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Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,136
Registered: ‎06-25-2018

i can't understand why we have such a problem with the homeless in this nation.  why do pople work and still endup homeless?  i know many people make bad choices but no one should be working and unable to met the basicneeds of life.

 

i know that here in uttah, we are having a problem because investors are buying up home and then building houses that no one can afford to rent.

 

they have tried and tried to get my home and i have told them if they bother me again, i will file a harassement charge..  no seems to mean that we will try harder to get you to sell..ahomethat sold for $7,000 in 1958 now cost ovwer 400,000.00

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,012
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

The homeless problem is terrible in CA.  They are going to put some portables near my home so the homeless can shower and, I guess, room for some to stay overnight.  The police sure have a lot of extra work with calls that homeless are sleeping in doorways of restaurants and various businesses.  Guess the police just come by and ask them to move along.   Some cause a disturbance and are picked up.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,917
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Seattle and Tacoma have a huge problem that is forever growing.Canada has the same problem.One thing for sure many of the homeless have addiction problems and mental heath problems too.In Seattle they find places for some to live but the people prefer the street in many cases.It is very unsanitary and if you ever see the mess they create you know it will bring in mice and rats.They use the streets as their toilets and on a sunny day pioneer square smells like urine..My son took his wife to see the city and she was appalled.They don’t have that much of an issue in Oklahoma ....yet.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 30,238
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

@shortbreadlover  I totally agree with you.  When I visit my daughter in Denver, I see people sleeping in the meredian (divider) between the roads!

 

She lives right in the heart of the city in a part that's very 'artsy' and being revitalized.  It's beautiful but (like in so many cities) there is a dividing line between these homeless people and 'others'.

 

I remember the TV said they'd just built something like 5 or 6  thousand beds something and they could use many times more than that (sorry, driving me crazy I can't remember the exact amount)....I'll look it up when I get a chance.

 

Anyway, it's just crazy.  So I usually go there for Thanksgiving.  Not just then, but when she makes a big meal for her and her boyfriend, he packs up the food (all of it) and walks a few blocks down and hands out the food to the homeless.  She does that all of the time.

 

She even did that when she was a little girl living at home.  If there was someone on the side of the road, she'd have me order hamburgers for them and take them to these people.

 

Where we live (in Northern Va) you don't see homeless anywhere.  I remember once seeing a man playing a trumpet with his case open.  I thought, "When I come out of the store, I'll go over and give him money".  He was really good.  When I came out, he was gone.  Guess the cops chased him away.

 

It's extremely expensive to live in Fairfax County, Va.  It's one of the most expensive places in the US (among them).  People come here and they flip when they find out how expensive it is.  These people were really hurting though when the government shut down because most here are in some way employed or affected (beltway bandits they're called) by the Federal government.  They eventually got paid all of their money, but for awhile they got to see how the other half live/or rather struggle.

 

I saw people in resturants working as waiters, etc who had regular jobs but were hurting for money because most people live right up and beyond what they make.  It's downright crazy how over-extended people are!

 

I think most of us Boomers understood/understand if you don't have it, don't spend it....you "ain't really got it".  RIGHT?

 

Phew!  Now I'm worked up.  I swear I love this country so freaking much but we do have problems, major/big problems.  

 

Yet these people are fighting about 'stuff' and there are people who are really hurting.

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,476
Registered: ‎06-27-2010

Re: homeless in america

[ Edited ]

 

              It’s far more complex than it might seem at face value.   I highly recommend a compelling 2013 documentary, “American Winter,” that illustrates and explains the issues involved.  

 

             I’ve seen the circumstances up close and personal for years, working with free clinics (community health care) and other groups...  and I’ve learned it can happen to any of us and it’s not all about people spending their money irresponsibly.  

 

             It’s not all about being overextended because of “wants” but, rather, it’s about not having the money to cover basic needs.

 

 

“Finally, a movie has arrived that shows the precariousness of the US economy for the majority of Americans, refusing to distinguish between a deserving and non-deserving poor.”

“...A very vivid snapshot of what life was like for many formerly middle-class families. Families that, amid the deepest valley of the economic downturn, were having trouble keeping it all together."

 

http://www.americanwinterfilm.com/home.html

 

Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,605
Registered: ‎07-11-2010

Why do people work and still end up homeless? Because the cost of living keeps rising with no end in sight. Many people work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Minimum wage keeps increasing, so employers raise their prices to the the consumers to compensate for it.

 

DH and I are retired and on SS. Our rent is going up $100 May 1st. That will put our rent cost at 55% of our monthly income. We qualify for HUD/Section 8, but the waiting list is years long. In the meantime, there is no place cheaper for us to move to unless we move out of state. That costs a lot of money too. 

 

I don't know what the answer is. Smiley Sad 

I promise to remind myself every day that I am strong, courageous, and resilient.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,296
Registered: ‎09-18-2010

I think there are a variety of reasons for homelessness. When I had my bout with a serious illness, I couldn't work. If I had been single, I'd have had to have moved in with my parents. Now, if my parents were deceased, and I hadn't been married, I don't know what I'd have done. I could have wound up homeless myself.

 

Here, we have a group of people who work with our homeless, they build them micro cabins. A big church is involved. They help the homeless get to work, as most of the folks are down on their luck for many different reasons and just need some help- a hand up. I like donating to them, because I know my money is being well spent.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,136
Registered: ‎06-25-2018

i wish i had some anweres too.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,707
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Excerpt from:   https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-re...

 

Homelessness in America

 

A total of 552,830 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2018. This number represents 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States. HUD’s Annual Point-in-Time Count, the only nation-wide survey of homeless people, provides this data and other useful statistics.

 

Most people experiencing homelessness are individuals (67 percent). The remainder (33 percent) are people in families with children. Public policy has put a focus on additional subpopulations.

 

One of the subpopulations is youth who are under the age of 25 and living on their own (without parents or children). This group is 7 percent of the total homeless population. In recent years, coordinated efforts at all levels of government have also targeted veterans (7 percent of the total homeless population) and chronically homeless people (18 percent). This last group consists of people with disabilities who have been homeless for an extended period of time or repeatedly. 

The eyes through which you see others may be the same as how they see you.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,930
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: homeless in america

[ Edited ]

One problem is the low pay some get now. The cannot afford to pay the rent.

I also know a lot of the homeless are sick. They don't want to be around regular people. They don't like being told what or when to do something is reason why they stay out of the shelters unless it's really cold. Some want to be secluded.  A whole list of health issues keeps some on the streets with no help available.