Community Chat

[blackhole99]

I don't understand why there are so many people homeless and in need with all the churches and resources we are supposed to be privy to in this country. We have no homeless that are visable in my area.If someone is noticed to be homeless, people are very willing to help them get off the street. Even if the people are mentally ill, they still need to eat and a warm place to stay, I don't believe they will refuse that.

[tsavorite]

Wanted to add more from my own personal experiences.  My brother was in and out of shelters and living on the streets for yrs.  My parents provided a stable home life...nobody was tossed out and so on.  He just wouldn't get a job and when he did he only kept it for a very short time.  Everyone tried to help him but his reasoning/attitudes were not compatible with normal adult living.  He didn't want to start a job at the bottom and work his way up...he would'nt go to college....skills education.  He wanted to do his own thing...one day he just vanished.  As a adult living at home parents can't do much.  Every few yrs he would pop up...show up at my parents home.  They would take him in....feed cloth all medical needs glasses and so on.  They only wanted him to get a job and begin the process of growing up.  The rest of us were all moved out married with families and this cycle continued until he was 45 or so.  Sometimes one of us would spot him somewhere...hadn't seen him in several yrs...I ran into him in the same row at church one day.

I would pick him up at the room he was renting and bring him with me and my 3 little ones at that time.  Thought finally he was getting it together....then poof....disappeared again.  People he rented from had no idea where he was...he'd just left all his possessions and disappeared.  Missed all kinds of family events and deaths.  Drugs/alcohol and living the homeless lifestyle is what he was doing.

You can try and try and do for your kid like my parents did but when they become an adult you really can't do much....unless the court gives you authority over them and deems them mentally incompetent.  He wasn't that...just had different ideas on how and what he was going to do with his life.  

He came home again about 45yrs old....and completely changed this time....except he still wouldn't humble himself and get a job say at fast food place anything just to have some money.  8yrs went by like that....both my parents got sick and passed away....the house was sold...he finally got a job and moved to a apartment.  They left him some money...hopefully he will keep on the straight and narrow.  Is now into fitness and eating healthy last time we talked at a family wedding.  

It can change/turn around but it can never happen also.  There was no reason for my brother to behave this way...truly.  He is not mentally ill....physically injured....he simply never wanted to do things they way the world works....like the majority of us choose to do. Sleeping under bridges...eating out of dumpsters....shelter living didn't bother him enough to make him change.  I just hope/pray he never goes back.

[Noel7]

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@blackhole99 wrote:

I don't understand why there are so many people homeless and in need with all the churches and resources we are supposed to be privy to in this country. We have no homeless that are visable in my area.If someone is noticed to be homeless, people are very willing to help them get off the street. Even if the people are mentally ill, they still need to eat and a warm place to stay, I don't believe they will refuse that.

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@blackhole99

You might want to read the posts on this line.  Several people have told what their communities are doing and how they are getting housing for the homeless.

There is also information on the thousands and thousands of homeless American vets on the streets with PTSD and head injuries.

[Noel7]

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@dex wrote:

@AngusandBuddhasMom I don't blame anyone for the homeless problem.Perhaps though if we knew the Who,what,where or why,there might be a path to a solution.I am concerned that we have an ever increasing homeless population in my area and a shortage of funds and affordable places to house them.

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@dex

There is A LOT of information on this line about who is homeless and why.  Also, what is being done about it.  In my city, they ARE getting housing and help for those who will only live on the streets.

There is a wealth of stories and information on this topic.

[Oznell]

tsavorite, your family story strikes so many chords with other families.  Good of you to share it.  I hope your brother makes it.

[dex]

When I was a teen runaway homelessness wasn't tolerated.They could put you in jail for vagrancy.The homeless went into shelters or had assistance to rent those horrid hotels in the rough areas.I stayed at a Hare Krishna temple in Vancouver.That was an adventure.We had to go out during the days with flowers to give to people that donated and we sang the Krishna song.

[RainCityWoman]

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@Financialgrl wrote:

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@SunValley wrote:

I had this experience one summer when I spent 8 weeks working in downtown Seattle. Places with mild climates will attract the homeless. I know some of these folks are mentally ill, which adds to the unpredictability of the encounters. i am not heartless or unsympathetic, but the scammers and threat of aggressive behavior make me avoid panhandlers too. One man approached me immediately and loudly demanded money. It was almost a mugging. Some gentlemen walking by came to my aid, but having to walk through this gauntlet twice daily to get to the office was intimidating.

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Seattle is where I encountered it.  Was going on a cruise and ship was to go out of there.  We flew out a few days before to see the city.  One area was in a parklike setting and they were just hanging around there and yes, there were cops on bikes that would come thru every once in awhile to scatter them - but as soon as they were gone, they'd be back. 

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Yep, we have them in Seattle, and we now have tons of them all over the city with old junkyard motor homes and campers living in our neighborhoods, throwing their trash, human waste, and hypodermic needles to the curbs where our children walk to get to schools, plus stealing electricity and water from homes they are parked near, trespassing on private property, and stealing. They are ticketed after 3 days if they are reported, but all they do is move one block from where they were and the process begins again.  The city council solution is proposing to make it no longer a priority of police to ticket them. Personally, I'd rather the city purchase some vacant land with sanitary facilities and policing for them to park. My taxes would be better spent and my neighborhood would be cleaner and safer.  I too think that most cities with milder climates seem to have more homeless. Is there a huge homeless problem in Havre, Montana or Buffalo, New York. What about the Great Lakes region. I also think some cities offer the attraction of free health clinics and other social services than others.  I don't know the answer here. Some of these people should be in jail for dealing and other crimes; some should be in mental institutions, and some may actually want help and want to change. 

[sunshine 919]

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@GSPgirl wrote:

This is my hometown and I’m saddened about this.  I remember as a teen in the 70’s my mom didn’t want me taking the bus to the city.  Why wouldn’t they have a bad homeless problem?  They have the most beautiful weather.  The hepatitis problem is horrible and I imagine people don’t want to go to Horton Plaza.  It is a beautiful mall that has lost Nordstrom and other stores.  My hometown used to be a beautiful military town where you felt you knew one another.  I went to the high school where  Cameron Crowe wrote Fast Times at Ridgemont High and I rode my bike to Pacific Beach.  We were always warned that San Diego would become the next LA and it has.  Smog, horrible traffic and too many people.  I have not been there recently, but when I do go home I will avoid downtown.  

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I grew up there too.  I remember Horton Plaza before the condos and everything.  It use to be a nice grassy area where people would catch the bus.  It was always very pleasant.  I just talked to my friend who lives there and she said there are tent cities everywhere.  She said I would not recognize it now.   All the money in San Diego you would think they would be way ahead  of the game with homeless shelters.  I have heard they have to sanitize  sidewalks it is so bad.

[sunshine 919]

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@blackhole99 wrote:

I don't understand why there are so many people homeless and in need with all the churches and resources we are supposed to be privy to in this country. We have no homeless that are visable in my area.If someone is noticed to be homeless, people are very willing to help them get off the street. Even if the people are mentally ill, they still need to eat and a warm place to stay, I don't believe they will refuse that.

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Some people live pay check to pay check, If they get laid off or something they have no money saved to pay bills until they can get on their feet.  It is sad.  Years ago there were plenty of jobs, people would have the same job for 20, 30 years and retire with a pension.  There were also unions to protect jobs.  There are states that are "right to work states" which means employers can do anything and get away with it.  It is just a mess now.

[Noel7]

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Whatnow wrote:

When I was a teen runaway homelessness wasn't tolerated.They could put you in jail for vagrancy.The homeless went into shelters or had assistance to rent those horrid hotels in the rough areas.I stayed at a Hare Krishna temple in Vancouver.That was an adventure.We had to go out during the days with flowers to give to people that donated and we sang the Krishna song.

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@dex

Memories!    I can still sing it:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rame

Rama Rama Hare Hare

We used to go to their parades in Golden Gate park.

I'm sorry for what you went through @dex