Homeless people

Well, with a job at least you protect and preserve your dignity and self-respect and if you hassle you can get daily jobs with daily pay.


Many people make $20 + an hour without a college education, you just have to know the right kind of people.

 

So how would someone be able to get a job if they don't have an address and how can they have an address without a home?

It's obvious most homeless people dont' KNOW the right people...if they did...they probably wouldn't be homeless because they'd have an "out"...It's easy for someone who has never been homeless to say these things

 

Some jobs don't require address, like window cleaners and car washers. You clean and get paid and goodbye.

I would never allow myself to become one in the first place.

 

Some kids have to leave home young due to severe abuse. They get out there under an already abused mentality, & find nothing but more ppl looking to abuse.
Hard to change, or start your life when you came up with a foot on your neck.
I try not to be so judgemental. One serious health condition, or case of identity theft can land you there.

 

Is "Shaky Jake" still playing his two stringed guitar down on Liberty and Main? I'll always give him a buck or two.

 

alot of places offer training and even a 2 yr degree at tech school isnt much and could be covered by a small loan or daytime job.

 

anyone can become homeless at anytime
just a stroke of bad luck..or a theft or fire & you can be left with nothing

inquiringmind anything could happen to you tomorow that changes your life & leaves you unable to workor sipport your family..just cause ya have a nice home today doesnt mean it'll always be there
just goto areas hit by a natural disaster & talk to people therre
a huricane or earthquack can make 100,000 homeless overnight.. can you honnestly say theres no way it will never happen to you?

 

Give us the loan requirements.
What if you didn't graduate? What if you are dyslexic, & didn't graduate but were never diagnosed?
It's easy to stand in judgement.
Yes, there are some people who can find a way out. Sometimes your act of charity can be the hope or boost they need to claw their way to it.

 

oh that will sure help someone with terrets or a brain tumor or any severe mental problems that make them totaly unable to function let alone study or work

 

^ What he said.

 

If I suddenly found myself homeless, I'd try to model myself after one of the most beloved homeless men in history ....Kwai Chang Caine




Hotwater

 

you have a lot of good posts/replies that I have seen today

It really depends on the situation

Just recently some dude told me he was stuck in Maine and needed 3 dollars to get back to vermont. so i had to ask what he was doing so far from the bus station and I could smell booze. I knew I was right in my descion when I saw him walk THE OPPOSITE way of the station. If you are really looking to get home maybe you should not be drunk, but I doubt he is and just wants a 40..denied!

there is this nice man I give change to. he helped me out the first time I saw him. he asked for change and I said "can you tell me a good diner to go to". he told me so I gave him a dollar for the advice, which turned out to be SUPERB. often people want money for nothing..but they should offer up something in exchange..at the least ADVICE..and uh..not reek of booze.

I have to give one guy credit: he said "I'll be straight with you, can I have a dollar for booze?

"and I'll be straight with you, being a poor college student I don't have a dollar to help a stranger get drunk."

my typical responses are:

(looks in pocket) sorry man I don't have any change (WHICH IS TRUE 95% of the time I do not carry money typically)

"hey I need money just as much as you, I am broke (sometimes adding: because of college)

"I need this change for laundry man"

one time a big black man basically cornered me for $3 and likely would have harmed me as he was really getting personal and agressive in his speak.."come on man, got some change..cooome on..COME ON..dude, 3 dollars..."

The only time I ever gave in because he was really getting close and agressive and no one else was around.

sometimes homeless people come up with sappy stories that are obviously rehersed..that bothers me because it wastes your time...(i always think to myself PUT SOME EFFORT INTO THIS IF YOU NEED THE MONEY instead of mindlessly droning on and on)

the fact of the matter is, I am willing to bet at least half of the people on the streets are either a. are not actually homeless b. More likely, they are homeless by choice. a lot of people do have somewhere to go..they just don't want to live with a parent that lays down the laws or something similar. Most people could take a job..even if its sweeping floors..but admitingly, they are to proud for that. I wonder how many people are forced to living on the streets..a small percentage I would say..

with that said, america still has a terrible problem with homeless people and poverty is the highest its been in almost 60 years. welfare can certiantly be at fault for that, as some people (before 1996) LIVED off them for a decade..two decades..OR MORE..since the 96 reform, a lot of people had time limits on how long they would receive welfare checks and of course, lived off of them till that limit was up, THAN decided to get a job after their last check, which is not practical. I think welfare, which orginally was supposed to be a quick fix to help the economy and not last long, has made many to dependent and willing to leech off of other hard working folks.

speaking from experience living in the city for quite some time, you learn to call people out on their bullshit..like the dude who needed to go to vermont, WRONG WAY TO THE STATION DUMBY, like hell you need money, boozie!!!

 

people like me who pay for college, rent, electricity, gas..food...don't have that extra spare dollar to get a stranger drunk..we just need to get buy and have dinner tommorrow. if they need to get drunk they aren't getting anything with me. If I have just a little spare change, it is going towards a good cause because I work hard for my money..and I don't need to see the same person the next day..the next day...and the day after that ad nausea begging for money to feed his addiction. it doesn't help to feed that addiction..granted they get it from someone else..but if more people refused change to people forced into homelessness because of drugs..it would obviously help them in the long run to clean up and do something with themselves and get a job instead of leeching off of other hard working people day after day. at the least I would rather take them out for a good meal than give them a dollar to fuel them in what seems to be their never ending downward spiral. Living in the city has made me very weary of the constant addicts.

 

it depends where I am in life... physically and financially.

In tropical climates, i wouldn't give a homeless person a wool hat... but in Canada I would. I used to carry extras for that purpose, but there aren't any homeless where I currently live.

If I have a couple bucks, yeah.. I'll give it. If I have some extra food in my bag, I'll give that too. In one country I used to keep loaves of bread and extra clothes in my bag for the street children. Nothing is more sad than street children.

When I was homeless I still gave stuff away... was probably more free with what I had than I ever was or will be again.

 

i agree too i'll give $ to help anyone who needs it..if it helps them...a beer does not help them & i will not help em hurt themselves more

but i disagree with what u said about most choosing to be homeless..well except the 1's who chose to give up everything to addictions...if they want help getting off it & off the streets tho i'll do all i can

 

no, people "like you" don't WANT to spare a dollar or two to beggars. in fact, very few people WANT to give money directly.

keep in mind i'm 21, live on my own, pay my bills -including rent- on a part time job making less than 8 bucks an hour. i can still find it in my heart to give someone a couple bucks once in a while and just cut back on my own luxuries. i've never claimed to be some saint out there among the homeless doing good day in and day out giving the shirt off my back....i rarely am put in a situation where someone asks me for money these days.

when i AM in that situation, i -usually- try to give money without considering what it may be spent on. i am not in their situation, so i dont know what it will be....i dont know them. but junkies need to eat, too....even if they appear drugged out or drunk or mentally impaired or whatever, the money may just as likely go for food.


addiction is a disease like any other. many types of withdrawl are lethal - including alcohol - or at very least INTENSELY unpleasant. i've known enough people with problems, and experienced some problems myself, that i know it really doesnt matter WHAT it's spent on. they'll spend it on what they need to get by, even if what they need to get by isn't something i like or "approve" of.

for comparison, if any of you smoke cigarettes and have tried many times to quit cold turkey or by cutting back, you KNOW how hard it is to quit a very addictive drug, even if the drug you've got experience with isn't AS mentally debilitating as some others.

and buying a hamburger for someone isn't going to help if they're dopesick.

while kicking addictions is the best solution, it isn't always that easy, and i for one would prefer to help people get whatever fix they need than to have them mugging people for it.

no one says you have to give money, but be clear why you don't - to yourself as well. you say "i can't" but in reality you just WONT. i've got plenty of money woes right now seeing as i can't get 40 hours where i work, but taking a second job isn't a viable option at this point. but i WILL give a buck or two if someone around me is in need.

its not like i've said you should go out LOOKING for homeless people and give them all money.


a few issues to keep in mind:

no one wants to be addicted to anything. its got a stronger hold then someone without this problem can understand. if it were that easy, they would have quit before it ruined them financially....before they could no longer afford a place to live.

giving to charity instead of individuals means that less of your money will actually be helping these people. you give someone money, you don't know what they'll spend it on....maybe food, maybe tobacco, maybe heroin....but if you give it to a charity a lot gets lost on operational costs, wages for full time workers of the charity, and so on, and i dont know of any charities that will cater to all aspects of life, that will really help anyone get back on track.

people without an address, with no regular access to clean clothing and bathing facilities, let alone people with addictions or other diseases, will have little to no chance of finding legitimate employment even at fast food places.

many people are turned away from shelters and other charities for various reasons, such as not quitting cold turkey (rarely is this the best way to get clean) or because of other issues.

while i and many others on here may have severely limited financial resources, as long as we know we've got somewhere to keep warm and enough calories to keep on living, we're going to be alright. everything else from cable tv, internet access, excessive gas consumption to better beer to good food is a luxury. these can be cut back on if need be if you really want to give someone money so they can get by.

i'm well aware of the issues that direct people away from giving money to beggars, and i dont think its inherently wrong to not give money. but i do feel that giving is an act of compassion and good will regardless, even if i DONT think people should have to give money to everyone that asks, or to the same person every day, or anything else like that....and i DONT think any of you should feel obligated to help pay for someone's fix simply because i feel sorry for them and think its an act of kindness to give them some change.

but its appalling to think of people saying "i can't afford to give someone a dollar" rather than "i dont want to give a dollar"

its not something you should make excuses for. it just depends on what you believe in - i'm certainly not about to condemn someone for not paying for another person's dope or beer....

until methadone clinics dont have yearlong waiting lists and people have access to organizations that will truly help them, i still think that giving someone a dollar is a good thing.

 

Yeah Shaky Jake is still around...although he's getting pretty up there nowadays...He's around in teh summers, but you don't see much of him in the winters.

That said, I almost always throw people dancing or playing an instrument on the street a couple of dollars. I think they add character to the city and make just walking down the street fun! I think panhandlers need to get a gimick...if they get a gimmick...they'd make a lot more money...and people are less likely to give them bad attitudes and more likely to throw them some money.

 

i dont like to admit it, but i agree to an extent. i'm much more likely to give money to someone singing or at least showing a good attitude of some sort....i remember in DC once hearing some old guy outside a museum shouting cheerfully at the people passing "COME ON, SMILE! I dont even have all my teeth, and I'm smiling!"


whereas people sitting in rags huddled up next to a building with a paper cup just looking mournful.....as bad as i feel saying this, its almost natural to pity them so much as to confuse it with disgust or indifference....the sight of these people and their "lack of dignity" often makes us want to block them out, to push them out of our minds and forget they exist so we don't have to feel bad about not helping everyone....

 

Hehe, that guy in DC would have gotten cash from me for sure...

I also like people flying funny signs...I will usually give them money too...

Positive attitudes really need to be rewarded...and even though their situations are dire, at least making an effort is worth a few bucks.

 

I give them money or food, if I have it.

I hate when people say, "They just buy drugs or alcohol with it. They won't buy food." Maybe they need the alcohol or drugs as much or more than they need the food.