Homelessness - intro facts for newbies

[oscar111]

The homeless die at three times the normal rate == no surprise there. You watch them slowly die every day in every american city's downtown. Quite visible.

ANALYSIS OF PARTS
A third are addicted to something {wine or drugs}, a third are working poor {paid too little for rent} and a third are sick {mentally or physically}.

none deserve that slow death by exposure to the elements.

One million homeless on any one night. Over a year's time, 3 million involved, because of "churning" - some rise up and out, others hit crises and fall into homelessness.

No Screening Board makes sure that "good" folks never fall into homelessness. 12 million are hungry here, BTW.

RR THE FATHER OF HOMELESSNESS
Almost no homeless till RR slashed housing vouchers by 2/3'rds in the early '8O's. He is the "father of mass homelessness".

4 billion dollars would end homelessness. By restoring vouchers. 12 billion would end all US hunger . Bush's 3 taxcuts for the rich were a total of $350 billion.

JOBS FOR ALL WEBSITE, ADVISED BY GALBRAITH OF HARVARD, 2 NOBEL WINNERS, CLINTON SEC. OF LABOR REICH, THE ARCHBISHOP OF MILWAUKEE, AND DOZENS OF PROFESSORS
Vouchers are not the only cure, tho they would be needed for some of the addicts and sick. A decent min. wage would lift all the working poor up and out.

"Jobs for All" would end much of homelessness at no cost. JFA would harness the labor power of folks currently unharnessed, thus producing far more than the cost to administer a WPA or new co-ops or a frenchstyle share-the-work plan. see sig.

[inthebrain]

1. Good thread

The poverty discussion is something that goes amiss by both parties. Im not talking about middle class poverty either, I'm talkin bout REAL poverty.

Strange how we have all this money lying around for infrastructre and millitary spending. Odd that there are so many in this country w/o a roof over their heads.

Kind of makes you wonder what its all for.

[oscar111]

3. 109 Trillion is US wealth. Agreed, poverty is a strange thing to see with

so much wealth around .

no need for any poverty.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/accessible/l5.htm

see bottom line there for wealth.

[EFerrari]

2. Thank you, oscar

I've read these numbers many times but the brain does not retain. Maybe because it's so frustrating.

Well done. :hi:

[Sugarbleus]

4. Thanks for keeping the drumbeat Oscar....Not many seem to care

We just have to BEAT IT LOUDER and LOUDER

I drop in here every so often to see if anything is moving on these issues. You and a handful of others are the only ones in this forum who seem to give a damn. Or actually get off their butts to call a representative once in awhile.

THANK YOU OSCAR!:applause:

[oscar111]

5. Thanks sugarbleus! much appreciated!

your posts are also a comfort to read.. reassuring to see others with some concern on this issue.

I have to learn to do those smileys thingees LOL.

I would type more in the way of thanks but i am really sleepy just now. PS have you memorized the 1O9 Trillion stat? I see it as very helpful in many issues.

well, off to sleep. G-Night, sugarblues.

[Sugarbleus]

7. You'er quite welcome...you do good work..

I just dropped in again because I heard that London got hit again.

The first thing I see on Home Page is the "DU activist Thread". It's a WONDERFUL thing to corral people together for activism. (Power in numbers etc) I certainly DO understand the importance of the SCOTUS and any nominees.

Nevertheless, and perhaps because I'm living the underclass lifestyle that you beat the drums for, I am disappointed that I don't see any "corraling of support" for issues that you and I speak of: HOUSING, MEDICAID, DRUG COSTS, JOBS, HEALTH CARE/MENTAL HEALTH CARE etc. when votes come up for MORE CUTS!!

Not only are there "houseless" persons who DO work, but there are also families on the BRINK of such a disaster every day!
BOTH parties seem to just brush these issues off like they were fleas...albeit, the repubs do it more consistently.

If a person is working but doesn't make enough for RENT, he is houseless. If a homeless person has NO TEETH, rags for clothes and no address, He won't find meaningful, life sustaining work.

The "middle class" is pissed because it's their taxes that are sustaing most of what programs we do have left. I don't entirely blame them when, like it's known, the uber rich are NOT paying much into the system to adequately support it!.

I'm really disgusted!! :grr:

[JDPriestly]

6. Thanks for this post.

We need to talk about these social issues more often on DU. I am a Democrat because of the injustices that result from the Republican philosophy and values (or valuelessness). How can anyone justify a tax cut for the rich when so many Americans are homeless. The problem is appalling in Los Angeles. Homeless people come here because their chance of staying alive through the winter is greater due to our somewhat warmer (but still cold for those on the streets) climate. Don't forget that, in addition to the kinds of homeless people you described, many of the homeless nowadays are simply middle-aged and older folks who can't get jobs.

Vouchers are the best answer for getting people off the street, especially if the vouchers are combined with visits by social workers, housing that offers social services and a sober community life and job placement when appropriate. Job placement is a bit of a red herring for many homeless people because they don't have the psychological stability to stay with a job. This is particularly true for schizophrenics and other mentally ill people who have good and bad days and no control over themselves on the bad days. I speak from the experience of having worked full-time on homeless issues and for homeless projects for quite a few years. This is a major issue that no one talks about. Thanks again.

[oscar111]

8. CORRECTION: "2/3rds cut by RR" may be too high, tho RR still is to blame

oscar here again...

a person with some background in this subject feels that 2/3rds is too high a figure for RR's cuts to section 8 housing vouchers in the early eighties.

"though RR is still to blame", to paraphrase and condense his conclusion.

So, until i can reconcile the two estimates of RR's cuts, it would be better for all to quote my factsheet {OP} in this new way.. {too late to edit the OP}....

========================
"RR caused homelessness when he made significant cuts to the section 8 housing vouchers."
==========================

2/3? 1/3? when i nail it down i will post again in this thread or a new one.

Any reader here know for sure the stat in question?

[oscar111]

9. JDP, agreed, some cannot work

and thanks for the kind words about the OP!

agreed, the mentally ill and disabled cannot work, and as well,

those jobless due to the Job Shortage {14 million JS}, also are forced not to work. JDP, you are right. See sig below on the JS, and on Jobs for All site.

So for these, outright vouchers are needed {as mentioned briefly in the last section of the OP, just under the capitalized subhead}.

For many tho, Jobs for All would be a solution. Jobs with a "Living Wage", that is. LW means a minimum wage that is much higher than the current one, a wage that will cover the

hi rents nowadays,
commuting costs,
a car {often req'd by bosses tired of late workers coming in on city busses that broke down }
health insurance
a REAL pension plan
some savings... for rainy days and college

Is it asking too much that a LW be hi enough to cover mortgage payments on a house of the workers' own? I dont think so. Landlords are horrid, all in all. House dictators is telling it like it is. No freedom in that situation. One is a slave to the LL. I have experienced it first hand.

When will the dems officially plan to have every american own his own home? Long overdue. Use Eminent Domain, pay the LL's a fair price for every apartment in the country, and turn the title for the new condo, over to the occupant. Done, and done overnight if we have the will to get it done.

[gorbal]

16. Good post

"Don't forget that, in addition to the kinds of homeless people you described, many of the homeless nowadays are simply middle-aged and older folks who can't get jobs."

I just wanted to second the above point you made. I work in a Psychiatric facility and we keep getting people who either had no family left or were rejected by their families and living on the street. I don't care what someone has done in life, "No One" deserves to live like that. Even for the unfortunate mistake of not having employment.

I also want to add the fact that 2/3's of homeless men are veterans and around quarter of all homeless are children. You can find some of the best information and statistics here-

http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/2004/onlinereport/HungerAndHomelessnessReport2004.pdf

Check the Appendices for revealing graphs and charts:)

[Sapphire Blue]

10. I've come across numerous homeless people who had jobs

... people living under bridges, getting up every morning to go to work... putting in a full day's work, every day, yet they didn't make enough to be able to afford rent.

Until we have a livable minimum wage in this country, people will continue living in shelters, under bridges, and in tent cities... and too many of these people will continue dying.

Cities pass laws to keep them out of sight lest they offend tourists, wealthy business owners, etc. A homeless person freezes to death in the elements, and it's in the news for a day, maybe two... then nothing more, nothing changes. When will this country care about the 'invisibles'? When will they become visible to the conscience of this country?


"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. " - Martin Luther King, Jr.

[MountainLaurel]

11. In the DC area

40 percent of the homeless are working, and that probably doesn't count the funcitonally homeless, who are living with 10 other people in a 1BR apartment, who stay with one friend or family member (often, these folks have children as well) until they outstay their welcome and then must move on, or who live in a flop-house residential motel using a hotplace for cooking.

[Sapphire Blue]

12. And every day, news stories about the damn stock market, no stories about

... the homeless and the poor. Panic about a drop in a stock, yet little concern about dying people... the DOW is more important than a human... in this 'culture of life'. :wtf:

[oscar111]

13. "functionally homeless" = overcrowding r w/ relatives r flophouse

This is an imprtant term, new to me.

anyone got a number for how many there are in the US?

see the reply i am responding to, for the definition in full, which i condensed for my title here.

Functionally homeless. I see how the term applies, but also i wonder if there might be a term that does not confuse folks.. to me i at first thought "functionally" referred to "they are able to function" in some way.

Perhaps a better term would be

HALF-HOMELESS

BORDERLINE HOMELESS

NEARLY-HOMELESS

A common pattern I have seen in the news, is old motels turned into flophouses, long term residences that ask few questions.
Some have no phone in the rooms.. have heard of one with no lock on the doors.

PS hotplate is the word i have seen for the little "hotplace" food cookers.

[ballaratocker]

14. Great...

to find this particular subsection of the Democratic Underground forum. Nice to see that members of some mainstream centre left parties still care about homelessness even if their elected representatives avoid talking about it like the plague.

[EFerrari]

15. Oscar, could you repost this so we can rate it up?

TIA

Beth

[bobbolink]

17. Great info here! There is something I'd really like to know....

Has anyone kept any figures about how many people kicked off welfare are now homeless?

It doesn't seem to be of interest to most of the population, but it's something that should have been tracked....

Thanks for any info on this...

:hi:

[annabanana]

18. This is a topic that really ought to get more play..

True "value voters" will understand that this is where their Christian concern could be well used.

I think the term "borderline homeless" is clear and easily understood. I'd sure like to hear a politician (ANY politician) use it.