Homeless People

I was reading the New York Times supplement the other night when I noticed on article. It is about the homeless people that the government is having a problem with. Some of those homeless would be staying by the curb and sleep on the sidewalks and some stay in beaches overnight. The beaches imposed entrance tickets so anyone who enters has to buy a ticket. They so issued an ordinance making it illegal to sit on the curb (this is weird to me).

And if you think it is Metro Manila I'm talking about then you are mistaken. That news item is about the homeless people in Hawaii, particularly in Waikiki. It was really surprising to me because never did it cross my mind that the great America have homeless people too.

 

@Corie Henson 2012, 612,000 homeless estimated in America. An enormous number considering the fluidity of movement, tremendous base of services performed, requiring employment, etc. Whether factual or not, many homeless are such through choice. Back when we lived outside Phoenix, one news group did an extensive poll, stopping at many of the homeless "hanging out places", where they were asking for money. Several revealed that they were taking in as much as $100 per day! More than I made, working my "ass off". After the expose, the City Council decided to get rid of the "begging places", making it illegal to seek money thusly. What followed was a veritable war of ideologies: the steadfast hardliners demanding the homeless seek work, the "bleeding heart" liberals proclaiming we shamefully have neglected that segment of local society. Soon, the beggars were back.

AFAIConcerned, I could care less about their presence on street corners and freeway ramps. They brave 120 degree heat hoping some soul will give them a few bucks. Most seem to have cigarettes, which is counter-productive, IMO, in today's society. If I were begging, I would try to appeal by looking as forlorn and downtrodden as possible. One guy we pass daily has a sign held up: "Won't Lie" I need a beer. God bless!"

I've seen folks hand him money. Sh!t, when my wife and I became destitute in 1982, I being sent home from the highest paying job I had ever held, laid off, I went home dumbfounded. It was December 16, my wife's birthday! They couldn't have engineered THAT, could they? My Mother happened to be visiting from Chicago. She was speechless. My wife cried. In swore. Because I had just recently completed machine work which saved the company $1.3 million a year. Such compassion! Such employee appreciation. Three months later we were living up in the woods. See other thread.

 

There are so many reasons why a person becomes homeless - it makes me so sad to see
If they 'need' a beer or a ciggie, it matters not to me - I would need one too in their situation
Over here we have had such heart-breaking sights - some are ex service men, the marriage has failed and there
is little help for them. Age doesn't matter either seen many senior citizens. If I ruled the world everyone would have a home
on one condition ...................... they would have to cherish it ................

 

I feel for some and others choose it because they do have options just don't want to play by the rules and use them.

You could give some a place to live and in a month it would be trashed and everything in it sold to buy drugs or alcohol.

 

Homelessness. It's probably the most misunderstood topic that anyone could come up with, which, is why I like it!
After spending most of my Christian career (as opposed to secular careers) in the home missions field I know I could write a book or two about the plight of the homeless and still not cover everything I have experienced.

To start with, many years ago I spent nearly a year on the streets of Atlanta. There's no need in going over the details except that it was deliberate and part of a fact finding journey that I felt I needed to go through. Since then I have worked at nearly a dozen or so missions across the U.S.A. doing whatever needed to be done. I have been a guidance counselor, chaplain, program director, head of food services, head of family care, exec. director, and an educational director. Have Bible will Travel so to speak. Wherever I was needed is where I went. That's me but now a couple of interesting things about homelessness.

1. Most of the citizens of the U.S. are only a paycheck away from being homeless.
2. Nearly half of the homeless people do not get that way because of an alcohol or drug problem. They get entangled with drugs and alcohol after the fact. Loss of hope seems to do that to some folks.
3. A gimme would be that without a job, folks are forced to live on the streets. Here's the tickler for you guys that you probably did not know.
As a citizen of the U.S., if you do not have the ability to provide enough I.D. you cannot sign an I-9 work eligibility form in order to get a job. Even labor pools now require 2 forms of I.D. which until about 15 years ago labor pools were not considered jobs therefore no formal proof of eligibility was required. Uh, you're waiting for the tickler.
Okay, if you look around in the Food and Beverage industry, construction industry, and the AG industry you will find illegal immigrants working steady Eddie without any proof of eligibility yet a U.S. citizen will be denied a job for the lack of 2 forms of I.D. in those same businesses. I will guarantee I can hit 10 restaurants in the town we presently live in and if I cannot come up with the proper I.D. I will not have a job but the dish rack room will be filled with illegal workers with nothing but 1 or 2 social security cards shared among all of them. One other thing........U.S. citizens are paid by check and the illegals are paid cash.
The I-9 thing may not seem like much of a problem but try this. You have no money so you need a job. In order to get a job you must have the proper I.D. You have no I.D. so you must send for (1) your birth certificate and (2) get your S.S. card. Where's the money coming from in order to get the Birth Certificate? Most states charge between $10.00 to $20.00 to get one and it will take a couple of weeks to get it once you do find the money to send to whoever.
Note: Some cities have an agency or two that will help but they get their money from donations and not from the state or fed. Most missions will have a referral list that might help someone with this problem.

4. Last but not least, (for this post anyway) American Veterans are not told anything about Vets Affairs or registering with a Vets health care facility when they get out of the military. It's almost a secret it seems.
If a vet finds himself / herself in a chronically homeless position all they need do is notify their Vets Affairs Department and get a referral for the HCHV ( health care for homeless veterans) program in their state.
They will be given a place to stay for 90+days while they are checked from head to toe by a group of physicians, go to NA and AA group sessions once a week (mandatory), and if any health claims are to be made then they are filed during their stay by professionals.
Also, during their stay they get a chance to get cleaned up, dressed up, get a resume' prepared and find a job.
Once all of that is accomplished they can also file for a HUD/VASH voucher and aquire an apartment with the rent and utilities based on a percentage of their pay and the government takes care of the balance.

The bottom line is that it is easy to become homeless but if more people understood what it takes to become UN-homeless then more could and would be done to help out a most tragic malady of the wealthiest nation on earth.

 

Very good information, @Bobby Cole! Thank you! I miss it sometimes, but I try to be as generous as I can. We try to support local food banks, which are important to folks who are under employed. We should never "look down" on people who have basic needs.

 

Thanx Joe. One of the main topics I have been asked to speak on throughout the U.S. is how to help the homeless and there is always one item that seems to pique the interest of many business owners.
When someone needs extra help they will normally call a temp service such as a Labor pool or something similar.
Of course, depending on the requirements of the business, they can instead go to a rescue mission and pretty much pick out who they might like to help. Going through a labor pool costs about 20 clams an hour and the person who does the work only gleans minimum wage so that saves major bucks and because there is no contract with a labor pool, if the employer wishes to hire the person they picked they can do so without fear of retribution.
Note: Most labor pools have a 90 day no-hire policy. If you want the person to come back you can request that individual but you cannot hire him/her for 90 days. There are ways around that but it takes a little knowledge and a little uh, shall we say.....slightly shaded moxy to avoid a law suit.

 

I still believe that half may be legit homeless but the other half did it themselves and then don't want to change.

I've read true accounts of people maybe at first being homeless but later after seeing how much they made begging made it a career. I've also read stories in the paper where a person will be begging by a store every day and people have seen them drive away in a nice car.

I'm not saying don't help, I've always helped people that needed it...always. In fact I was too generous sometimes.
If you came to my house and you said you liked something, I would give it to you.

I won't give you money to buy alcohol though.
I saw a show once about homeless that lived under the subway system in NY, or the train station...I forget but most didnt want to leave and go to a shelter.

Also, I pay my Mexican help by check so they must be legal. good to know.

 

The ones I feel sorry for and you don't see them are the ones that are families with children living in cars.

Sometimes it's only temporary but that must be the hardest in my opinion. They really have to get through the day
Sober and it's probably long in a car.

We get a lot of homeless in CA because the weather is good most of the year. They won't freeze to death even in winter at night....rare occasions when it gets to maybe 32 they try to get them in shelters.

Another fact is it can get scary in the shelters for people that are normal, Ive heard that a lot.

 

A few years after AZ passed mandatory Financial Liability Insurance coverage on all vehicle registrations, 1 out of 3 vehicles stopped for whatever reason had no insurance! Legal representation for the multitudes of uninsured successfully sued the Municipality to provide insurance for their clientele, as they were being deprived of the means to get to their workplace!

So we got State-provided car insurance, subsidized rent payment, lifetime drivers licenses, free health coverage, ...........by "we" of course, I mean the plurality of underprivileged.
Frank

 

I think CA has a very low liability insurance but don't know if it's free. Maybe $25 a month.

Car insurance is expensive in CA. I remember my ex who moved in with me from Ohio was complaining it was 3 times as much as in Ohio.

 

I used to work with the homeless. Most of the homeless that I came in contact with have long term sustance abuse, have recently been released from jail, or are mentally ill. The goal was to protect the mentally ill from those who have criminal tendencies. Many of the homeless individuals prefered being homeless to punching a timeclock even though being homeless is a hard life.

 

I think I have already posted this but may I repeat for the sake of those who haven't read. My husband chanced upon a family living in a wooden cart. The couple has 4 children, the eldest is named Alexandra (coincidentally a namesake of my husband) who is 6 years old and the youngest is a baby boy. The husband named Daniel said that they prefer to live here in Manila because life is hard in the province. He and his wife Nerissa are from different provinces, they just met in Manila. Here is the photo of that family which was taken in 2012...
The baby boy can't be seen in the pic, he was inside the cart. The guy sitting on the curb is Daniel and the one in violet is the wife Nerissa. That photo was taken in Kalayaan Street which is located in the business district of Makati.

 

@Corie Henson "Basura" is toilet?