. She ends up in a large urban area, and quickly, her cash runs out. She may also become the victim of violent crime, robbery, rape. She doesn't have control of her mental illness, so there is no way of holding down a job. Even government assistance is useless, as she lacks the mental clarity of even apply for it. She ends up on the street.

Her family doesn't even know where she's at. If she's lucky, she gets picked up for a minor violation of the law and a court sees her for what she is, a victim of mental illness caught in a never ending cycle, they remand her to seek treatment. If she's not lucky, she becomes trapped in to the cycle of mental illness and homelessness with no hope of escaping.

The medication begins to control the symptoms. She starts to reclaim a normal life. 6 months later, the symtoms of schizophrenia are gone. The side-effects of the medication are beginning to get to her, and she feels she doesn't need it anyway.

It all starts over again.

 

[Tgace]

http://aspe.hhs.gov/pic/hilites/2-4.htm

On any given night, up to 600,000 Americans are homeless, and of this group, about one-third of the single adults are severely mentally ill. In addition to their mental problems, these people may lack adequate income and social supports, may suffer from alcohol and/or other drug abuse,

 

[Drac]

He is somewhat right, some do choose that way of life.

A lot of them do not however, some are insane, others have just given up hope on anything and just accept this, some are drug addicts and too messed up to realize whats going on.[QUOTE/]

During one of the bad Winters here in the NorthEast we in LE were given a lost of shelters that would offer santuary for the night..Many refused the offer because it meant no drugs or alcohol.

we have the power to feed the world 7 times around, we could certainly provide better care for the needy.

Amen...

 

[MA-Caver]

Okay, fine. Now question is... what can we as a society do to help these people? Or do we really want to just leave them to the state's welfare and mental health professions?

It is probably a sure bet that the release of said mentally ill people from state wards produced some violent crimes and possibly (uncaught) serial murderers.
Way to go huh?

 

[Drac]

It is probably a sure bet that the release of said mentally ill people from state wards produced some violent crimes and possibly (uncaught) serial murderers.Way to go huh?

You are correct Sir..During the budget slashing days of "Reganomics" a lot of the institutions that deal with mental illness were closed and the patients were turned out..They still get their medicine but since there is no one to insure that they take it they don't..
They usually sell it on the streets and with the money they buy and consume alcohol which seems to always aggravate whatever mental condition they have..Now when they get hungry or thirsty they think nothing off commiting acts of violence to obtain money for whatever purposes..The act of just looking or ignoring their requests for money usually results in a violent response..Then we the PD respond and our presence always seems to make them angrier and they fight harder..We take them to the local "psyc ward" where they are observed treated and realeased and it starts all over again..

 

[Bammx2]

Since I am not totally wise to the whole situation,I was presented with another hard cycle to break......

"you need to have a home to get a job...but you need to have a job to get a home".

I had no idea what to say to that......

 

[MA-Caver]

Since I am not totally wise to the whole situation,I was presented with another hard cycle to break......

"you need to have a home to get a job...but you need to have a job to get a home".

I had no idea what to say to that......

The catch 22 goes even further when you try to apply for said job and it requires experience. Need a job to get experience need experience to get a job. Gotta start somewhere... to break the cycle.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Need a job to get experience need experience to get a job. Gotta start somewhere... to break the cycle.

I did a six year Air Force enlistment to break the cycle