The homeless are NOT lazy, uneducated, addicts, inevitable, or negligible.

[Dark]

I am tired of these myths about the homeless. They are not true.

The homeless are not lazy. Look at Cincinnati. Sixty percent of the homeless men in Cincinnati have some type of gainful employment as their source of income. The same is true of twenty percent of homeless women. More women would probably work, but one in five mothers fleeing domestic violence are homeless.

The homeless aren't uneducated. two-thirds of homeless men and one-half of homeless women in my home city of Cincinnati have AT LEAST a high school diploma.

The homeless aren't addicts either. In my city, only fourteen percent of men and 3.5% of women lost their homes because of substance abuse.

They aren't all crazy. See here. Only twenty to twenty-five suffer from a serious illness, and a federal study estimated that only 5-7% of the homeless should be institutionalized.

Homelessness isn't inevitable. Columbus, OH has reduced their homeless population by almost 50% at a cost of just $1,000 more per person.

And as for being negligible, Dallas, TX loses $31 MILLION EACH YEAR IN TAX REVENUE because they ignore homelessness.

They aren't the scum of society either. Twenty percent of homeless are honorably discharged veterans. Hey, republicans, do you consider HONORABLY DISCHARGED VETERANS scum?

Thanks for listening to my rant. I heard someone complaining about the homeless earlier today, and I couldn't take it anymore.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. none of your links are working

[Dark]

4. Sorry, I fixed them. n/t

[Az]

2. No one claimed they were...

oh wait.... the compassionate conservatives. I forgot about them.

[Dark]

5. And the right-to-lifers.'Each abortion is a worker we could've exploited.'

[AuntiBush]

44. Good one!

Exactly! But, the Billionaire Robber's Club, I mean this administration isn't going to want to foot their bills.

Would Falwell give up his millions for the poor like any good Christian man of faith would and should? I doubt it!

How many of the hunger, and malnutritioned children and elderly in this country would Laura's Innaugeration dress feed?

How about the Doles chipping in, or the Cheney's?

Maybe a cold day in hell.

[FreedomAngel82]

12. Yep

They do all the time. They either need to go to college, get off their butt, etc. :eyes: Typical sterotype.

[madeline_con]

3. distinction...

Thanks for the distinction. Now I know the difference between homeless and BUM. The nasty, blithering, going through the dumpster asking for change losers I see around must be BUMS. ;)

[Maraya1969]

26. So what if they are BUMS - they are still people!

I read an article about a man who posed as a "BUM" and one of the things that was very striking to him is people acted like he didn't exist.

So now if someone asks me for money I give it to them. I look them in the eye and smile. I don't care if they are going to spend it for drugs or alcohol. The important thing is to give. Your act of kindness will have more effect than you realize.

[Sugarbleus]

40. Well said! I too give

to people who are apparently in need. I've gotten pretty good at spotting those I suspect are "running a scam", plus we don't have violent types in our area that would press themselves on me.

I drive by or walk by someone who has a sign or asks for a cigarette etc.. and if I'm not getting bad vibes from them, I dig into my bag and whip out some bucks. I enjoy doing it. Nine times out of ten the thank yous are genuine.

Between me and the one asking, something special happens. We each connect to a common humanity at that moment. I also try to spend time talking with them when it's possible. It's very interesting and enlightening more often than not.

Neither do I ask them nor wonder about how they will spend the cash.

My daughter and I saw a good setup the other day: It was a scruffy guy sitting beside the road with a sign asking for help. Propped up next to him was his unattached prosthetic leg.. ;)

~~Peace~~

[Cleita]

6. That's true in my area too. A majority of the homeless are

employed. They just can't afford the high rents. Many live in shelters, or sleep in tents in the many rural areas around here, or live in their cars.

[Dark]

7. Well the living wage for Cincinnati is TWICE the minimum.

That means that people in Cincy have to work EIGHTY hours each week just to get by.

[Sugarbleus]

41. Yep, the houseless population is definately growing and not

simply because of any personal "bad choice" either. I wonder whether the stats reflect the numbers of extended family members who have to move back into their parents homes...as HOMELESS...because they are by definition.

I have my recently released from Prison daughter (drug offenses) staying with me in a cramped 800 sq ft space called home. She isn't suppose to be here but where can she go until she has an income stream that will at least allow her to take a section 8 dwelling?(good luck on that one)

She is enrolled in college taking human resources courses. She has Adult ADD (learning troubles to go with), she is partially disabled. She is 37 years old. I look after her son for her. She isn't suppose to be here with us and takes off every so often to ensure she doesn't overstay her allowance here...........what can we do? She is doing everything in her power to change the circumstances of her life. She has been through extensive drug treatment programs for more than two years. She's signed up with agency after agency to help her reach her goals while asking for moderate assistance. MANY doors have been slammed in her face. It's unbelievable; you can't win for losing.

If I put her out on the street, she will be lost forever.

My youngest daughter is living with her middle income father..in his family room. She works full time at just above minimum wage. She has never been addicted to anything. She is responsible and careful and likewise enrolled in college (legal courses). She cannot possibly afford a place of her own. She pays child support and medical for her children who are not with her. She is broke most of the time.

We are living on section 8 and disability stipends. We are fighting with them now over how much our rent should be jacked up to; we worry we will be tossed out on our ass any day now.

My sister will be forced to sell her house because of medical bills she cannot pay. She was widowed in '02. She has no recourse in terms of bankruptcy because she lives in her husband's house. Too much equity (but not enough to actually pay off hospital bills PLUS buy another house). She is beside herself thinking she doesn't know what will happen to her. She hates to leave the property they loved so much. What will become of her?

Yes, homelessness has taken on a brand new meaning and it's all inclusive today....it's not just about the unfortunate addicts, alcoholics, and injured vets anymore. Bless them all..

THERE IS A HOUSING CRISIS in America! (Not to mention the lack of simple manufacturing jobs with decent pay for the persons without a DEGREE)

[ConsAreLiars]

8. Any who find themselves thinking of "the homeless" as "them"

might help themselves understand that homelessness is a condition, an affliction, not a character trait by reading through some of the content of the "Real Change" newspaper: http://www.realchangenews.org/

The weekly (formerly monthly) paper is produced and written and distributed by homeless and formerly homeless folk is Seattle and is evolving into a progressive voice for all of us.

[oscar111]

9. Not lazy fact: Job shortage is 14 million

Since we havent enough jobs for our population, it is inevitable that many will not have an income, and so not have an apartment.

see my sig for links to the apalling facts:

job openings are only 3 million.

PS dark, superb job in gathering facts. Many, i had not seen before.
thanks and a tip of the hat. This hmless outrage must be brought to an end. 100 000/yr die from heat, cold, rat bites and hunger.

Boston study ten years ago found they die at three times the normal rate. Big surprise, eh? A canadian study found they die there at eighteen times the normal rate {colder winters?}
{i found the canadian study via google, but not the boston one, which was before the net really got going}.

In ancient times, one kind of execution was called "execution by exposure to the elements". Same as what the GOP is carrying out here and now. In the downtown of every american city, at high noon. 100 000/year dead. That's over and beyond the normal rate.

Thanks for the link to the seattle paper.. new to me.

[oscar111]

10. RECOMMEND thread for Greatest Page, button at bott

of orig post. only need three votes

[Dark]

15. Why thank you. I just cannot stand how some people treat the less fortunat

I mean, what if a repub who earned 45,000 each year lost his job and had to work at WAL-Mart thirty nine hours a week while his wife, who he'd had the audacity to have two children with, had to work at McDonald's?

Oh, yeah, I forgot. They should go to Community College. . .:eyes:

[UncleSepp]

32. Great paper and getting better all the time

I was reading it the other night, and was thoroughly impressed. Really, really good paper.

[EFerrari]

11. Bravo.

My husband is a gifted comedian. He went homeless after we tried for eight YEARS to get mental health help for him. I finally just fell over from the stress. He went homeless.

It's not that hard to do.

And, if anyone is interested, the largest growing demographic in the "homeless" population is single moms with kids.

Single mothers with young children, our new bums.

peace,
Beth

[Dark]

18. Thank you. And it is sad. Here in Cincy, one third of homeless are kids.nt

[EFerrari]

20. Yes, they are. So, we better do a huge reality check.

Before we judge, why not check the facts:

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

Our story:

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/08/29/newsstand.ferrari/

Thanks for this thread, Dark.

Cheers,
Beth

[Dark]

21. That is such a sad story. And Doug seemed pretty funny.

'I don't want to say I did a lot of cocaine, but there are statues of me all over Colombia.'

That was great. I needed that.

And I used to be a lockstep repub with homelessness. Then, I decided to investigate it for a research project. I was initially going to research the social costs of homelessness, but my professor suggested I look at the economical aspect.

I did, and what I found was startling.

Your welcome for the thread. I hope that one day everyone will get the help they need as soon as they need it.

[EFerrari]

22. It is an eye opener, for sure.

I'm on a huge learning curve. I never knew any of this until it came into my livingroom.

Doug's all right. He's headlining again and doing community work half time. Keeps us both on our toes.

We can do much to improve this just by learning.

:toast:

Be well,
Beth

[Dark]

23. Amen. If only the average American read more news stories than Bush. . .

:(

Oh well, I can dream.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. My church has a meal program for the poor and homeless

I am seeing more and more people who look as if they've seen better days.

[cynatnite]

14. A tragic story of a homeless man

This man worked hard his entire life. He worked a variety of jobs and moved around because of his mother's overbearing and cruel nature. She spent years seeking him out and he continued to stay on the move.

The man became ill and he continued to work. He chose not to see a doctor. It soon became more and more difficult for him to work and on the day he was hospitalized, he was fired.

He left the hospital and was soon out of money. Without a home, he lived in his car until he found a homeless shelter. By the time he saw another physician, the illness turned out to be cancer.

He died in a few months later in a nursing home. In his belongings was a name. It was unique enough that a search by the state began. It took three months after his death for them to locate a daughter he hadn't seen since she was seven.

This man was my father. I got the call from the state of Nevada just over a year ago. There is far more to the history of my father's escape from his mother, but it is why he was unable to take on the responsibility of being a father. It was upon his death I learned to forgive him.

When it comes to the homeless, I will never again turn away from them to avoid them. I will look upon them as people with stories that are as tragic as my father's. The homeless shelter recieves a regular donation from me for all they did to help him.

[checks-n-balances]

16. Tragic, indeed as well as heartbreaking

Your story and the one in #11 above have left me speechless, and I cannot imagine what true hell it must be to be homeless.

I'm afraid that we'll see much more of it, and one of the things that has to change is our society's view of poor and homeless people, because it will be all around us.

Excellent thread - thanks for the info, and to those of you who have shared your very sad and personal stories.

[ConsAreLiars]

17. Homelessness is something created by a dysfunctional society.

For thousands of generations people have lived in communities where "the less fortunate," whatever that meant in those contexts, had some place. Often on the periphery, often as parts of extended families, sometimes incorporated into religious structures, and at worst, in the early stages of capitalism, pushed off into work farms. Today, everyone's right to a decent life is metered out according to income; if you can't get hired (if you can't be exploited for profit) or don't have inherited wealth, you don't deserve to live. That is "how things work" now, and it is very much a feature of how our society is now structured, where profit is more holy than life itself.

(edit typo)

[UncleSepp]

33. Well said, and so thoroughly chilling

"Cull from the bottom" isn't just the way corporations reduce their headcount any more. It seems that there is a vocal and effective part of our society which wants to stack rank human beings according to their ability to consume, and then knock off those who do not consume enough. It doesn't even seem to be about who works more, earns more, or has more, it's who spends more. Horrible, horrible.

[guitar man]

19. lazy, uneducated, addict

Hmmm,lazy uneducated addict, mental illness. Describes *Bu$h perfectly!

[CitySky]

35. yeah, so taxpayers have to pay for his housing. n/t

[zann725]

24. It wasn't a rant. Thank you for your insight, statistics and compassion.

I notice a large Disabled population among the Homeless around here. SSDI is so difficult to get approved, 2 or more years for many. And that was BEFORE the SS Reform started being tossed around.

Most truly Disabled people can NOT live for more than 2 years without help, without becoming homeless.

No, most Homelss have a very human story. And there'll be many more the way this Administration is going. Particularly if Social Security is reduced and/or cut.

[Wilms]

25. kick n/t

[Donailin]

27. someone complained about the homeless?

during holy week? and I'll bet they're self pronounced "christians"

[bloom]

28. thanks for this thread.... eom

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

29. Thanks for this thread. I worked with homeless women in LA

and we gave them business clothes and did their hair and taught them how to interview...and we did so with good success.

[Kota]

30. I know so many people living pay check to pay check, with

this country going the way its going, this problem will only grow.I would not be surprised if it has grown since this administration took office.

[Telly Savalas]

31. Terri Schiavo, anyone?

Great post. Thanks for the effort you took to dig up the links and write it.

What bigger a "values" issue is there than the fact that the richest country in history can't put roofs over the heads of all its citizens?

Kick. Kick. Kick.

[bear425]

34. Nice post. Thank you...

Off topic, can someone point me to how to make links like yours in your post? I looked for the page here, but I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

[Dark]

36. Your Welcome.

In order to create a link, copy and paste the link to the message, like this, for a BBC story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374811.stm

"Japan 'set to free' Bobby Fischer"

In order to make it look like another word, like BBC:

- put a pair of brackets (what you put around the 'b' in order to make a sentence bold).

-inside the brackets, put W/O quotation marks, 'link: (put the webpage's URL here WITHOUT THE 'http://')|(word you want to use)

For example, using {} for brackets, the BBC story above would be:

{link:news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374811.stm|BBC}

Oh, and the | is 'shift + \'.

[bear425]

38. Oh, thank you!

I will print it out and try it soon! Looks way cool like that. :)

[Ariana Celeste]

37. Thanks for this thread man

Sometimes I think the reason some people ignore the homeless is because they know damned well that could be them someday- or a sister, or a cousin, or a parent.

I didn't always have much to give when I happened by homeless people, in Tacoma WA~ but when I had something to give, I gave. Unfortunately, as I was young and not working, it was usually just a few cigarettes, and maybe a couple of those .25 cent snack cakes.

When I was working, there was this intersection we always had to stop by on the way home, and there was always a homeless person on that corner. At the point of time, I was able to give them healthier food, apples and fruits and crackers and sandwiches. And cigarettes. I always gave out cigarettes.

I wish I could have done more~ but I know that I did more than many others would even think of doing.

It could be any one of us out there, in the cold, hungry, ignored. Any one of us.

It's a shame that so few people recognize that.

Once again- thanks for this thread, man.

[meganmonkey]

39. I work in hunger relief

and deal with homeless people and other less fortunate folks day-in and day-out...

I really appreciate you taking the time to post this.

:toast:

[Hippo_Tron]

42. Capitalism is inherently designed to have people on the bottom

I'll apply the quote about Democracy to capitalism. Capitalism is the worst economic system except for all of those that have been tried. The problem is that many people believe that capitalism is perfect. They believe that everybody has it within their means to advance in the free market economy. Either that, or they are cold-hearted social Darwinists (which I would argue is reflective mostly of elites and not most of the lower-middle income people who vote Republican). But the fact is that these people are not lazy, they are simply on the lower end of the spectrum, which is inevitable in the free market economy. Getting people to understand this is key. When they finally do, they will understand that all we are suggesting is that the poorest among us shouldn't be treated like complete shit because they got the short end of the stick with capitalism. It's an imperfect system which is why it is okay to implement some non-capitalist elements to make it a better system overall. We aren't suggesting that people should be given free Ferraris and summer homes, we are suggesting that they be given health care, good education for their kids, a decent standard of living, and the ability to retire and live in dignity at a reasonable age.

[K-W]

43. Homelessness is a solvable problem that the powerful refuse to solve.

The act as if it is some wild curse destined to be with mankind always when it is simply what happens when you almost entirely privatize the essentials of human life.

[Telly Savalas]

45. Only one Terri Schiavo. Millions of homeless.

Kick.

[Megahurtz]

46. Well said!

:thumbsup: