topic Helping the Homeless in Community Chat

Helping the Homeless

MKR14 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 15:55:22 GMT

Due to the homeless in our area that need help -but are not being found to help- the community started a helpful way to keep them warm. In our East Side Park entrance there are used coats, hats, and gloves hooked on the entrance with a sign that says FREE. That way if the homeless are proud people they can be warmer during this freezing weather.

This made me cry when I saw what our city has done. I donate to anyone that I can help if I find out they need food etc. We have several places to go for free warm meal and a Food Pantry that helps those needing it.

We are so busy in our own lives sometimes it takes something like the display of used coats hanging up and the Free Sign to bring us to tears.

If I ever won the Lottery the very first thing on my list is a beautiful hotel in my hometown for the homeless. Then building a large food pantry with an unlimited stock of food for those who need it.

I am sure you all help in your own way and my message is to remind us how fortunate we all are.

Re: Helping the Homeless

dex — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:04:24 GMT

A woman in Canada built a small stand in her yard.She had food,clothing and small necessities.She made a sign”take what you need.Leave what you can”I a.ways donate to her stand when I visit the area.

Re: Helping the Homeless

deepwaterdotter — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:06:26 GMT

And you could employ some of the homeless folks to work in the hotel and food pantry.

Re: Helping the Homeless

Carmie — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:21:51 GMT

There is a lady in my area who knits scarves, hats and mittens. She hangs them on trees in the park where the homeless hang out. They are free for the taking.

Have you every heard of blessing boxes? Home owners have a small stand in their yard where they place canned good and non perishables. Anyone can take what they need. Many times it is not the homeless, but people who ran out of money before the month ended who use these items.

If I won the lottery, i’d set up a shelter for women. Our area has shelters for women with children and men. The shelters for single women are scarce. My DH buys food for women who hang around outside where he works part time. They do not beg, they just have no where to go. He has been moved by the fact that they share what they get among themselves and they are so very grateful.

Re: Helping the Homeless

CelticCrafter — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:32:48 GMT

I have a family member that is involved with an organization that helps the homeless, hungry, those in shelters and those that just need a little bit of help.

They will take practically anything someone is willing to donate.

My husband is a couponer and sometimes with double coupons, loyalty cards and sales there are a lot of personal care items that are almost free.

He will put it in a box and when it's full, drop it off to her.

Did it recently and another family member felt it was okay to go through it and take what they wanted because it was being given away anyway. Really? This person has more money than they know what to do with.

Something that was being done with a good heart turned into a you know what show.

Re: Helping the Homeless

NicksmomESQ — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:44:33 GMT

Hunger & homelessness have always driven me crazy!! I’m very involved in my local food bank.I write them generous checks several times a year.At my suggestion a couple of years ago they set aside a room for clothing donations.

When people come to the facility for food they also have the option of picking up clothing for their families.It’s become very successful. Lots of times people drop of clothing their kids have outgrown as they select new items.

Nothing is more satisfying than to see someone leave with food & clothing. Knowing that they can provide for their families because of the generosity of the community is a wonderful feeling.

Several of the people we’ve helped have been able to move on & provide for themselves & their families. They’re now paying it forward with their time & money.

Re: Helping the Homeless

cherry — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:50:17 GMT

Our church ,along with others in my town ,fosters the homeless once a year. They all take it in turn, and so the guys don't have to stay in a shelter, very often

They are guys trying to get enough together ,to rent a place of their own. They all have jobs ,and come to the churches clean and showered. We feed them, and offer them new items like socks and pillows etc, and they are driven to another church ,in the morning, that gives them breakfast, and gets them to work

Re: Helping the Homeless

dex — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:54:08 GMT

@NicksmomESQ That is a really beautiful story.I love that some of those who were helped eventually came back to give when they were able.It is really nice to think that some people were able to get beyond the hardships and turn their lives around to prosper.

Re: Helping the Homeless

OKPrincess — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:55:53 GMT

When my mom died we donated her many many clothes to the clothes closet at her large church located downtown . There are many homeless or less fortunate people who go to the clothes closet to get clothing. The church has a food pantry and also a benevolent committee to help with bills. If we all do a small part in our own communities what a wonderful world we would have. I'm just as passionate about needy people as I am about abused and neglected animals.

Re: Helping the Homeless

SeaMaiden — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:04:50 GMT

Helping the homeless is one thing... giving them handouts with no incentives to better themselves and live on the streets forever is another.

Here in Seattle we have a new name for Seattle..." FREE ATLE"... The city has opened it's doors for homeless people to come here and get free everything.... food.. clothes.... even building them boxes to live in. No incentive for these people to get out of homelessness... just live off of the tax payer who is footing the bill. More and more homeless camps are cropping up all over the city... dirty places needles everywhere... close to homes and schools....they do not clean up after themselves at all.

I am all for helping the homeless get back on their feet and become productive people in society. But in FREE ATLE, this so called handout help is only exasperating the problem.

Re: Helping the Homeless

cherry — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:12:25 GMT

It greatly upset me to see what was done to the homeless in Chicago. All of their possessions were loaded into garbage trucks and carried off , in this terrible, bitter ,cold.They now have nothing at all, not even a change of clothes.

One small boy was handing out back packs filled with blankets and he was so upset, when he saw the way they were treated

Many , many of these people ,are mentally ill, and can't function, in a normal way

They need looking after, and help just getting through another day

The Capuchins in Detroit ,feed them daily, and house as many as possible in their shelters. They train some to work in their bakery. Others ,they just do what they can to help them.

Re: Helping the Homeless

suzyQ3 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:23:36 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
Helping the homeless is one thing... giving them handouts with no incentives to better themselves and live on the streets forever is another.

Here in Seattle we have a new name for Seattle..." FREE ATLE"... The city has opened it's doors for homeless people to come here and get free everything.... food.. clothes.... even building them boxes to live in. No incentive for these people to get out of homelessness... just live off of the tax payer who is footing the bill. More and more homeless camps are cropping up all over the city... dirty places needles everywhere... close to homes and schools....they do not clean up after themselves at all.

I am all for helping the homeless get back on their feet and become productive people in society. But in FREE ATLE, this so called handout help is only exasperating the problem.

@SeaMaiden, yours is, IMO, a cruel and actually short-sighted opinion. Of course we should do more to mainstream the homeless.

But meanwhile, they are often ill and very hungry. You can't rehabilitate without first adressing their condition. I thought that our country believed in compassion and helping those who need help, not shaming them as lazy ne-er do wells.

I have never in my life been hungry because I had no food. I have always had a roof over me. But I know darn well that but for the grace....you know the saying. So I try my best to understand what if feels like to be walk in someone else's shoes (or lack thereof).

I think we need to hold on to our principles now more than ever.

Re: Helping the Homeless

151949 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:37:44 GMT

@SeaMaiden Clearly you have very little understanding about how people end up on the streets. For many, yes, it is a drug or alcohol issue. But for so many, especially our vets, it is a mental illness issue. Some of the homeless who come to the shelters are so severely mentally ill we can't even understand them when they try to talk to us.They can't even put together a sentence - how on earth are they going to be trained to get a job? Then there are issues like abandonment - women with a few small children and the husbands desert them. Childcare is too expensive when you are only making minimum wage, it uses up your entire pay. They can't find the father - what can they do? Or woman who find the husband sexually abusing their children - they take the kids and leave but now what do they do? You can't stay in shelters indefinitely. And , in my area, the landlords will let the poor rent homes or apartments for 9 months of the year but come Jan, Feb & march they boot them out because they can get triple the rent from snowbirds.So they have to go live in their car for 3 months every year, right in the worst of winter.

I really wish some people would go out into the world and become knowledgeable on the subject before they start giving their opinions about how we should "help" the homeless.

Re: Helping the Homeless

RainyDayGal — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:46:02 GMT

SeaMaiden is correct. Seattle is a freaking mess! They have thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at the problem, but it is only getting worse. Of course there are people that end up that way through no fault of their own. But there are people that come from other states because of the climate and they know they will get so many free things in Seattle. There are also those that choose to be homeless. Yup, they choose it. I've read the interviews from those people. They like it that way.

The city is disgusting and turning into a big, unsafe pile of filth and drug addicts. Until those people want help, throwing money at the problem is not the solution.

It's not lack of compassion. It's understanding that spending hundreds of millions of dollars is not working, and something different needs to be done.

Re: Helping the Homeless

chrystaltree — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 19:29:52 GMT

Wow, I never knew that Seattle had a balmy, tropical climate.

Re: Helping the Homeless

RainyDayGal — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 19:36:13 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
Wow, I never knew that Seattle had a balmy, tropical climate.

Seattle's temperature is pleasant enough. Yes, it gets cold in the winter but it's not piled up in snow or below freezing many days. Not saying cold isn't unpleasant. But a lot of the homeless refuse to even seek the shelter that is offered. But most of the year it is more than liveable. Also, money is being diverted from other much needed funds (think elderly) to "help" with the homeless.

Re: Helping the Homeless

missy1 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 19:45:49 GMT

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=08f_1514326890

I posted this in another thread. I couldn't believe all the homeless people in our own country. A drone took footage of downtown LA recently.

Re: Helping the Homeless

Noel7 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 19:57:42 GMT

San Francisco has been taking care of our people for years, I am so proud of this city. Glide Memorial church serves thousands of meals daily to anyone who needs to eat, several smaller organizations do the same.

We have vans that scour the city for the homeless when it rains or is cold, they pick them up and take them to shelters.

We have renovated downtown hotels where they can stay while receiving social services help.

There are "stores" to get free clothing and shoes, and The City provides free medical care for anyone in need.

Re: Helping the Homeless

Noel7 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 20:01:05 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
Helping the homeless is one thing... giving them handouts with no incentives to better themselves and live on the streets forever is another.

Here in Seattle we have a new name for Seattle..." FREE ATLE"... The city has opened it's doors for homeless people to come here and get free everything.... food.. clothes.... even building them boxes to live in. No incentive for these people to get out of homelessness... just live off of the tax payer who is footing the bill. More and more homeless camps are cropping up all over the city... dirty places needles everywhere... close to homes and schools....they do not clean up after themselves at all.

I am all for helping the homeless get back on their feet and become productive people in society. But in FREE ATLE, this so called handout help is only exasperating the problem.

@SeaMaiden

The point that's missing is that most of the homeless are in no shape to care for themselves. 25% are severely mentally ill, many are our veterans suffering from PTSD. Every night in the US, 40,000 vets are sleeping on the streets.

Re: Helping the Homeless

Noel7 — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 20:07:01 GMT

@RedConvertibleGirl wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
Wow, I never knew that Seattle had a balmy, tropical climate.

Seattle's temperature is pleasant enough. Yes, it gets cold in the winter but it's not piled up in snow or below freezing many days. Not saying cold isn't unpleasant. But a lot of the homeless refuse to even seek the shelter that is offered. But most of the year it is more than liveable. Also, money is being diverted from other much needed funds (think elderly) to "help" with the homeless.

Seattle is known for rain, rain, rain. I lived there for a time.

A little difficult living on the street and functioning in the rain.

"Seattle averages 37.49 inches of precipitation a year, with the vast majority falling as rain instead of snow."

Seattle weather blog.