THE HOMELESS SITUATION

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   gmwilliamsposted 11 years ago

   The homeless situation needs to be resolved.   With the escalating socioeconomic and unemployment crises, foreclosures in housing, rising/prohibitive rents, and lack of affordable housing, the homeless situation is slowly becoming epidemic.    Yes, the issue of homeless is a cause for extreme alarm.   No human being should be homeless.   There should be low cost and affordable housing.   It is unconscionable for a society to allow people to be homeless. 
   
   Of course, there are some pundits who maintain that the homeless are at fault for being in the predictament they are in.   These pundits abide by the philosophy of the survival of the strongest while letting the more vulnerable among us "do the best" that they can.    However, there are other more enlightened people who are doing all they can to eradicate this heinous situation of homelessness.   
   
   Believe it or not, most of us are paychecks away from being homeless.   All except for the wealthy to extremely wealthy need to worry about homelessness, especially in this precarious and uncertain economy.    Remember the phrase there by the grace of God go I.   The homeless could be us in any given circumstance.   Let us discuss this!

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      nightwork4posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      it's a sad thing when so many are homeless but one must understand that not everyone wants or deserve a home. what i mean is that some people that are homeless would destroy any place they were given anyway.i was homeless from that age of 13 to about 21 years old,so  i know this from experience. i'm all for helping people who need and deserve help but for some it's not an option.

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2. 91

   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   Last week my husband and I were sitting at a red light. There was a crew of men working on something in the electical box when a homeless man walked by. He was obviously homeless with all his belongings in a pack on his back. One of them men stopped working and stared this homeless man down in a horrible way. It made me feel bad because chances are this idiot is like you said just a couple paychecks away from being without a home himself.
   The government owns around 250,000 foreclosures. They also own hundreds of thousands of properties where taxes were not paid. On top of that there are millions of abandoned homes in the USA. We have enough homes to provide for everyone yet they chose not to help. Are some homeless responsible for their situation, Yes. Most of us are responsible for our situation to a certain extent. That doesn't mean there shouldn't be solutions and help for those who want it.
   I was homeless at 18. Thankfully not but for a few months. It was horrible.

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   1. 84

      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry to hear that you were homeless at 18.   Being homeless is very frightening.   You are extremely vulnerable and exposed to dangerous elements, both natural and human.    The homeless in our society are considered to be totally persona non grata.   They are considered to be less than human which is totally unconscionable.   
      
      All of us are vulnerable to homelessness as we are  5 to 1/2 paychecks away from homelessness.   No one is secure and inured to the situation, except the extremely wealthy.    We all must be vigilant for ourselves and to help others who are homeless.    What exacerbates the homeless situation are escalating rents, little or no affordable housing, foreclosures, and downsizing.     Many people under such situations  have no imaginable savings, oftentimes they fall into an ever increasing downward spiral.    Sad, really.

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      1. 91

         peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         It is sad. My job is to inspect foreclosed properties. Many of these homes have been vacant for 3 or 4 years. So they get kicked out of their homes for not paying just for the house to sit and, guess what, the bank NOT get paid for YEARS. Instead of trying to help keep them in their homes they would rather take the loss and sit on a vacant property.
         Another issue we have is the number of veterans that are homeless. They go off to war, fight for their country, then end up with nothing.
         There are so many things everyone can do to help the situation.

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3. 59

   Repairguy47posted 11 years ago

   There are a lot of extra rooms at the white house, its government subsidized.

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4. 61

   Trish89posted 11 years ago

   It's disgusting to think how many people are homeless, yet there are filthy rich people out there who don't know what to do with their money other than buy 15 homes. I went to NYC this weekend for the christmas season and seen homeless people lying on the sidewalks, it really put a damper on my night.

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5. 0

   Sarra Garrettposted 11 years ago

   I know all about homelessness.  I'm 50 and am homeless.  Breaking my ankle in May I lost my job, my car and my home.  I am now, with the grace of God, living in a basement of an acquaintance in return for cleaning the house and cooking.  However, I want a job so bad I can taste it.  Oh to be independant again as I'm a very independant woman. 
   
   Why not container housing?  A used container can be purchased for $2,500 and they make excellent homes and are easy to convert. 
   
   The homeless situation is going to get worse.  18,000 hostess employees out of work, 11,000 citicorp workers out of work.  When will this madness stop?????!!!!!!!!!!
   
   No one deserves to be homeless, not even the mentally ill or alcoholics.  We CAN help the homeless in our areas however.  What America needs is jobs instead of corporate America outsourcing everything.

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6. 60

   SoManyPathsposted 11 years ago

   You see it everywhere. L.A., Santa Monica, and San Diego (where I saw so many).  There are shelters. You know some people don't  follow their rules to recovery for alcohol abuse, depression, anger mgmt, loss of loved ones and so on. So, you giving a panhandler a FREE handout  just furthers their abuse and disregard of the rules to get better.
   $1 or $5 handouts are so temporary . They need more than that to recover and get back on their feet. Human interaction. shelter and guidance is the solution.
   Maybe more prominent signs should be put up to guide the homeless where to go. Did you know homeless shelters are getting overpopulated with more families nowadays so the single homeless people may not be feel comfortable with that and roam the streets. Don't just be a giver during the holidays. It is year round. I know it is easy to say than do. We  are all maybe guilty of that. But we are addressing the problem so it is the right step.

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      Jean Bakulaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with many of the posts here. There are way too many foreclosed homes which could still have the people living in them. Once they get kicked out, they are homeless or dependent on others, and the house stays empty. I live about an hour from NY, and it is sad seeing people lying on grates to stay warm. We could be doing a much better job with this. Banks knowingly gave out mortgages above what they knew people could pay back, and what's the point of having so many empty houses? Also, we have so many empty office buildings and many are so fancy they have showers and kitchens, people could live there. The containter idea is also a solution. We just got through Hurricane Sandy in NJ, and I'm not hearing any good solutions for those in South Jersey who lost homes. Some are vacation homes, not primary ones, so the people have a place to go. Also, some homeless people have mental illnesses. My brother is bipolar, and when he goes off his meds he usually ends up homeless too. I've seen how fast it can happen. He makes a dumb mistake and ends up in jail for a few days. Sometimes he's just physically ill and falls asleep in a store, but gets "picked up" for being "drunk and disorderly" when he is neither. He misses his rent while unreasonably jailed, and the apt. is lost. The landlord throws out all his belongings. He gets out of jail, homeless and with only the clothes he was arrested in. It's his fault, but he is a human being. I've done all I can and no longer can afford to help him much. He lives in San Diego, so it's warm all year, but they have a large transient population. It's a big issue, and more needs to be done about it.

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   mdavis1984posted 11 years ago

   I've studied homelessness and gained a sense of empathy. Of those individuals that I have interviewed in several states and outside the US, one thing is prevalent, they are without a home. Yes, I am stating the obvious, but you really have to put yourself in their shoes. What I mean by this, people become homeless for various reasons. Because of who I am and my profession, I wanted to know specifically what illegal drugs have to do with losing your home. Many individuals that experience the lack of residence have some kind of addiction, mainly alcohol (legal). However, addictions vary, and are spawned from a state of mind. Lack starts before you lose your job, house or car. Regardless of what situation someone is in, they still deserve respect, help and positive support.

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   tammybarnetteposted 11 years ago

   As with many situations such as these, the bad eggs give an entire minority a bad name. There are many homeless who choose to be. Persons who would rather not work, would rather beg for pennies for cigs and beer and whatever other drug of choice. However, especially after the collapse of our economy and the great recession, many lost their savings and homes at no fault of their own. The banks should have been forced to pass on their bailouts to their customers. If the government is willing to back the bank, the bank should have been willing to back the people, should have froze payments, recalculated loans, whatever it took to help hard working citizens remain in their home. When my husband and I first bought our home, we remortgaged every year for a lower interest rate, you are allowed to skip a payment and the schedule of payments starts anew which benefits the banks...I don't understand why some creative financing was not provided by the banks, especially the ones collecting huge monetary supply from the government.

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9. 0

   Sunnie Dayposted 11 years ago

   I so agree it is a shame. My sister in law and I were talking about this subject this morning, concerning needless spending when our human brothers and sisters remain on the street. One problem I have is organizations that spend so much on the hype but they say they are doing Gods work...the so called mega churches that advertise on TV, having these elaborate conferences, spending "God only knows" how much money to fund their organizations. Sending money to foreign places is wonderful but look out your front door too. Why are they not feeding our homeless. I would love to have at look at their books! This is only one aspect of needless spending but also the many empty buildings that could be reconstructed instead of spending on new and more elaborate ones. The list can go on I am sure. I do hold that  phrase..only by the Grace of God go I close to my heart.

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   1. 84

      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      TOTALLY CONCUR with you, Sunnie!   The megachurches could spend their monies and feed the homeless.    There is so much that can be done.   Renovate some abandoned houses to put the homeless in.    Reeducate them to give them jobs and a sense of self-worth.

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         Jean Bakulaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         And think of the millions that were spent on the Republican and Democratic elections, and the Conventions. All that money could have helped so many people. The priorities are all wrong.

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10. 60

    tussinposted 11 years ago

    I don't understand.  In one breath you make a forum post decrying the homeless situation, and in another you blast adults who live with their parents.  Well, did it ever occur to you that some of these adults living with their parents might be homeless otherwise?

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