Do you know any homeless people? Are any friends or relatives of yours homeless?

[King Coal]

My sister-in-law's brother was homeless for a long time. He died on the street. They didn't know where he was until he died. With all the homeless, there must be someone at DU that has knowledge of the homeless. What do you do for them? I know you don't vote republican.

[Angela Shelley]

1. I know several people who would live on the street if they didn´t

have access to credit cards.

[karlrschneider]

13. How does that work? Do they have cards that don't ask for payment?

???

[uppityperson]

21. Are you serious? It only works for a while.

Once you run up a large enough bill that you can't afford the payments, you are in trouble. You can charge lots of things and make partial payments, for a long time. For instance, I could charge rent for months, and only pay part of what rent is to my charge card holder. Eventually it catches up though.

Or, for instance (edited to add), I have a tooth abcess and need urgent dental care. I have the choice of paying the dentist cash, or saving the cash for rent. The dentist accepts my charge card, so pay him via credit, saving the cash for rent. Next month rent is due, and only partial payment on my dental bill. Next month my car breaks down, so I charge the repair, saving the cash for rent. On and on and on. Maybe I use the credit card for groceries, saving the cash for rent. If I didn't have a credit card, I'd (1) be dead from infection or (2) not have a car to drive to work since there is no public transit and I can only afford rent out where I must drive to work or (3) have no food since food banks have little to spare or (4) unable to afford rent.

But you knew all that, right?

[karlrschneider]

35. Of course I knew it. "people who would live on the street..." doesn't sound like a short-term

situation. :eyes:

[uppityperson]

39. I figured you did, were just playing devils advocate.

This was me. I would have been living on the street if not for credit cards. I managed to get them paid off with help of friends. It is difficult to apply for a job if you do not have an address. Having a friend who will let you use their address is very appreciated also. Living on the street can be short term, or long term. If I had run out of credit before being able to support where I was living, would have been out on the street. It is a nasty cycle.

[Mojorabbit]

2. I had a fellow

who did yard work for me living in my huge carpeted shed for about a year off and on. He had a gambling problem, had lost his business, and would just show up looking for work and a place to stay.
He ended up with end stage lung cancer and went home to Penn. I helped him buy his ticket home.

I feed the homeless in the park with food not bombs the first wed of every month. This is in Orlando where you can get popped for doing it.

We donate to the food bank. It is a huge problem and the infrastructure to help is totally inadequate.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Yes, I do

But he has made himself a home in a chicken coop now. Before that, he was known to camp out in abandoned houses and in caves (I live in a rural area).

[rubberducky]

4. In my small town we have a homeless Viet Nam vet.

Our local police have "adopted" him. Many , many people came to his support, when his story was highlighted in our local paper. He now has a roof over his head and meals, furnished locally.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. There was one in my mom's town, much the same.

When he died, a few years ago, the town renamed the bridge he had lived under after him.

[shireen]

27. that is really good to hear. Thanks for telling us about it. nt

[MethuenProgressive]

5. Yes, and yes.

I know, and am friends with, many homeless/poorly housed folks.
http://www.lazarushouse.org/
What to do? You do what you can. But *do* something.

[aikoaiko]

6. In my 20s, yes, but not now, around 40.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Technically, I was also.

Though i didn't see it that way at the time - I was just 'between addresses' for a few months.

My youngest daughter was homeless for several weeks last year. After being unemployed for over a year, and nobody being able to keep her afloat any longer, she had to sell her furniture and move into a shelter where she got into a program to help her find work. After 8 weeks or so she got a new apartment, but now she's unemployed again, and I'm worried that she might have a rerun of last year. Living 1500 miles away, it's hard to know just what's going on there.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. I've volunteered in programs for the homeless, so yes

Each one has a different story. An increasing number of the people who use my church's social programs dress and act middle class and have obviously seen better days.

I also know people who would have been homeless if they hadn't been heavily subsidized by relatives. Most of them were people in their late fifties or early sixties who lost their jobs and couldn't find anything full time to replace them with. They even sent in resumes with all age identifications removed. They'd get into the final group, have a great telephone interview, and then see the interviewers' looks of dismay when they walked in for the personal interview.

They all took Social Security early and still struggle with part-time jobs, Section 8 senior housing, and subsidies from relatives.

[raccoon]

44. I've had an uncle and 2 cousins like that. Also, my father was like that.

"I also know people who would have been homeless if they hadn't been heavily subsidized by relatives. "

[mahina]

9. My sister in law's uncle, and he comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas

dinner with the fam. Easter too. He has some kind of mental problem and lives we know not where.

We had an chance to learn the answer to your question when my Dad's problems caught up with him. He was a Vietnam vet, so I finally persuaded him to go to the VA, and a social worker there was very helpful in getting him into elder housing here that only cost about 800. a month, which was a blessing. Our family hui'd in and paid it for him. When he died he had a nice apartment overlooking a community garden.

The city wants to sell that housing now. That would be really terrible.


Anyway, social workers at the VA are going to heaven if there is one. Mahalo Emily, Bill, Julie, you are angels.

[Hekate]

16. Hui 'ohana -- if only every one could do that... I'm glad you were able to make it happen, Mahina

[mahina]

42. Aloha Hekate,

it was that or he slept on my sofa. I loved him, still do even though he's gone, but he needed his own place.

Remember the apartments on Kailua road? From Kailua town to the intersection going to the beach, they are all coming down. (Across from the park.) Big new shiny (and expensive) housing is going in, and the cheap housing is coming down. Where are the people going to live? Even the ones that owned their homes but not the ground lease, the buggah's coming down.

[Hekate]

53. Sad, sad, sad. I don't think I'd recognize the place now. My family lived at 846 Oneawa St...

...a teeny little house, from 1957 to 1965. My mom could never get over it being on leasehold land. I thought there was a series of Great Maheles that were supposed to make it possible for homeowners to buy the land under their houses -- but I always thought the flaw in that plan was that the price would be too high.

Ironically an old friend of my who was a Realtor/Broker on O'ahu for many years just wrote in her Christmas letter that she's retired to Lana'i because it is so much more like Kailua, O'ahu used to be! I say ironically because she helped make it what it is today, if you ask me. Otoh, she made a good living for herself and her two girls.

I think the major changes were in place by the time I left in 1979...that is, the stepping stones to today. You could see it coming. I was pleased, at least, that the Old Stadium was turned into a public park, since I used to live within earshot of the stadium and was part of the citizen's action committee to keep it from turning into high rises. (Eh! I also remember the first time Neil Abercrombie ran for State Legislature!)

I was sad to have to leave, but I stayed as long as I could...

Back to the issue though -- where do they think poor people gonna live? Where?

Hekate

[Warpy]

10. I have a cousin who goes off his meds once in

a blue moon and falls down the rabbit hole and ends up on the street, whether or not he still has a place to live. He gets too paranoid to go home, thinks everyone is watching him, sends letters to the CIA wrapped in tinfoil so they can't be read by Xray.

His close family has picked him up off the streets a couple of times and dragged him home, badgering him until they can get his pills into him. The last time, he had barely enough insight left to go back on them himself. His life was pretty thoroughly trashed by then, though.

When he is off his meds, he alienates everyone around him, gets blacklisted at hotels and restaurants, loses jobs, and generally wrecks everything in his life. However, that is not considered being a sufficient threat to himself to get him picked up and medicated.

We could attack the problem of homelessness in part by redefining "a danger to oneself or others" to include being a general menace to one's own well being while one is untreated and mentally ill. The problem with mental illness is that judgment is one of the first things to go. People who are untreated are incapable of making rational life choices.

The rest of the problem of homelessness can be fixed by adequate wages, construction of housing for marginal workers, and the availability of detox centers funded by universal healthcare. Some hard core types will always be homeless, but we old boomers are old enough to remember when the only homeless people we ever saw were alcoholics who hadn't been able to panhandle enough money for a bottle and a flop. The bottle came first.

My own experience was mercifully brief and was due to the loss of a job coinciding with a serious illness.

We can decrease homelessness to nearly nothing. We've done it before in this country.

[rox63]

11. One of my best friends would have been homeless if I hadn't taken her in

She suffered from severe depression, was without health insurance and was unable to work. Some days she was unable to even get herself out of bed. We've known each other since we were small children, so I could tell she was in real trouble. She couldn't pay her rent or her bills. I offered her my spare bedroom, and she took me up on it. Since then, she has gotten on SS disability, is getting the help she needs, and may be able to live on her own soon in subsidized housing.

[shireen]

29. thank you for taking care of her. People like you are a treasure. nt

[mahina]

50. God bless your heart.

[EFerrari]

12. There are two people I'm trying to keep track of at the moment

in our neighborhood. One of them works for me every Tuesday morning.

In answer to your question, not enough lately. The local Homeless Coalition needs a fundraiser but I've been having a difficult time getting started.

[Jed Dilligan]

15. RIP Tim

Many of my homeless brothers and sisters have died, but Tim springs to mind above all. He was only 34 and such a bright, generous, strong, hardworking man. Because he lived on the streets he was named as a "person of interest" when one of his brothers was killed. He disappeared and turned up dead a few weeks later.

You'll find many of the homeless don't want to be "done for," they just want to be welcomed and treated as human in our cities. But those are things we don't really have a knack for.

[niyad]

17. I have several friends who have been--one lived in a shelter for a time, the

other has severe mental problems, goes into the hospital, stays with friends, often stays in her car. both of them have stayed with me from time to time, and I do whatever I can.

[The Blue Flower]

18. I know many

I help to run a soup kitchen in my neighborhood every Saturday. Most of our guests are homeless. The numbers have grown from 30 one year ago to over 70 last weekend.

[Blue State Bandit]

19. I spent 5 months on the streets in the late '90's,

and I had a job. The apartment building I was living in was re-developed (turned into $1mill+ condos). I had to live in my car and couch surf while I took up a new job so I could afford to get a new apartment in the exploding housing market.

If you want to know what it's like, think of living one day, but being charged for two or three. This is not just a physical toll, it is psychologically demoralizing and taxing.

[pitohui]

20. yes, and a few times briefly i was myself homeless

living in new orleans for a short while EVERYONE i knew was homeless, which proves the value of the safety net, such things as rents/trailers/the $2K crisis money from FEMA do make a difference in keeping a short term homeless problem from being a long term situation that ends up being handed down to the next generation

as far as "classic" homeless, not related to natural disasters, i was homeless a few times, and again, for a number of reasons, primarily my ability to "fake it" and pass as non homeless, then i could get back on my feet relatively quickly, whereas other people i've known really couldn't, because if you're homeless AND you have a handicap or a mental illness, you can't do things like sneak in and wash up in a public bathroom, eat the free buffet and fit in at the art gallery, and so on, there's free stuff around that most homeless people can't ever get access to because they get chased off by security

right now one of my friends who is long term homeless we can't figure out where he is, we're starting to be concerned that he was killed, nice guy but in some ways the mind of a child which is good in one way because he had no interest in drugs/alcohol but bad in another because he also had no interest in such things as taking a bath, he used to be good at slipping onto college campuses and getting onto computers to keep in touch but we've heard nothing in a long time, it is most worrisome

we used to help him with money but gave up, the cops just stole it off him anyway, he was a sitting duck because of his inability to pass as a normal adult, he was like a little kid in a grown man's body in every way except for his intellectual ability with numbers and computers, his parents dumped him on the street as a teen because his dad was navy and wanted a real "man"

with no family to contact, at some point, you just don't know WHAT to do

i became frustrated dealing with substance abusing homeless and right now i'm not in the right place to deal with that, i admire people who can volunteer and help with that issue tho, they are true heroes

[Cleita]

22. I used to in the neighborhood I lived in in Santa Monica.

Many were borderline functional with a job and a place to live in until Reagan became President and even the small jobs and cheap rentals that they could survive on became unavailable and they became homeless and disappeared supposedly to move closer to services that they thought were only going to be temporary until they got back on their feet. Two names that brought us this problem Jarvis and Reagan. This was almost thirty years ago and nothing has been done to solve this problem.

[kwassa]

30. I used to feed the homeless in Santa Monica

as part of a church group on Saturdays, at the Santa Monica Civic Center. We'd get about a hundred people there.

There were supposedly 70,000 homeless in the greater Los Angeles area. This is the early 1990s.

[EFerrari]

75. Shortly before I left in 2004, they made it illegal to feed the homeless

in public.

The SM city council bills itself as progressive but it isn't.

[kwassa]

80. so it is no longer The People's Republic of Santa Monica?

I'd heard the city council turned against the homeless, but Santa Monica has changed, too, into a more high end destination for people. I first came there in the late '70s before it revived, when 3rd Street was full of empty storefronts and distressed businesses. Always a great location, though.

[EFerrari]

82. My brother and his family lived there while it was still a place

and a community, 80s to late 90s. I lived there from 2001 to 2004 and it was like living in a shopping mall.

I'm sure they will still get the liberal hype. The reality is different, though.

[rubberducky]

23. I have a cousin who WILL go homeless whe his mom passes.

He has many mental problems, is confirmed ditto-head. Poor guy thinks that Rush will save this country. I DO Not know what I`ll do when this happens.Hubby would NOT support taking him in. He has not worked in many years (he`s says he`s waiting for someone to pay him enough for "what he know`s"). I`ve hired him for many projects in my home, but he does WAY more talking than work. He will never be hired due to loss of teeth. What to do?? I simply do not know.

[Kolesar]

40. Call the county office that distributes food stamps, ...

temporary assistance, welfare, etc. They could direct you to any subsidized housing or other assistance. I am working on the same problem for a different relation. Good luck and thanks for caring.

[rubberducky]

24. I find it so hard to believe that I`m the third to give you a rec for so important a topic.

Kick and Rec

[datadiva]

25. Yes, we know several in our neighborhood

Had two of them to dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We save all our cans and bottles for them. They pick them up once a week. One is a really sweet guy down on his luck. I gave them a large cart to carry the stuff in. Whenever I make baked goods, I always make extra. Now that its winter, I really feel for them. We had another a couple of years ago and he died of cancer. We can all do something, even if its just little things. It makes a huge difference in their lives.

[rubberducky]

26. Kick!!

[Medusa]

28. None. Ever.

I've seen plenty of them though.

[Brewman_Jax]

31. My neighbor's son

we all played on the street together many years ago. He went into the Army after high school and then dropped out of sight. His parents had not heard from him in years, but he kept in contact with his sister. He was one of the homeless men killed by teen thugs in Miami some months ago. :-(

[pitohui]

32. good god!

i've been worried something like this may have happened to my friend, he has no ID and no family, he's really like a big kid only his 30s

he wouldn't have been in miami tho but i wonder if this has been happening elsewhere

[guitar man]

33. yes

I haven't seen him for a long time now. He's a 'Nam vet.Several years ago, I fixed him up a nice room in my storage building and put him to work doing some things I really needed done around the place and couldn't do while I was recovering from injuries I got in a traffic accident.

I have known him for years and have seen him go through some strange cycles more than once. At one point, over a period of about 18 months I watched him go from living in a shelter to working at a radio station where he quickly worked his way up to the sales manager position, which he did brilliantly for about a year, then just as quickly slid back down all the way back to living on the streets. I know he's repeated that type of cycle more than once.

I don't know where he is now, if he's dead or alive. Wherever he is, godspped to him...

[shireen]

34. Please KICK & RECOMMEND this important thread!!! nt

[Blue_In_AK]

36. I've known several homeless people in the past,

and was one myself many years ago, but not so much anymore because I work at home and rarely leave the house.

[rubberducky]

37. We have ST. Reagan to thank for many of these problems.

reagan was th first of the one-two punch to hit the very weakest in our society. bush just finished up what reagan started. IMHO They are done and out for the count.

[Sparkle]

38. I have a friend who is basically homeless right now.

He lost his job and caused him to get evicted from his apartment. He didn't have any money saved, he was basically working to survive day to day. He has a brother that is in law enforcement but he wouldn't want to live with him because they are not close. He also has two sisters to which he isn't close either. One of the sisters he was sharing utilities with in a house that their step dad left but once their mother died, she couldn't wait to make him leave. She wanted the house all to herself. That's when he got the apartment. He was in the army years ago for about 6 years. He has been unemployed for 3 months now and he's getting pretty worried that he won't be able to find anything (he has a couple of 20 year old felonies).

[conscious evolution]

41. I know way too many homeless.

My nieghborhood in Atlanta,Little Five Points,is a magnet for them because it is full of liberals who help feed them.Several groups and individuals do what they can to keep them fed and there are also organizations that have clothing swaps for them.There is also a group called the Mad Housers who build cheap plywood shelters for them.
What pisses me off is the cops from the suburbs dropping their homeless off here.We have enough local homeless to deal with here without new ones being shipped here.

[wintersoulja]

52. werent they cracking down on feeding in Atlanta?

I cant remember if that was one of the localities that decided to blame the people who feed the homeless for homelessness. "liberals"? I think you mean progressives.

[conscious evolution]

56. I mean liberal

And proud of it.

Pukes dislike of the word liberal is not going to stop me from using it.If anything it makes me want to throw it in their faces that much more.

Don't let the riech-wingers control the language.

[King Coal]

58. He's right. Look up "liberal" in the dictionary. Then look up "conservative".

[wintersoulja]

62. I look at the people who call themselves liberal

and I know Im a progressive.

[King Coal]

64. Did you look them up in the dictionary?

[wintersoulja]

65. no, I looked on the internet

By the dictionary, Im a conservative, so if you want to play those games, Ive always been willing.
Progressives being a subset of the latte crowd performing heroic checkbook activism and minding their own dietary concerns rather than those of others.
Progressives do the work. Liberals show up once and then brag about it from then on.

[King Coal]

67. I'm not playing games, this is from Dictionary.com an Internet site.

I'm sorry you're conservative. No wonder you paint with a broad brush. Why do you insult liberals? You seem to want to make up your own dictionary.

lib·er·al /ˈlɪbərəl, ˈlɪbrəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
–noun 14. a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
15. (often initial capital letter) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



—Related forms
lib·er·al·ly, adverb
lib·er·al·ness, noun


—Synonyms 1. progressive. 7. broad-minded, unprejudiced. 9. beneficent, charitable, openhanded, munificent, unstinting, lavish. See generous. 10. See ample.
—Antonyms 1. reactionary. 8. intolerant. 9, 10. niggardly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Lib·er·al /ˈlɪbərəl, ˈlɪbrəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun a city in SW Kansas. 14,911.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This lib·er·al (lĭb'ər-əl, lĭb'rəl) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.

Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.
Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.

Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.

n.
A person with liberal ideas or opinions.
Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.




lib'er·al·ly adv., lib'er·al·ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean willing or marked by a willingness to give unstintingly: a liberal backer of the arts; a bounteous feast; bountiful compliments; a freehanded host; a generous donation; a handsome offer; a munificent gift; fond and openhanded grandparents. See Also Synonyms at broad-minded.
Antonym: stingy

(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
liberal (adj.)

c.1375, from O.Fr. liberal "befitting free men, noble, generous," from L. liberalis "noble, generous," lit. "pertaining to a free man," from liber "free," from PIE base *leudheros (cf. Gk. eleutheros "free"), probably originally "belonging to the people" (though the precise semantic development is obscure), from *leudho- "people" (cf. O.C.S. ljudu, Lith. liaudis, O.E. leod, Ger. Leute "nation, people"). Earliest reference in Eng. is to the liberal arts (L. artes liberales; see art (n.)), the seven attainments directed to intellectual enlargement, not immediate practical purpose, and thus deemed worthy of a free man (the word in this sense was opposed to servile or mechanical). Sense of "free in bestowing" is from 1387. With a meaning "free from restraint in speech or action" (1490) liberal was used 16c.-17c. as a term of reproach. It revived in a positive sense in the Enlightenment, with a meaning "free from prejudice, tolerant," which emerged 1776-88. Purely in ref. to political opinion, "tending in favor of freedom and democracy" it dates from c.1801, from Fr. libéral, originally applied in Eng. by its opponents (often in Fr. form and with suggestions of foreign lawlessness) to the party favorable to individual political freedoms. But also (especially in U.S. politics) tending to mean "favorable to government action to effect social change," which seems at times to draw more from the religious sense of "free from prejudice in favor of traditional opinions and established institutions" (and thus open to new ideas and plans of reform), which dates from 1823.
"Conservative, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
The noun meaning "member of the Liberal party of Great Britain" is from 1820. Liberalism is first attested 1819.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This liberal

adjective
1. showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions"
2. having political or social views favoring reform and progress
3. tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
4. given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather"
5. not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem"

noun
1. a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
2. a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.




con·serv·a·tive /kənˈsɜrvətɪv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.
4. (often initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5. (initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
6. having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative.
7. Mathematics. (of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar.
–noun 8. a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc.
9. a supporter of conservative political policies.
10. (initial capital letter) a member of a conservative political party, esp. the Conservative party in Great Britain.
11. a preservative.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



—Related forms
con·serv·a·tive·ly, adverb
con·serv·a·tive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This con·ser·va·tive (kən-sûr'və-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
adj.
Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change.
Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit.
Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate.

Of or relating to the political philosophy of conservatism.
Belonging to a conservative party, group, or movement.
Conservative Of or belonging to the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom or the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada.
Conservative Of or adhering to Conservative Judaism.
Tending to conserve; preservative: the conservative use of natural resources.

n.
One favoring traditional views and values.
A supporter of political conservatism.
Conservative A member or supporter of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom or the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada.
Archaic A preservative agent or principle.

con·ser'va·tive·ly adv., con·ser'va·tive·ness n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
conservative

as a modern political tradition, conservatism traces to Edmund Burke's opposition to the Fr. Revolution (1790), but the word conservative is not found in his writing. It was coined by his Fr. disciples, (e.g. Chateaubriand, who titled his journal defending clerical and political restoration "Le Conservateur"). Conservative as the name of a British political faction it first appeared in an 1830 issue of the "Quarterly Review," in an unsigned article sometimes attributed to John Wilson Croker. It replaced Tory (q.v.) by 1843, reflecting both a change from the pejorative name (in use for 150 years) and repudiation of some reactionary policies. Extended to similar spirits in other parties from 1845.
"Strictly speaking, conservatism is not a political system, but rather a way of looking at the civil order. The conservative of Peru ... will differ greatly from those of Australia, for though they may share a preference for things established, the institutions and customs which they desire to preserve are not identical."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This conservative

adjective
1. resistant to change
2. having social or political views favoring conservatism
3. avoiding excess; "a conservative estimate"
4. unimaginatively conventional; "a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business"- Newsweek
5. conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class; "a bourgeois mentality"

noun
1. a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas
2. a member of a Conservative Party

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
conˈservative1 <-tiv> adjective

disliking change
Example: Older people tend to be conservative in their attitudes; conservative opinions

[wintersoulja]

72. my definitions are fine

In fact I think I nailed it.

[conscious evolution]

74. What a crock of shit

A conservative?
I wish I had time to reply but the Pizza guy just called.

[wintersoulja]

89. does he want his job back?

Conservative as in adhering to traditional principles, like the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, crocks of shit like that.

[mandyky]

43. I am homeless

since May 11, 2006. I am just now getting ready to move out of transitional housing arrangement.

[rubberducky]

47. My heart breaks for you.

Good vibes and wishing you the best of everything in the future.

[Terran]

49. Did you get some permanent housing?

Section 8 or something like that? I hope so! Best of luck to you!! :thumbsup:

[LanternWaste]

45. My brother was homeless in Las Vegas for many years.

My brother was homeless in Las Vegas for many years. We didn't even know he was homeless as he never was a person to stay in touch. He called one night some years back and asked if he could stay with me-- he was tired of living on the streets.

He stayed with me and then I finally realized he has some some serious mental/emotional health issues that denies him from living a normal life unless he get the appropriate treatment.

He denies he has issues though, and although he's had his own apartment for about nine months now, I figure it's only a matter of time before he burns some more bridges, gets fired agai,n and winds up back on the streets.

[Lisa0825]

46. My ex-BIL and currently someone through my workplace...

My ex-BIL is bipolar and was generally non-compliant with his meds. He'd go downhill, refuse to cooperate, end up sleeping in a park, and when he'd get bad enough, my ex would get a phone call from the police or a hospital. We tried best we could to help him. That was over 10 years ago. I don't know how it turned out.

Currently, as an HR person for a hospital, I am trying to help a lady get back on her feet. She lives in her truck. I think I got someone to give her a shot as a volunteer. If she does well (shows up on time, does a decent job, etc), it could turn into a job. In the meantime, as a volunteer, she will get a meal ticket each shift, free bus rides, and some other perks. I am looking into buying her a pre-paid cell phone to make her job search easier. It's hard to get a job when all you have is a message number at the unemployment office. I have run messages out to where she keeps her truck parked a couple times.

I think if she got this volunteer position, it could help so much... having a schedule, something productive to do, a guaranteed meal, transportation, puprose... *fingers crossed*

There are so many cracks in the system.... I thought for sure there would be a shelter for her. But due to limited resources, the women's shelters are only taking women with children or women who are victims of abuse. Other than that, they're out of luck.

[Terran]

48. I work with a lot of homeless service agencies

because of my own job (administering federal funds to help house homeless disabled people), so I have been acquainted with several people who have been homeless (but are no longer). A great many homeless people have mental illnesses but most of the folks I have known were formerly addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. Nearly all of them have very dynamic personalities (and maybe this is what helped them come back from where they'd been), and are leaders within their own organizations.

I can't say for sure, but I think there is something about the experience of being homeless that changes people...for the better, in some ways...but it's also a wounding experience.

What do I "do" for them? For these folks, nothing; they do very well for themselves now. The last time I ran into a situation where something needed doing directly, was this past fall when I was traveling in a rural area for my job and stopped at a fast food place for breakfast. A young guy was sitting outside with a sign that said Will Work for Food. I went inside and bought him breakfast and lunch. I think I surprised him quite a bit.

[Withywindle]

88. mental illness = drug and alcohol problems.

I wonder how many of the "boozers and druggies" out there are people who could never afford to get the proper diagnosis and treatment for their mental health issues.

Even with a lower-middle-class background, a college education, and a family determined to help me as much as they could, it still took until I was nearly 40 to get halfway effective treatment for my mental health issues--which are not particularly severe, relatively speaking.

All this time, meanwhile, I've been living paycheck-to-paycheck, drinking just a little too much, and fully aware of how close to the edge I've been.

You can't judge people with substance problems. If you're even lower-middle-class or working-class or working-poor (never mind deeply poor) you take what you can get in terms of making the pain in your brain quiet down for a while. One can buy 20 bottles of wine for the price of one bottle of generic Zoloft (never mind the fees for the doctors to get the script in the first place, never mind being sane and tough enough to find a doctor and go through the system).

[wintersoulja]

51. dozens maybe more

Not counting the several friends who have died under tragic and/or mysterious circumstances.
What do we do for "them"? We provide one meal a week, a truckload of clothing and sleeping bags.
It takes a lot of commitment to give up most of a Saturday, every Saturday, but it really is worth it. It does require absolute commitment on someones part, and usually a very special person.

[King Coal]

54. I have another story about a friend I have had all my life.

We are both 54. In high school he was the kind of kid who could study the night before a test and ace it. He is brilliant. He worked for many years for his brother and made a fine wage. He always had apartments and never a house. He squandered a lot of money a couple of years ago when he met a female crack head. He is now on the streets in an Arizona city. He wears the same clothes for weeks. His beard and hair are long, and his appearance is scary. He does make a little money somehow. Another friend and I give him money occasionally, but he spends it on crack. The crack addiction has turned him into another person who, at times, resents us. It is hard to help him. We need socialized programs to take care of people like him. Programs with trained full time employees who can help solve this problem. I don't know any other way.

[tishaLA]

55. A month ago...

I stopped being homeless. My story is like many others, I suppose--I developed severe depression after a Congestive Heart Failure diagnosis, lost all interest in pursuing my PhD--and also unlike others because I had more education than most homeless people do and was more able to get the system to work for me.

As it turned out, I was homeless for 16 months. During that time, I learned a LOT of things, but the most important was humility. Last month, I finally found an apartment that took Section 8; it is a beautiful, huge, place in a newly rehabbed building in downtown LA. During that time, I started taking anti-depressants, returned to writing my dissertation (and my dissertation director LOVES it), and my heart function, somewhat miraculously, has returned to normal. It was a long road to return to something resembling normalcy, but it was also a long road into homelessness.

[King Coal]

57. God Bless you. I hope to see you posting as a PHD.

[EFerrari]

81. Go get 'em, tish.

:woohoo:

[ileus]

59. I know lots of people that rent, IMHO they're homeless.

[Chovexani]

60. When I was younger

There were a number of homeless teens I befriended at the Harvey Milk School, in GED classes. These were LGBT youth who'd been kicked out or left home because of homophobic families.

It's hard to think about them sometimes, almost ten years later, I wonder whatever happened to many of them.

[Sanctified]

61. I don't have any family or friends who are homeless that I am aware of.

If I did they would not be homeless since I have a spare bedroom they could use to get themselves on their feet.

[porphyrian]

63. A guy I used to live near and went to high school with was found dead recently.

He manifested schizophrenia in his twenties and was fine when he was on his meds, but he would wander off and stop taking them. Apparently, he felt bad that he was a burden to his family, despite what they told him. He was a good guy. It's a damned shame.

Anyway, he had a home, but he lived in a shack in the woods near our old high school when he would wander off, and that's where he was found dead.

[Alexander]

66. Several months ago a homeless guy overstayed his welcome at our house.

I actually created a DU thread in the Lounge about it while this was going on.

I had just moved in to the house and thought he must be someone's friend.

Turns out that wasn't the case. He was a friend of a previous resident, and my roommates, who are too passive for their own good, didn't feel like doing anything.

He was eating our food, using our dishes, sleeping on my couch, inviting total strangers over and scaring off our guests by being a creep. To this day he never gave us a cent - in fact he stole $20 from one of my roommates (who is so passive that he just let it go).

What's worse, he is a compulsive liar, and would tell us all different lies to make us think the other roommates were okay with him staying. After 5 minutes of talking it over, we all realized he was full of shit and nobody wanted his mooching ass here any more.

I finally took the lead and kicked him out after first making sure we all agreed. He kept coming back and my roommates would keep kicking him out, until finally I said "If I see you hear again I'm going to beat the living shit out of you." He never came back.

He started showing up at my friend's house recently, and they tolerated him briefly until finally they kicked him out, too. I had warned them about this guy, so they never let him sleep there. After they kicked him out, my friend even said to me "You called it, dude. I should've listened to you."

This guy is older than all of us, and while his parents are well-off, he doesn't get along with them. He pretends to live this pseudo-hippie lifestyle which consists of the same routine over and over: he would show up at some acquaintance's house, mooch as much as he possibly could, and then he'd try to make the residents feel guilty for kicking him out because he's "homeless" even though he can go home to his parents whenever he wants.

Some people are legitimately homeless and need our respect and support. Some people are just mooches who will take everything you have if you let them. It's up to us to determine which homeless people really need us and which ones are just mooching bums.

[IsItJustMe]

68. I have a friend that lives in the middle of no where in a trailer with no water or electricity.

He does have a wood burning stove. Does that count?

He gets about $ 600 a month on SSI.

[SharonAnn]

69. Yes, my brother. Died 18 months ago at age 57. Drugs and beer were part of the reason.

Probably the major part.

He just never fit in and it was noticeable to me starting in high school. May have been true before that but I wasn't aware of it. I'm the older sister and I just didn't pay that kind of attention to all the younger ones.

He got more and more disassociated from society as time went on. He served in the Army in Germany from 67-69 or thereabouts. He was there because he got in trouble and it was the Army or jail. He wasn't all that different when he came out than when he went in. Always marched to beat of a really different drummer.

He really never wanted to be part of society the way we know it. I remember Dad lecturing him about needing to get a job and his answer for not getting one was that "A job really chews up a lot of your time." One time at a family reunion, Mom was trying to get everybody rotated through the bathroom and showering so that we could all go to church together on Sunday. She saw him sitting in his cutoffs and reading the Sunday funnies, went over to him and said that he needed to get showered and dressed, "don't you know what time it is?" "Mom" he said, "I'm just not into time." She looked at him, realized that wasn't in the same universer, and went and found someone who would shower and get dressed. We laughed about that for years, it may have been the only time we ever saw her speechless.

[proud patriot]

70. I am friendly with the local homeless

I know where they are and help out here and there .

Considering I've have 2 jobs and my husband has 3 ..
and we are barely able to stay afloat I sure wish we
were able to help more .

[candymarl]

71. I'm donating to charity

and giving food to food banks. Homeless relative yes.

[Venceremos]

73. My brother....

My brother is homeless, living on the streets in southern California. He's a dangerous, diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic with no health insurance. But even when he had insurance he wouldn't take his meds or see his doctor.

Everyone in my family tries to help him monetarily, tries to get him to a doctor, but he refuses. I forced him into a psychiatric hospital 10 years ago. The doctors all said he's a threat to other people, yet they let him go after a few weeks. He attacked a man the day after they let him go. He's been repeatedly arrested for assaulting people. They always give him a short sentence because he's "crazy" yet they don't make him get treatment as a condition of release.

A few years ago my sister talked him into moving in with her. Everything was great for the first two weeks, then he had a psychotic episode and attacked her son. So we tried again to get him into a hospital, but he fled back to the streets.

As another poster said "Some people are legitimately homeless and need our respect and support". But there are also dangerous homeless people, like my brother. He looks normal, but anybody who invites him into their home is at risk of serious injury. So please be careful when inviting strangers into your homes, regardless of how sad and in need of help that they may appear.

[EFerrari]

76. Go check out this website and welcome to DU.

www.psychlaws.org

These are some really good people, not control freaks, and they are dedicated both to getting people help and to keeping the community safe.

:hi:

[Venceremos]

85. Thank you....

Wow - he was diagnosed 16 years ago but this is the first time I've ever heard of this organization. Looks very promising. Thanks a million.

[ellie]

77. Yes, my brother

is homeless. He is an alcoholic. He doesn't want help. He doesn't want to stop drinking. We can't help him. My cousin also was homeless and was murdered about 9 years ago.

[EFerrari]

78. At a certain point, alcohol just disengages your frontal lobes.

It's pretty hard to make good decisions without those.

Strength and peace to your family. :hug:

[ellie]

79. Thank you!

I am sure it has permanently damaged him. He turns 47 in February and has been drinking since he was 13.

[Blue Diadem]

83. My brother,

He had lived a responsible life, good job, family, nice home. Then came the divorce. He was devastated, but he got custody of his then teen daughter and finished raising her. Later, he married a 2nd time..divorced again when he discovered his wife was never officially divorced when they married.

He lost his job with the break-up of the Bell company and somewhere during those years, he began self medicating with booze. This a man who never drank until he was in his mid-40's. Now he's 67 yrs old, lives on the streets or in shelters and there is no way I can help him. When he's drinking he's vicious, abusive and occasionally violent. His daughter has given up hope too. He always managed to have an apartment to live in, until the last year or so. I feel terrible..I told him not to call me anymore if he was going to continue to call me and be abusive. I didn't hear from him for probably a year.

He got hit by a car last spring and as a result was given a few bucks. He bought one of those prepaid cell phones and called me. That's when I found out he was homeless, no longer in California and moving around to wherever a ride will take him.

[orleans]

84. yes, i knew someone who was homeless. i did what i could at the time

(which wasn't much)

but we were friends.

he died, one night, at a nearby park. it was heartbreaking.

[nadine_mn]

86. I was homeless for a little while as a kid

we were in vegas, had to live in car for awhile

now as an adult...I donate as much as I can - money, food, hygiene items,

it hits too close to home for me to do face to face volunteering - I am afraid someone would mistake my tears for pity, and afraid I will turn into a slobbering mess (maybe I am just a coward)

[ThomCat]

87. I was homeless for a time.

:(

Ever since then, I've always, always, always had room for someone to come and stay with me if necessary. I've always been prepared to take in a long-term houseguest if necessary. I had a dear friend come and live with me rent free for over 2 years.

[TankLV]

90. I did for a while a few years back - one of my friends when I was in Honolulu

I didn't know for a long time - then I found out he was living out of his car with his young son and daughter - I sent them to a hotel for a week...all I could afford (they refused to stay more and didn't want to stay in my studio apartment with me either)...

used all my last spare funds - I was self-employed at the time and had virtually NO savings either...

His wife was diagnosed as crazy, and he had to take the kids away from her by court order - she would make the kids wear knit caps and sweaters when it was in the 80's among other thiings - and he had to leave her in the apartment he rented so as not to make her any worse - it was a real bad situation that I was unaware of until they were doing it for a few weeks...

He eventually got some money to take a small apartment - and eventually got a good job when he moved to Seattle...

[mdmc]

91. kick

[mdmc]

92. kick