Homeless people

O My. That is asking, no beggin for a Karmic Wallop.

 

While I have compassion for the homeless, I will not give money to pan handlers. I will always give to someone playing music or providing some form of entertainment, or I will purchase anything someone is selling be it a stick of sage or a braided neckless. I will also always find a few bucks for the gut who is washing car windows also. I've made it through life without asking for spare change even while living in the streets. At least try and do something for cash.

 

excuse me? are you kidding me? I guess since you seem to know me better than I know myself....

the fact of the matter is I need money just as much! I am a hardworking college student who barely gets by, BARELY - do I need to emphasize it more? I do not have ANY luxuries! My luxury is being able to pay for electric. unless it is someone truly in need (not a drug addict they don't get anything and I stand by it) I will give someone a spare dime or quarter IF I HAVE IT, which is rare. I am usually just as broke as the person asking me for money! but in the end its my money and I can do what I damn well please with it! there is nothing to argue about with any of my personal experiences and my actions are just. No need to condemn me or the majority for using it to SURVIVE as I do. First things first, I use my money to help me survive, okay? its that basic. I may have $400 in the bank but thats all to rent..if I give $1 here to addict 1, $2 to junky two, all of a sudden I am $5 short for rent or more while addict 1 is snorting coke. I refuse to let my hard earned money go towards someones bag of crack. I clearly picture the connection and i am not having it.

 

again, its one thing if you are on the street because your apartment building or house burned down or was destroyed because of natural diaster or unfairly laid off because the heartless corporation you were working for moved to China...if I have no money (which i state again is usual), I sometimes give material positions, like mitten or a hat to keep warm. maybe I should have mentioned that.

if you are homeless and a drug addict, I will buy food, that helps..since the money obviously is not going towards food. You can curb an addiction, it simply takes motivation and I do not want to be fuel to the fire, plus other comments I made before. I can't in good nature fuel drug addicts. so on one condition you are right, I WILL NOT give a person who is homeless because of drugs money. If I fuel a drug habit these folks may get more drugs and try to make a profit by selling it..to kids even, god forbid. People are generally more harmful while messed up on various drugs than while sober too.

you might accuse me of being conditional..damn right I am, its my money/possesions and I can add any conditons I want to its donation.

 

i feel bad for some of them and their situation. cuz some homeless people dont know about the help that they can get through the government or they dont know about programs that are dedicated to help those in need of a meal,bed,shower. to be honest i didnt know about any of the programs when i was living on the streets.

if i passed someone who looked as if they were in need i would give them a phone number to call and my cell phone to use and stand right there and see if he would take the offer and get help then if he would take the help i would pay for a taxi for him or just take him to where he need to go .

with some homeless people i think that they cant help their situation and others they can but refuse to relize that they could do much better.

 

good post FF and good points!

sure, It may be no palace but even the salvation army in certian areas provides a roof over the head, for instance. or a half way house.

 

When I encounter a homeless person, it depends on whether I have any small bills. Because of where they tend to sit near campus here, I often see them right after leaving the ATM. I would happily spare $3, but I can't spare a $20. But, if I need to pick up anything in the convenience store they're in front of, they'll get something.

If you are not comfortable giving money that may support an addiction, give food. It's not that hard. Carry a spare granola bar in your backpack/briefcase/whatever in case.

However, I hate to hear people make comments like

That is the sign of a truly ignorant person. Educate yourself on the dangers of alcohol withdrawals. If not under observation by medical professionals, and especially if not in a location where someone with a car can drive you to a hospital right away if need be, DTs can be fatal.

So, giving that bum $2 to get a 40oz just might be keeping him alive.

Sure, it would be ideal if he would go into treatment. Just like it would be ideal if there were no more rape, murder, spousal abuse, random assault, robbery, etc. Would you like to come visit us in the real world for a minute?

As for reasons -- I have known many homeless people and worked in a soupkitchen run by people with much more experience and education in the topic than I had.
1. Just because they are addicted now does not mean that is why they wound up on the streets. Many turn to alcohol/drugs because they had a bad string of luck that left them out on the streets, at which point what's to lose in drowning those sorrows?
2. Many people with mental illnesses (which are the root cause of their homelessness) self-medicate with alcohol/drugs. Amazingly enough, getting drunk makes the voices shut up.
3. People who have some types of head trauma appear drunk -- slurring words, stumbling a bit, etc. -- though they are completely sober. I don't know how common this is among the total US homeless population, but it was an important issue according to one woman who ran the soupkitchen that I worked at.

Of course, that's not an extensive list. But, I've known too many kids who left home (ok, ran away) because of either abusive parent or neglect, who then, being stupid fucking kids, fell into drugs and alcohol because, well, why not? What is there to lose? And, well, everyone they hang out with, often their support network that keeps them safe (safety in numbers) is getting wasted, so they should too so that they don't look like narcs or something and lose that safety network.

So why not go to a shelter?
1. Nowhere near enough beds available in shelters.
2. I've had several people tell me that they feel much safer on the streets, sleeping in the worst neighborhoods you can think of, than in a shelter. In a shelter, you better sleep ON TOP of everything that you don't want stolen. And don't think about taking your shoes off -- instead you better double, no triple, no quadruple knot them.

So why not get a job?
1. No address to list on the application.
2. Where are you going to get the call for an interview?
3. Where are you going to take a shower before work?

 

my $2 may also contribute to this person reaching dangerous bac and dying of alcohol poisining, okay? and you know what. just because I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU I WILL NOT CALL YOU IGNORANT BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE! How dare you call a stranger ignorant.

did you not read my posts? read again. I said exactly that! I also mention material possesions in there but I will leave that to you since you are college educated and posses the reading comprehension skills needed to get past HS ( I would assume)

 

i shoot them

 

live on the streets? squat? only in the mirror. maryln monroe said kindness of strangers. kindness of parents etc. sum folks got rents. not i. no worries. i always try n amuse folks when i beg. 17 to 24 i begged fer cover. roll into a new town tho n u might need food. sum folks are unsound tho. i am mostly. dont mean i cant earn shit. dont always know how tho. you can sell drugs ,blood plasma cans guns newspapers labor. nearly everything. ive sold my body. temporary images thereof. im shagnasti. aint my typin/grammer improved! computers are usefull. its just money. i ussually fuckoff money anyhoo.in london sum bankers i was drinkin with wanted smack. so i sentem to an quantance. him needed his breakfast of heroin n coke. they did not.him got his n they staggered around drunk. if they had dun sum dope theyda died.excess cash.had a gf kill me once. been off the junk fer near a year . she was a methadone grrl. spent a week with her nutter ass.badsex no connect. she kills me.says random house?

 

I have grown up and lived in Chicago. There are homeless people all over. I have even donated some of my time at a soup kitchen, so I have gotten a chance to talk to a few of them. Some of them are really intellegent people and others have a psych problem. But the most of them have a drug or alcohol problem. Knowing that, I would NEVER give a homeless person money. I am not going to help them get a high, but I will give them food or something to drink. But that has also backfired, trying to give them food or drink and they flip-out because they want money instead! But the ones that have accepted food or a drink from me were very thankful. That has always made me feel good.............



~namaste~

 

Have you looked up "ignorant" in the dictionary? Being ignorant about a particular subject means not knowing much about that particular topic. Lack of knowledge, not lack of intelligence or anything like that.
First, what I read of your posts did not display any great knowledge about addiction issues (beyond many pop-culture assumptions) or about the health risks involved in going through withdrawals.

Second, I was not directing the entirety of my post at you as a person. I took your words as emblematic of attitudes I've heard from a great many people. Notice I did not quote your name in the quotation I used. And, yes, whenever I hear anyone say "I don't want to contribute to their addiction," I assume they are ignorant about the various issues related to dealing with addiction -- psychological issues, lack of effective treatment available, health risks involved in withdrawals, etc. -- whether that person is a high school drop out or has a PhD.

No, actually, I stopped really reading all of the responses when they started to sound like they were saying the same thing.

You're taking this as a huge personal attack, when it's not. In having been homeless, having worked with homeless people, and in dealing with ignorant attitudes about homelessness among my peers in undergrad and in grad school, those were issues that tend to pop into my mind when the issue of homelessness comes up.

I don't know you -- why would I care enough to go on the warpath tearing you down? Some of your words are easy to quote as stereotypical responses I've heard countless times. That's all. Stop taking this so personally.

 

recognize both yall. gender roles betwixted. glad im not his grrlfriend or hers.prolly his tho goin over my memory.north carolina , always member more about grrls damn het.ya namaste when i was 11 i started lookin at social workers with qwestions they couldnt answer. burntout workers in them places i babysat. broke by sumthing outside.not bad to want to help. bad to not be strong enough to continue.never promise kindness. in sum part we all ask. twice now i didnt lie. failed. story. british grrl. i fell in love AGAIN! no jumpin off bridges? or i need to believe. who knows. kicked outta ireland twice england twice. no entry. went to holland get a boat. street aint street. straat. stared at me like sum goldfish tho.chase or be.so im gettin good enough that i can lie to myself and believe it. or i wanted to do it anyway.whats werse than shit in your mouth? ashes.

 

I really must apologize. I am over sensitive sometimes.

 

what am i sum authority?this how i do it. ID no warrants churches help with id no catholiks suck ass. im catholik fuk you. ok 1 fly a sign or day labor. meet employer 2nd day folks pay day labour 4 and 5 times what they pay you. so if its 8 say 10 bones ill be here all week. tellem im a drunk u buy the food fer lunches durin bid end of week i miss a day cool. no pay. watch gear fer werk crew. . u wakeup go to work got 15 16 hour days. no plumbers here. if youve had 5 or 6 jobs you can hang drywal do framin watever. even in right to work states u be makin 1200 a week. no restraunt bullshit. there u are off the street. if u got any qwestions u can go fuck yourself.i get tired of complainin.sex aside i need me a redhead with sum fat tittys

 

Homeless people are lazy bums. If they really wanted to they wouldn't be on the street... for some reason whenever a bum asks me for money I give it to them

 

im to godamn empathetic, it annoys me. i feel sorry for way to many people, especially homeless people

 

Pretend they don't exist and then wonder why the fuck they are on the street in the first place. Here we are in 21st Century, Britain, London even!.... And- these homeless people put up such a song and dance. There was this one homeless person at Charing Cross station just below ground where you would catch the tube. There was this homeless person and his dog-Bless, and the human was well doing the dying swan on me. Going on about his dog-bless, and how he has no food to eat(yet looked quite well nourished. No signs of dehydration or bones) In the end, it was the dog who kind of prompted me to give the guy a fifty pence piece.


Not saying I don't care about the homeless but am sure they could seek help without acting as though they are in some poverty stricken third world country. They act as though we are in Ephiopia or Samalia.

This christmas, I hope to help Crisis Skyline with the soup run. Running from 23rd December to 30th December. Will make a change from dancing around a christmas tree and everyone going, "oh wow you shouldn't have. Oh thankyou, you are too kind", over and over again and champagne and tinsel in hair and pine needles sticking in your hands as you try and put the decorations on.

I am glad the police are actually moving these homeless people on because after a while, it gets kind of crowded with homeless people. Charing Cross is notorious for young homeless people. Yes, I feel sorry for them, but at the same time, doing a dying swan act is going a bit far considering we live in one of the most wealthiest countries in the world.

 

those who are on the street because their conscounse forbids them to contribute to the causes of suffering and harm, even though it is costing them the softer life most of you seem to see as more respectable, are utter and absolute heros, whatever their social shortcommings otherwise.

those who beg are not. unless their begging is from ignorance of available services because they are newly homeless. (which everyone who deludes themselves that homelessness is the resault of personal deficiences on the part of the homeless are perfectly capable of one day waking up to find themselves. it can, has, and DOES happen. and MOST homeless people only become alcohalic or aquire the other problems associated with it, AFTER the become discourage by the challanges they actualy face to become otherwise. i'm sorry for those who would rather lie to themselves, but this IS the simple reality.)

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