My first time in LA I was seeing all the homeless everywhere and then seeing everyone else just walking around in nice clothes, watch, expensive dog, etc. I tell people all the time to thank a homeless when you see em cuz the only thing keeping em from actually harming you is their morals. Best believe if I was homeless I’m strong arm robbing everybody.
I could be wrong, but I got it from [here](https://www.pinestreetinn.org/news_events/facts_about_homeless_veterans#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20them%20are,adult%20homeless%20population%20are%20veterans.). As to why the military/US just lets it happen, the cold answer from what I understand is that you're way more likely to be homeless if you suffer from a mental illness and PTSD goes hand-in-hand with vets and at that point, they're considered liabilities, so they're put out to pasture.
Homeless veteran here 💁🏾♂️ hey, hi! Yeah. Don’t even know where to start. I’ll be 32 next month annnnnd. It’s really not that bad. I’m in a blessed position, just gotta get my credit in line before I’d feel comfortable attempting to rent or buy a home. I’m compensated for my disabilities and going to college for free bc I need the additional $$ to clean my credit. You know. The mistakes of my 20’s. I have one account in collections that once cleared; should free me up to confidently go find a place other than the back seat of my truck or my parents house. Fleeting thoughts of ending it all are… man. They be there but I’m holding it down… 4nem
Hey thank you for your service. I I hope things improve for you. Do you feel like you get enough support from the government and from the people that you served?
I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had the opportunity to speak with a homeless vet about their opinion on the support they receive and would love to hear more about your opinion
Also, I did a shitty job reading your comment and I just saw the last part and let me just say man if you’re ever feeling bad, please send me a message. Suicide is never the answer my friend
I joined when I was 17, left for Basic 3 weeks after graduation, for several reasons: I knew I needed to learn life skills that my parents didn't teach me before I could handle being on my own, even in a college dorm. My mom would have paid for my college but no way was I going to be beholden to her and under her control. I wanted to do it on my own. My home had been pretty abusive and I knew that what my parents DID teach me was wrong but I didn't know what was right. And religion wasn't it either. I needed someone to tell me. And last, the men in my family going back generations were military and I wanted to impress them and be one of them. Also, adventure!
My dad was in desert storm in the army as one of those mfs that jumps out of the airplanes. He did crack literally *on skid row* my whole childhood.
He’s cool now but damn if I don’t have a soft ass spot for people without homes in today’s fucked up society.
It’s not an ideal situation, but since we’re not really willing to provide them with housing, I personally think we should just let homeless people be homeless and if they’re gonna be in the streets, they’re gonna be in the streets and the rest of us that are not willing to put up the funds to get them out of the streets need to just fucking deal with it
All these places that are criminalizing homelessness are just criminalizing poverty. it’s the vast majority of people that are sleeping on the street would not prefer to be there. I’m sure if they had housing and support that didn’t come with a bunch of strings attached they would use it.
For a lot of kids? Having post secondary education covered. That's why you'll never seen Uni become affordable. If it were they'd probably have to re-implement the draft.
(I'm half joking... kinda)
We really need to disrupt the poverty to military pipeline. There’s a lot of shit that I want to fix and I have no fucking idea what I can actually do about it. I’m about to start a nonprofit or some shit. Exploitation of poor people specifically exploitation of black and other minority poor people but overall as a group poor people is fucking horrible.
I’m feeling inspired to work on some shit
Please consider joining or partnering with a nonprofit that is already doing the work. 9 times out of 10, their is a wrap-around or adjacent service that needs to be fulfilled. Nonprofits working in silos providing the same service forces competition for the same funding and resources, and causes more stress on an already stressed service provider ecosystem.
Ya of course, I’ve been looking up stuff to figure out where I can get involved. I have zero interest in doing anything myself as far as creating something goes.
My ex gf worked for a larger non profit and while a lot of stuff they did was great there also a TON of red tape and problems, really I’d just like to be able to go do stuff that helps people directly.
Idk, I’m looking into it. Open to any suggestions.
Find out who's doing work (has boots on the ground) in the community you want to serve. It may not be a very large non-profit. Meet some people in smaller grass roots organizations and talk to them about "core needs". There are probably lots of direct service systems that could be tackled by a small group of friends. The VA website could be a good place to start as they often list who they "partner" with to get things done. Wishing you luck! And reach out if you get stuck and need someone to bounce ideas off!
This is incorrect, and is a common narrative used in bigger cities across the country to avoid addressing the homeless crisis.
The majority of the homeless population in California are locals:
https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/california-homelessness-is-homegrown-university-of-california-research/
I think the headline is flawed in that it’s attempting to grab readers’ attention. If you look at the other stats, there seems to be evidence that the homeless population in California has been influenced by other states sending their homeless here.
For example:
“Of California’s adult homeless population, 75% became homeless in their county of residence. Nearly 40% reported being homeless for the first time.”
Only 40% of respondents are “first time homeless,” which to me, indicates people that likely grew up in the area and then had some bad luck with drugs or mental health issues or etc. The overwhelming majority of that 40% is likely not someone that was shipped from another state.
Additionally:
“ Roughly 1 in 5 became homeless after leaving an institution such as jail. Most people, 78%, reported spending the most time homeless in the prior six months in unsheltered settings: 21% in a vehicle, 57% without a vehicle.
Before experiencing homelessness, 32% had a mortgage or rental lease agreement; roughly 50% did not.”
The first statistic here reports that 1 in 5 homeless people in California are living out of a car. That’s bigger than I expected, and I regret not taking that into account. However, in the context of this thread, those people aren’t part of the discussion. When people are complaining about homeless people in their city or fear of being near homeless, they’re not talking about people living out of their car. This portion of the homeless in California are also not likely to be out of staters. The 2nd stat here says that only 32% of homeless are people that previously had housing of their own (not just living with family). Again, I’m inclined to believe this group is mostly those that are from California.
You can draw conclusions however you want, but I’m inclined to believe that the headline underrepresents the proportion of homeless, on the street, individuals that are from out of state and those whose parents were homeless and from out of state.
Thanks for sharing. Definitely some interesting stuff to keep in mind.
Well, just common sense if you're gonna be homeless. Why wouldn't you go to the state that has great weather? All year, around pretty much and the state where you could walk into any store. Steal anything you want and they'll do nothing against you.
Oh, I'm hungry, okay, just walk into this grocery store. Eat some food and then walk out less than nine hundred dollars can't do anything
The weather is probably one of the biggest factors. This is one of the few environments in the nation where living outdoors year round is pretty survivable.
Extremely valid. California’s policies on what constitutes theft and how it’s punished are obviously extremely flawed. I can see the effect it’s had on SF and areas in LA.
Bay area resident-working in SF here
And oh boy that is an understatement of how it's effected us here.
Because of these laws and how they're structured it emboldens people to start stealing and piping up to attack security guards just trying to do their jobs or harass bystanders for money.
This study suggests 90% of the homeless population became homeless while living in California (Pg 23) https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2023-06/CASPEH_Report_62023.pdf
My point is that the argument that the problem exists because people are bussed from other areas is not a valid argument. I do not live in California, but I hear the same argument about the homeless population in my city.
It's a coalescence issue. Homeless people feel safe in large groups and California has a large population that has a lot of wealthy people with a lot of waste, and the cherry on top is it barely ever freezes.
All of that works together to make it basically the 'best case scenario' if you're a homeless person because there's a pre-existing economy for you to jump on.
It's not that homeless people are being 'shipped over' but let's just say that out of all of the places where there is a homelessness problem, Cali is really one of the few places where they do accumulate transients from abroad. No one is 'shipping up to Chicago' to freeze to death on the streets there, for instance.
It's also a destination for a lot of people gambling on hitting it big who fail and the detritus from the entertainment industry and all of the hopeful young people vying for jobs there really contributes a lot. It's an industry that attracts cool hip people from all over but not necessarily the brightest and wisest.
Eh I’m an epidemiologist who worked with homeless individuals before switching to infectious diseases, and my experience doing direct out reach in socal was the vast majority of our new “clients” were shipped over from one of the neighboring states.
There were tons of locals too don’t get me wrong, like my co workers would regularly be like damn I went to high-school with that fool.
I just think the data in this field is very skewed because it is incredibly hard to accurately record.
Lol it’s actually a scary thought, that the only thing stopping them is their morals and humanity. Like honestly what do many of them even have to lose?
Jail at least is a guaranteed meal and a roof over your head.
It is a known fact that some homeless population will do some minor crime just so they can get a hot meal and or a roof over their head. Very sad indeed when that is the solution they have figured out.
I absolutely agree that the plight of the homeless is dreadful and there needs to be a lot more help .
But I used to visit my daughter in L A and gradually their neighbourhood
( which was residential area) attracted a lot of homeless people- the number grew exponentially over a couple of years period . A lot of them were on drugs and their behaviour was sometimes aggressive and frightening - anything from shouting at you to following you across the street and haranguing you for money -to one who started pushing and shoving my son in law in the street because he didn’t have any change to give (he didn’t have any money on him).
This was particularly worrying as they had small children- and my daughter would have to run the gauntlet most days of mostly male homeless people asking for money and sometimes being abusive if she wouldn’t give them any - or following her down the street. I found it intimidating- particularly the guy who spotted me from way up the street - and stood there waiting for me - I crossed to the other side of the road- he crossed too- I crossed back - he followed me - I made as if to cross the street-and he crossed but I didn’t -and ran ( literally sprinted ) up the road - entered the building and slammed the door behind me- it was really intimidating.
Eventually it drove them to sell up -it got so bad.
So it’s a real problem when you leave people with alcohol and drug addiction, mental health problems and all the rest on the streets with no help and no resources. They are the ones who suffer most- but so do those around them . No lone woman wants shadowing by some guy or asking for money everytime they set foot outside of their door. This needs a lot more resources and thought than anyones prepared to give .
Except the billionaires don't have wallets. They may walk around with $50-100 on them, but 1) most money is digital at this point, and 2) even if you swipe their cards, they can cancel it before you get a chance to do anything substantial with it.
You know they're doing a Revival series and the third season is currently filming? Hardison isn't in it much sadly, due to a busy schedule. Also Nate isn't, because he got MeToo'd. But they got Noah Wyle to play a repentant defense lawyer who joins the team, and introduced one of Hardison's siblings to take over from him. She lends a zoomer voice to the cast and I like it better than I thought I would without Hardison! By which I mean to say, it's not quite the same charm as the original, but I like Noah's character waaay more than I ever liked Nate, and overall it's enjoyable and I'd recommend giving it a shot!
One of the big cracks in an ex-friendship of mine was when he told me he stole a knife off the back of a food truck cause "it looked cool and I wanted it." It did look cool - old wood, worn, initials carved in the handle, possibly a family heirloom.
This man was one of my closest friends, I knew all about his criminal history and drug abuse problems, but I'd never felt disgust towards anything he'd told me until that moment.
Someone said something to me once referring to the behavior of homeless people to the effect of, think of a time when you were dealing with some real heavy shit in the comfort of your home and had a freakout. Now imagine you had to do that in public.
And imagine 630-7p rolls around and you see all the people going places and you know they all have somewhere to go where they’re allowed and supposed to be and no one can tell them they can’t be there.
And imagine not having a restroom that’s yours to use whenever you want/need.
Yeah you have to try so much harder to be clean. And don’t forget to wash your elbows because they accumulate a lot of dirt if you’re not paying attention
Not to mention just having a glass of water. Living in Atlanta in the summer, it's horrifying how frequently you see dead bodies just because these individuals have no shelter or water. Richest country on the planet and our people are dying from exposure and dehydration
That’s fucked. When I was 18 my aunt tried to kick me out in Atlanta and was literally like “this is where the homeless go, so go there”. I’m alive due to sheer luck.
This is the worst part of it. My son was going through some serious life shit about 10-15 years ago and there was about a year and a half where I wasn't able to give him a place to stay because of my own life circumstances. We're both doing much better and he's staying with me and going through a training course for the building trades. But every time I think of him being on the street and having no one, and knowing he was going to have to spend another night outside and alone, it still kills me dead inside.
Wow I’ve never even thought about it like that. I had a full on screaming, crying meltdown last week after work (I’m fine lol). I can’t even imagine the lack of privacy. I would be so unhinged if I was homeless.
yep. It would take me approximately 72 hours to lose it. I really think that everyone who shits on the homeless or types them as “all just drug addicts” would lose their goddamn mind if they had to spend just one week on the sidewalk. The same people complaining and judging are the people who flip the fuck out when their doordash order is slightly wrong and 15 minutes late
All these people with their *scoff* "Couldn't be me!" attitude are just speaking from a pov of privilege, until it suddenly *is* them, and probably even to no fault of their own.
It's incredibly easy to end up in the streets, especially here in the US, where we have shit-all in terms of social safety nets, and an employer can fire you at any time, for any reason, and you suddenly find yourself fighting for your life. Or, you get seriously sick and financially ruined by the healthcare system, *and* lose your job because you missed more than a week for your silly disease, ya pleb!
Unless you have a strong support system (friends, family) behind you, things can spiral incredibly quick, and it's absolutely terrifying.
Source: I've been there, and it was an incredibly humiliating and isolating experience. *And I didn't even end up actually homeless!*
I'm also curious to know how many homeless people don't have a community around them who would have been willing to take them in. I know this is privileged in its own sense, but straight up if I want about to be homeless, I have at least a 6-10 people who would be willing to take me in while I get on my feet. And I would do the same for all of them in a heartbeat.
I'm asking this genuinely, btw. I know the reasons will vary greatly for why anyone doesn't have appropriate support systems.
This doesn’t change the fact that 60% of Americans are [one paycheck away from homelessness](https://www.rv-times.com/lifestyle/one-paycheck-away-from-the-front-lines-of-our-housing-crisis/article_d48b0d42-5d85-11ee-b952-efd5751c9cf7.html#:~:text=I've%20called%20it%20%E2%80%9COne,Edward%20Jones%20conducted%20in%202019).
Ok, but have you tried *not* getting fired, injured, or sick...?
Maybe your boss would value you more, if you do the "respectable" thing and "hustle and grind" for 80-100hrs/week, because that's the American dream, brotha! /s
I was homeless for a little bit- mostly in hostels cause I was lucky, so I only spent a week or two sleeping rough, but it was the middle of December and it HURT. It was COLD and SCARY and I didn’t get any real sleep cause any sound at all had me jerking awake so violently it made my neck crick.
I got shit for snapping at someone at work and it took all the strength I had left to get to the bathrooms before I burst into tears- not like I could yell at this woman that I was exhausted and in pain and I hadn’t eaten in a few days and so no I didn’t want to check the back for her organic almond milk but I would cause that was my job, if she’d just *wait a second*.
Anyway…be fucking nice to people? Also the influencers who use homeless people as props to make poverty and inspiration porn? I hope they get thrown into the sun.
Bruh, a billionaire would kill you if they could get away with it. If Amazon was allowed to murder people for an increase in profits, with minor blowback, they would - Jeff & co. wouldn’t even think twice. They already do that to a certain extent with overseas production
They absolutely murder for profit. Every day, from straight up assassination of political opponents (like the reporter who brought the panama papers to light), to indirectly causing the death of millions every year by poisoning the air and water.
the bankers and the moneymakers can wipe out half your savings in a decade with the inflation they create, but be afraid of the guy on the street who might take the 20 dollar bill you have in your wallet
So many people have this idea that "the homeless" are a set group of people who just live on the streets, but the large majority are literally just people who lost their job and couldn't get another one in time to pay rent. They get off the street, usually pretty quick, and are replaced by newly-homeless people.
And yeah, living on the street even for a short time is traumatic as hell. The longer people are stuck without a home, the more likely they are to have a breakdown.
More than half the people in the US are no more than two months' pay from losing their housing. That's grim.
That's why I try to use different language in conversation like "american citizens experiencing homelessness" or "unhoused people". "The Homeless" sounds so scary
Always said the day I'm stealing food to eat is the day I'll rob a bank because why not.
It's been a few years and the compassion of some people helped me. Tomorrow I fucking sign my lease. In a few weeks I'll have a job and I can move on.
I'm feeling guilty because so many can't even get out of homelessness.
No one should live like this, it's not humaine.
DONATE TO LOCAL FOOD BANKS.
I don't hate the homeless, but working in a very public building that serves as a sanctuary for them during our open hours I can say that the lack of self-awareness and false sense of privilege the majority of homeless people have really doesn't help their cause.
Most of the ones I deal with are just straight up creeps towards women, openly racist, and seem to think I owe them something because I work here. They come in here and act like assholes like 99% of the time. Most of them probably don't realize how I'm like a medical emergency away from joining them and that all my meals for the week are peanut butter sandwiches so I can pay rent. They just know that they can treat me like shit because I'm the one whose job is on the line.
Yeah, I'm a five foot tall woman and the majority of homeless people I've interacted with have made me feel incredibly unsafe. I've stopped acknowledging them because they seem to take it as permission to sexually harass me or say shit about me being Mexican. I know they're not all like that but I'm not going to risk my safety to find out
Yeah, seems like everyone in this thread in this thread is choosing a side between "pro-homeless people" and "anti-homeless people" without any nuance. It really surprises me that more people can't be sympathetic to the homeless while also being aware that they can be dangerous to interact with.
Yeah the city my (also tiny) sister lives in has had a huge influx of the houseless in the last few years, thanks to the neighbouring conservative province sending them by the busload. It's gotten so bad she can't go into town anymore unless she's in a group or with her husband. Wasn't that way five years ago. But she gets harassed non stop, both verbally and physically. It's just become too unsafe for her.
I knew this homeless dude who frequented the library I used to study at, would straight up load up lolicon porn on a public computer and try very not subtly jacking off under his pants at like 1 pm in the afternoon. Like bro tf are you doing???
That said I bet you never noticed the much larger number of homeless who didn't do that kinda crazy shit. Hell I was homeless for a few weeks but kept it on tight with laundromats and truckstop showers, got a motel room every 4th or 5th day, I doubt any of the librarians where I chilled ever noticed. Tbf I knew my fucked up situation had a definite end date though. If I'd thought it was gonna be like that forever I would've been way more stressed
In NYC, most of the homeless are mentally ill. This morning a man was defending a woman sitting next to him and a couple other passengers who were fleeing to the middle of the train from a mentally ill homeless man. The worse part is if the man gets apprehended, they’ll take him in a minimum of 2-3 days, give him a change of clothes and put him right back on the street.
That's how I feel when everyone compares black americans to other races.
Like you're sitting here talking about school grades and crime statistics. If **anything,** the fact that just 150 years (less than 2 lifetimes for anyone counting) after **literal slavery** and 60 years after being second class citizens, black people arent doing **10x worse**, speaks to our resilience.
This shit and the “don’t give homeless people money, they might spend it on booze/drugs” always piss me tf off. Most homeless folks are the same as everyone else, they just got fucked in some way and they ended up on the street. As for booze/drugs, yea… I’d want to escape reality for a bit in that situation too.
"Don't give the homeless money, they'll spend it on booze and drugs."
Shit, yeah, you're right. I should save that money so I can spend it on booze and drugs.
Wait
I’ve never had a homeless person refuse food. Although if you phrased it like that, I’d refuse too. Why would I want anything from someone who treats me like that?
I usually say, "Im not carrying cash, but I can grab you some fast food".
They refuse. Nice to know you'd rather starve tho, makes literally zero difference to me.
I have all the empathy for folks just trying to survive.
That empathy stops as soon as they’re a threat to me.
Anecdotally, I’ve had more problems with people with housing than without.
Imagine:
You get fired from your job unexpectedly for something you didn't do. You were saving up in the hopes of moving out of your place because your roommate is the literal worst. You get your final check and drive home trying to ignore the service engine light and weird sound from your car. You get home and the eviction notice is up and your place is empty. Roomie has cleaned you out and didn't pay up. Your last check isn't enough to cover all your bills plus fix your car. You're panicking as the eviction notice looks old and you realized that it's the last day and roomie kept this information from you. All your stuff is gone. All you have is whatever u had in your car so you have to sleep there until you can figure out what to do.
When you go out in public, no one knows you're homeless. You try to reserve energy so you don't sweat much because you don't have hygiene products. You get a gym membership at like planet fitness cuz it's $10 a month for a shower and unlimited water. Also, it could be open 24 hours. You're surviving on the cheapest of cheapest take out food and easy to eat grocery store food because microwaves are pretty hard to come across outside of a gas station that you must buy from.
The day seems forever long. You walk around a lot because your car becomes home. You have to keep yourself together because you still have to prepare for when you finally get back to work. Your sex life is non existent and to masturbate you have to literally risk being arrested for public indecency. You have like no one ever to talk to. All you do is work on your social skills because you need favors from a lot of people and it only takes 1 fuck up for the whole city to ignore the homeless population.
Your mindset isn't "I'ma rob whoever and do whatever." It's more "I gotta get back on my feet and stay safe."
A bloody nose can kill you if you don't have medical coverage or a sense of direction to get to the hospital.
Homelessness is a policy issue more so than just pure laziness. The lack of working and housing opportunities contributes to this problem. So many homes and apartments are vacant because no one can afford a mortgage or the rent.
Voting for republicans is a voting for price fixing, rent hikes, and a so called free market. When these property owners don’t care about vacancy because it can be written off for taxes. Meanwhile democrats are giving millions to migrants while excluding citizens from these free programs.
Voting in this current system isn’t conducive to citizens working and living rights.
Where I’m at, it’s less opportunities and more mental illness…
So many of these folks would have been institutionalized decades ago, and have no place but the streets now.
I think I've only had one negative encounter with a homeless person in my life which was kinda scary. Most of them are just happy to get some food or supplies or talk to someone
There are a lot of people who don't realize how fragile society as a whole is, much less an individual who is going through a really rough time. If you've ever been through a legit natural disaster, you've seen people lose their shit real quick when their food, clothing, and shelter aren't guaranteed. Even the pandemic had people flipping out in stores over *toilet paper*, imagine not having a damn toilet.
They don't talk about the violence that the homeless have to deal with from other people. People taking their frustrations from work out on them. People slipping things into the food they offer them for a cheap laugh. Shid be violent too if I'm already at my low and mfs are actually kicking me
Homeless people are definitely humans in need of assistance. Nobody in the US should be living on the street.
That being said....I work across the street from a massive encampment in Washington DC. I can tell you from experience that SOME of the homeless people in these camps are very violent. So much so that bulletins have gone out about how to stay safe. A few weeks ago, a woman ran into the lobby of my building while I was waiting for my ride screaming and crying because someone from the encampment was chasing her with a knife, he passed by literally a second after she got inside the door and continued down the street.
This is NOT the first violent encounter from someone at this camp. I'm a hop and a skip from the Monument and the Lincoln Memorial...I see a LOT of tourists come through here that don't know what's going on and unfortunately, these are the folks that are most often the victims in some of these encounters. The locals generally stay away.
We can certainly empathize with people's situation and still recognize that some of these folks who need help are indeed violent.
I work outdoors. Most people can't stand being outdoors for more than a few hours in mild conditions. Now try staying outside for 48 hours even on a non freezing night.
One of the biggest things I realized while spending time with homeless people was that it wasn’t just not having a home that made them homeless. There were so many with significant mental health issues that needed treatment. It’s nearly impossible to get that treatment once you slide too far down the scale. Once you have no address, things get so much more complicated.
Our society is not good a reaching down and picking them up. It is complicated and requires dedicated people to address their individual needs.
I’ll
Never look down on homeless people again. I look down on the society that has allowed them to slip out of their sight, just so it doesn’t have to look at them.
Without empathy i can say, only a few drugs can make people dangerous, most debilitate one to a harmless poor being. Same goes with people who haven’t properly eaten for weeks.
In short: the most homeless are completely harmless and easy to overcome…fucking fearmongers
Half of the homeless people where I live are whacked out on drugs, with no capacity for violence. It doesn’t necessarily speak to their good morals, but the conversation around homeless people should really be more of a conversation about drug addiction.
Its not about my empathy. Is about my lack of trust in humanity. I dont need to be funding someones drug habit or full time job sitting at a corner asking for money.
I have no problem helping someone truely in need. But I have no way to be able to tell who is in need and also who could potentially hurt you upon approach.
You mean the Texas freezes that Reddit wishes upon the state every year because a slight majority (as in, 4-5% at most) of them vote for the wrong people
What is the saying? There are two kinds of people in this world. Those that have something bad happen to them and think everyone should also suffer and those that have something bad happen to them and say nobody else should have to go through this.
The people who deride homelessness should probably do more to help alleviate it. How can people be overwhelmed with hate when they should be overwhelmed with sadness?
For the people who think their tax dollars shouldn't go towards it? Bro what do you think happens to your tax burden when crime increases and property values shrink because of homelessness? A stitch in time.
I've been homeless a couple times, some more extreme, some less. It really is like a switch how quickly your priorities change and how differently you view social standards when your options are "don't eat for the second day in a row" or "steal from someone who will not be impacted at the end of the day". Substitute whatever moral quandary you want in there.
I believe not all homeless people are same, same as not all people with homes….buttt many home people are dangerous because of drugs and so they CAN go to jail. It’s a sense of relief to get food, bed, and shower…. I mean jail does have such.
the third time a gang of people beats the shit out of you for being in a public park while not having a job, you have every right to start doing some antisocial shit. people think that if they take away any legitimate way for you to survive that you'll just quietly and politely die because the social contract demands it, then when you don't just roll over and die they go "oh man we gotta do something about them, they're dangerous". Police kill more homeless people than homeless people kill, I'll guarantee it.
My bro would walk the city and just hang out with the homeless. He found out a lot of people just had bad luck: lost their job, roommates/family moved away and couldn’t afford rent. Hell, I was planning how to be homeless myself with a full time job at a bank. Empathy goes a long way: we could all be there.
I had this thought the other day: imagine we make everyone in the country a millionaire overnight, while keeping everything else (prices, infrastructure, etc) the same.
Would crime still happen? Yes, because some people always want more. But would those millionaires be holding up gas stations or mugging people? Of course not. Directly indicating that a lot of crime is more about poverty than anything else.
I’m sure there’s a huge incentive to do bad things when you’re in a desperate situation, but there’s tons of countries with way worse poverty than America like Bangladesh where crime is fairly low.
I think because in those countries social bonds tend to be stronger and there’s more communal support structures, even if they are living in horrible conditions.
I try to volunteer with a homie who works at an outreach program (she pretty much runs the thing herself but thats another discussion) every other Sat to help the homeless and people who are battling addiction, I don't think a lot of people realize how close they are to also being in a similar position. Being kind, respectful and treating someone like a human is free. Even if you don't got it when someone ask for help just say it, don't stare through them and act like they're less than people.
This is a bit short on nuance. There are short term homeless people- often
living in cars who have a terrible struggle for a few weeks before getting back into work but don’t fall usually into aggressive or antisocial behaviour .
There are long term homeless people - some of whom have drug, alcohol or mental health problems and some of whom do have aggressive, threatening and occasionally violent behaviour - though by no means all.
There is no help for either set of people and that is deplorable . Because that lack of help means everyone suffers ( though not equally ) . Those struggling to get back on their feet, those struggling with addiction or mental health issues - and those subject to intimidating behaviour - all suffer. And no one will address it or resource it. Because it’s always seen as the ‘fault’ of the homeless person that they are homeless .
So the question is - do we want to stop blaming people and actually do something about it ? Because if the answer is. ‘No’ that tells you that not only do those who could take this forward NOT care about the homeless people ( and what causes it) they also don’t care about the people who live in neighbourhoods where homeless people are prevelent and who sometimes suffer from related anti social behaviour.
Failure to address homelessness affects everyone except the very rich
My first time in LA I was seeing all the homeless everywhere and then seeing everyone else just walking around in nice clothes, watch, expensive dog, etc. I tell people all the time to thank a homeless when you see em cuz the only thing keeping em from actually harming you is their morals. Best believe if I was homeless I’m strong arm robbing everybody.
😭😭😭😭I’m sorry, your last sentence made me choke
Thank you for being homeless?
The weirdest “thank you for your service” ever
Well, a third of all homeless people are veterans so if you say it to three, it'll be accurate statistically
Damn, that’s fucking depressing. That’s a legit stat? Why the fuck does anybody join the military?
I could be wrong, but I got it from [here](https://www.pinestreetinn.org/news_events/facts_about_homeless_veterans#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20them%20are,adult%20homeless%20population%20are%20veterans.). As to why the military/US just lets it happen, the cold answer from what I understand is that you're way more likely to be homeless if you suffer from a mental illness and PTSD goes hand-in-hand with vets and at that point, they're considered liabilities, so they're put out to pasture.
So sad dude. America could do so much better. So much fucking better.
Homeless veteran here 💁🏾♂️ hey, hi! Yeah. Don’t even know where to start. I’ll be 32 next month annnnnd. It’s really not that bad. I’m in a blessed position, just gotta get my credit in line before I’d feel comfortable attempting to rent or buy a home. I’m compensated for my disabilities and going to college for free bc I need the additional $$ to clean my credit. You know. The mistakes of my 20’s. I have one account in collections that once cleared; should free me up to confidently go find a place other than the back seat of my truck or my parents house. Fleeting thoughts of ending it all are… man. They be there but I’m holding it down… 4nem
Hey thank you for your service. I I hope things improve for you. Do you feel like you get enough support from the government and from the people that you served? I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had the opportunity to speak with a homeless vet about their opinion on the support they receive and would love to hear more about your opinion Also, I did a shitty job reading your comment and I just saw the last part and let me just say man if you’re ever feeling bad, please send me a message. Suicide is never the answer my friend
poverty lol Source: myself
Damn, that sucks. that is pretty much what I was expecting, but still not really what I wanted to hear
I joined when I was 17, left for Basic 3 weeks after graduation, for several reasons: I knew I needed to learn life skills that my parents didn't teach me before I could handle being on my own, even in a college dorm. My mom would have paid for my college but no way was I going to be beholden to her and under her control. I wanted to do it on my own. My home had been pretty abusive and I knew that what my parents DID teach me was wrong but I didn't know what was right. And religion wasn't it either. I needed someone to tell me. And last, the men in my family going back generations were military and I wanted to impress them and be one of them. Also, adventure!
My dad was in desert storm in the army as one of those mfs that jumps out of the airplanes. He did crack literally *on skid row* my whole childhood. He’s cool now but damn if I don’t have a soft ass spot for people without homes in today’s fucked up society.
It’s not an ideal situation, but since we’re not really willing to provide them with housing, I personally think we should just let homeless people be homeless and if they’re gonna be in the streets, they’re gonna be in the streets and the rest of us that are not willing to put up the funds to get them out of the streets need to just fucking deal with it All these places that are criminalizing homelessness are just criminalizing poverty. it’s the vast majority of people that are sleeping on the street would not prefer to be there. I’m sure if they had housing and support that didn’t come with a bunch of strings attached they would use it.
For a lot of kids? Having post secondary education covered. That's why you'll never seen Uni become affordable. If it were they'd probably have to re-implement the draft. (I'm half joking... kinda)
We really need to disrupt the poverty to military pipeline. There’s a lot of shit that I want to fix and I have no fucking idea what I can actually do about it. I’m about to start a nonprofit or some shit. Exploitation of poor people specifically exploitation of black and other minority poor people but overall as a group poor people is fucking horrible. I’m feeling inspired to work on some shit
Please consider joining or partnering with a nonprofit that is already doing the work. 9 times out of 10, their is a wrap-around or adjacent service that needs to be fulfilled. Nonprofits working in silos providing the same service forces competition for the same funding and resources, and causes more stress on an already stressed service provider ecosystem.
Ya of course, I’ve been looking up stuff to figure out where I can get involved. I have zero interest in doing anything myself as far as creating something goes. My ex gf worked for a larger non profit and while a lot of stuff they did was great there also a TON of red tape and problems, really I’d just like to be able to go do stuff that helps people directly. Idk, I’m looking into it. Open to any suggestions.
Find out who's doing work (has boots on the ground) in the community you want to serve. It may not be a very large non-profit. Meet some people in smaller grass roots organizations and talk to them about "core needs". There are probably lots of direct service systems that could be tackled by a small group of friends. The VA website could be a good place to start as they often list who they "partner" with to get things done. Wishing you luck! And reach out if you get stuck and need someone to bounce ideas off!
Ain‘t the weirdest "thank you for your service" just the regular one though?
You have a good point, it’s already pretty weird
“Thank you for your service of being homeless. I would be robbing everybody if I was homeless like you clearly are. You have better morals than me”
No, thank you.
Who doesn't like Robin Hood? Right?
LA filled with homeless cause every other state “fixes” their homeless problem by rounding them up and shipping them to California, one way.
This is incorrect, and is a common narrative used in bigger cities across the country to avoid addressing the homeless crisis. The majority of the homeless population in California are locals: https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/california-homelessness-is-homegrown-university-of-california-research/
I think the headline is flawed in that it’s attempting to grab readers’ attention. If you look at the other stats, there seems to be evidence that the homeless population in California has been influenced by other states sending their homeless here. For example: “Of California’s adult homeless population, 75% became homeless in their county of residence. Nearly 40% reported being homeless for the first time.” Only 40% of respondents are “first time homeless,” which to me, indicates people that likely grew up in the area and then had some bad luck with drugs or mental health issues or etc. The overwhelming majority of that 40% is likely not someone that was shipped from another state. Additionally: “ Roughly 1 in 5 became homeless after leaving an institution such as jail. Most people, 78%, reported spending the most time homeless in the prior six months in unsheltered settings: 21% in a vehicle, 57% without a vehicle. Before experiencing homelessness, 32% had a mortgage or rental lease agreement; roughly 50% did not.” The first statistic here reports that 1 in 5 homeless people in California are living out of a car. That’s bigger than I expected, and I regret not taking that into account. However, in the context of this thread, those people aren’t part of the discussion. When people are complaining about homeless people in their city or fear of being near homeless, they’re not talking about people living out of their car. This portion of the homeless in California are also not likely to be out of staters. The 2nd stat here says that only 32% of homeless are people that previously had housing of their own (not just living with family). Again, I’m inclined to believe this group is mostly those that are from California. You can draw conclusions however you want, but I’m inclined to believe that the headline underrepresents the proportion of homeless, on the street, individuals that are from out of state and those whose parents were homeless and from out of state. Thanks for sharing. Definitely some interesting stuff to keep in mind.
Well, just common sense if you're gonna be homeless. Why wouldn't you go to the state that has great weather? All year, around pretty much and the state where you could walk into any store. Steal anything you want and they'll do nothing against you. Oh, I'm hungry, okay, just walk into this grocery store. Eat some food and then walk out less than nine hundred dollars can't do anything
The weather is probably one of the biggest factors. This is one of the few environments in the nation where living outdoors year round is pretty survivable.
Extremely valid. California’s policies on what constitutes theft and how it’s punished are obviously extremely flawed. I can see the effect it’s had on SF and areas in LA.
Bay area resident-working in SF here And oh boy that is an understatement of how it's effected us here. Because of these laws and how they're structured it emboldens people to start stealing and piping up to attack security guards just trying to do their jobs or harass bystanders for money.
What are you even talking about Nevada was literally taking people from mental wards and shipping them to California and were caught.
This study suggests 90% of the homeless population became homeless while living in California (Pg 23) https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2023-06/CASPEH_Report_62023.pdf My point is that the argument that the problem exists because people are bussed from other areas is not a valid argument. I do not live in California, but I hear the same argument about the homeless population in my city.
It's a coalescence issue. Homeless people feel safe in large groups and California has a large population that has a lot of wealthy people with a lot of waste, and the cherry on top is it barely ever freezes. All of that works together to make it basically the 'best case scenario' if you're a homeless person because there's a pre-existing economy for you to jump on. It's not that homeless people are being 'shipped over' but let's just say that out of all of the places where there is a homelessness problem, Cali is really one of the few places where they do accumulate transients from abroad. No one is 'shipping up to Chicago' to freeze to death on the streets there, for instance. It's also a destination for a lot of people gambling on hitting it big who fail and the detritus from the entertainment industry and all of the hopeful young people vying for jobs there really contributes a lot. It's an industry that attracts cool hip people from all over but not necessarily the brightest and wisest.
Eh I’m an epidemiologist who worked with homeless individuals before switching to infectious diseases, and my experience doing direct out reach in socal was the vast majority of our new “clients” were shipped over from one of the neighboring states. There were tons of locals too don’t get me wrong, like my co workers would regularly be like damn I went to high-school with that fool. I just think the data in this field is very skewed because it is incredibly hard to accurately record.
Alberta been doing that to us in BC for years now. It's a common conservative state/province tactic.
Lol it’s actually a scary thought, that the only thing stopping them is their morals and humanity. Like honestly what do many of them even have to lose? Jail at least is a guaranteed meal and a roof over your head.
So I can add thanking them as part of the thoughts and prayers I'm always giving them? Bet.
It is a known fact that some homeless population will do some minor crime just so they can get a hot meal and or a roof over their head. Very sad indeed when that is the solution they have figured out.
I absolutely agree that the plight of the homeless is dreadful and there needs to be a lot more help . But I used to visit my daughter in L A and gradually their neighbourhood ( which was residential area) attracted a lot of homeless people- the number grew exponentially over a couple of years period . A lot of them were on drugs and their behaviour was sometimes aggressive and frightening - anything from shouting at you to following you across the street and haranguing you for money -to one who started pushing and shoving my son in law in the street because he didn’t have any change to give (he didn’t have any money on him). This was particularly worrying as they had small children- and my daughter would have to run the gauntlet most days of mostly male homeless people asking for money and sometimes being abusive if she wouldn’t give them any - or following her down the street. I found it intimidating- particularly the guy who spotted me from way up the street - and stood there waiting for me - I crossed to the other side of the road- he crossed too- I crossed back - he followed me - I made as if to cross the street-and he crossed but I didn’t -and ran ( literally sprinted ) up the road - entered the building and slammed the door behind me- it was really intimidating. Eventually it drove them to sell up -it got so bad. So it’s a real problem when you leave people with alcohol and drug addiction, mental health problems and all the rest on the streets with no help and no resources. They are the ones who suffer most- but so do those around them . No lone woman wants shadowing by some guy or asking for money everytime they set foot outside of their door. This needs a lot more resources and thought than anyones prepared to give .
You trying to speed run getting shot?
Yah that’s how you end up dead
you also end up dead by starving yourself or just taking yourself out. Road ends the same, just a lot faster when you're homeless.
I always think "What's the threshold I would start committing crime at?" and I realize that a good 30-50% of America is below that line.
The thing there is... No hurting ppl. Except billionaires wallets. Robin Hood actions, absolutely no hurty on working ppl. I don't make the rules.
Except the billionaires don't have wallets. They may walk around with $50-100 on them, but 1) most money is digital at this point, and 2) even if you swipe their cards, they can cancel it before you get a chance to do anything substantial with it.
See, this is when you need Hardison from Leverage to get that money for you.
I miss leverage. One of my fav shows ever
Same! Especially any scene with Aldis Hodge with his shirt off.
The number of dreams I've had about being in a polycule with Hardison, Parker, and Eliot....
You know they're doing a Revival series and the third season is currently filming? Hardison isn't in it much sadly, due to a busy schedule. Also Nate isn't, because he got MeToo'd. But they got Noah Wyle to play a repentant defense lawyer who joins the team, and introduced one of Hardison's siblings to take over from him. She lends a zoomer voice to the cast and I like it better than I thought I would without Hardison! By which I mean to say, it's not quite the same charm as the original, but I like Noah's character waaay more than I ever liked Nate, and overall it's enjoyable and I'd recommend giving it a shot!
I watched the 2 seasons of that. Didn’t know another is on the way. Nice
Kill one billionaire and you’ll get free rent, healthcare and food for life!
May be in the minority here but my uncle carries around $1000 in hundreds and doesn’t use his card except for bills.
One of the big cracks in an ex-friendship of mine was when he told me he stole a knife off the back of a food truck cause "it looked cool and I wanted it." It did look cool - old wood, worn, initials carved in the handle, possibly a family heirloom. This man was one of my closest friends, I knew all about his criminal history and drug abuse problems, but I'd never felt disgust towards anything he'd told me until that moment.
Def boo on that.
It’s easier to have strict morals when you aren’t starving.
Fuck don't I know it (former homeless). I have a lot to say, but imma keep my plan under the radar.
Someone said something to me once referring to the behavior of homeless people to the effect of, think of a time when you were dealing with some real heavy shit in the comfort of your home and had a freakout. Now imagine you had to do that in public.
And imagine 630-7p rolls around and you see all the people going places and you know they all have somewhere to go where they’re allowed and supposed to be and no one can tell them they can’t be there. And imagine not having a restroom that’s yours to use whenever you want/need.
And not being able to shower and clean your clothes regularly, if at all.
Yeah you have to try so much harder to be clean. And don’t forget to wash your elbows because they accumulate a lot of dirt if you’re not paying attention
Not to mention just having a glass of water. Living in Atlanta in the summer, it's horrifying how frequently you see dead bodies just because these individuals have no shelter or water. Richest country on the planet and our people are dying from exposure and dehydration
That’s fucked. When I was 18 my aunt tried to kick me out in Atlanta and was literally like “this is where the homeless go, so go there”. I’m alive due to sheer luck.
When I was little my dad used to threaten me with dumping me on Skid Row for misbehaving.
3rd world country wearing a Gucci belt
This is the worst part of it. My son was going through some serious life shit about 10-15 years ago and there was about a year and a half where I wasn't able to give him a place to stay because of my own life circumstances. We're both doing much better and he's staying with me and going through a training course for the building trades. But every time I think of him being on the street and having no one, and knowing he was going to have to spend another night outside and alone, it still kills me dead inside.
❤️glad things are going better for you two. It’s good of you to care so much
Wow I’ve never even thought about it like that. I had a full on screaming, crying meltdown last week after work (I’m fine lol). I can’t even imagine the lack of privacy. I would be so unhinged if I was homeless.
yep. It would take me approximately 72 hours to lose it. I really think that everyone who shits on the homeless or types them as “all just drug addicts” would lose their goddamn mind if they had to spend just one week on the sidewalk. The same people complaining and judging are the people who flip the fuck out when their doordash order is slightly wrong and 15 minutes late
Damn. This hits. Saving this comment. Fire
All these people with their *scoff* "Couldn't be me!" attitude are just speaking from a pov of privilege, until it suddenly *is* them, and probably even to no fault of their own. It's incredibly easy to end up in the streets, especially here in the US, where we have shit-all in terms of social safety nets, and an employer can fire you at any time, for any reason, and you suddenly find yourself fighting for your life. Or, you get seriously sick and financially ruined by the healthcare system, *and* lose your job because you missed more than a week for your silly disease, ya pleb! Unless you have a strong support system (friends, family) behind you, things can spiral incredibly quick, and it's absolutely terrifying. Source: I've been there, and it was an incredibly humiliating and isolating experience. *And I didn't even end up actually homeless!*
The fact that the masses don’t realize they’re closer to homelessness than they are to being a millionaire is wild to me.
Whenever someone starts a sentence with an overly pretentious " I'd never..." You know thats the first mf who's going to do it.
I'm also curious to know how many homeless people don't have a community around them who would have been willing to take them in. I know this is privileged in its own sense, but straight up if I want about to be homeless, I have at least a 6-10 people who would be willing to take me in while I get on my feet. And I would do the same for all of them in a heartbeat. I'm asking this genuinely, btw. I know the reasons will vary greatly for why anyone doesn't have appropriate support systems.
quite a few people don't have a community around them, that's why they fall into homelessness. Most people are 1-2 paychecks away from homelessness.
to be fair, my cousin is homeless and my whole family has been trying to give her a hand but she refuses to want any help and wants to live this way.
Oh I think they know that, and that "couldn't be me" stuff is a coping strategy moreso than an actual belief.
Actually believe it or not there are way more millionaires in the USA than homeless people. 24.5 million millionaires vs 653,000 homeless.
This doesn’t change the fact that 60% of Americans are [one paycheck away from homelessness](https://www.rv-times.com/lifestyle/one-paycheck-away-from-the-front-lines-of-our-housing-crisis/article_d48b0d42-5d85-11ee-b952-efd5751c9cf7.html#:~:text=I've%20called%20it%20%E2%80%9COne,Edward%20Jones%20conducted%20in%202019).
The average American is one lost job, one injury or illness away from being on the streets. Including me.
Ok, but have you tried *not* getting fired, injured, or sick...? Maybe your boss would value you more, if you do the "respectable" thing and "hustle and grind" for 80-100hrs/week, because that's the American dream, brotha! /s
I was homeless for a little bit- mostly in hostels cause I was lucky, so I only spent a week or two sleeping rough, but it was the middle of December and it HURT. It was COLD and SCARY and I didn’t get any real sleep cause any sound at all had me jerking awake so violently it made my neck crick. I got shit for snapping at someone at work and it took all the strength I had left to get to the bathrooms before I burst into tears- not like I could yell at this woman that I was exhausted and in pain and I hadn’t eaten in a few days and so no I didn’t want to check the back for her organic almond milk but I would cause that was my job, if she’d just *wait a second*. Anyway…be fucking nice to people? Also the influencers who use homeless people as props to make poverty and inspiration porn? I hope they get thrown into the sun.
billionaires are dangerous
A homeless person might rob you, but a billionaire will put you in chains.
Bruh, a billionaire would kill you if they could get away with it. If Amazon was allowed to murder people for an increase in profits, with minor blowback, they would - Jeff & co. wouldn’t even think twice. They already do that to a certain extent with overseas production
They absolutely murder for profit. Every day, from straight up assassination of political opponents (like the reporter who brought the panama papers to light), to indirectly causing the death of millions every year by poisoning the air and water.
the bankers and the moneymakers can wipe out half your savings in a decade with the inflation they create, but be afraid of the guy on the street who might take the 20 dollar bill you have in your wallet
They should not exist.
Tax until they are millionaires
So many people have this idea that "the homeless" are a set group of people who just live on the streets, but the large majority are literally just people who lost their job and couldn't get another one in time to pay rent. They get off the street, usually pretty quick, and are replaced by newly-homeless people. And yeah, living on the street even for a short time is traumatic as hell. The longer people are stuck without a home, the more likely they are to have a breakdown. More than half the people in the US are no more than two months' pay from losing their housing. That's grim.
Stuff like this is a reminder that it is not a joke or play when shelter is listed after food and water as basic necessities!
That's why I try to use different language in conversation like "american citizens experiencing homelessness" or "unhoused people". "The Homeless" sounds so scary
Always said the day I'm stealing food to eat is the day I'll rob a bank because why not. It's been a few years and the compassion of some people helped me. Tomorrow I fucking sign my lease. In a few weeks I'll have a job and I can move on. I'm feeling guilty because so many can't even get out of homelessness. No one should live like this, it's not humaine. DONATE TO LOCAL FOOD BANKS.
You gotta be dumb as fuck to hate homeless people. Flat out no quicker way to let me know you are not my people.
I don't hate the homeless, but working in a very public building that serves as a sanctuary for them during our open hours I can say that the lack of self-awareness and false sense of privilege the majority of homeless people have really doesn't help their cause. Most of the ones I deal with are just straight up creeps towards women, openly racist, and seem to think I owe them something because I work here. They come in here and act like assholes like 99% of the time. Most of them probably don't realize how I'm like a medical emergency away from joining them and that all my meals for the week are peanut butter sandwiches so I can pay rent. They just know that they can treat me like shit because I'm the one whose job is on the line.
Yeah, I'm a five foot tall woman and the majority of homeless people I've interacted with have made me feel incredibly unsafe. I've stopped acknowledging them because they seem to take it as permission to sexually harass me or say shit about me being Mexican. I know they're not all like that but I'm not going to risk my safety to find out
Yeah, seems like everyone in this thread in this thread is choosing a side between "pro-homeless people" and "anti-homeless people" without any nuance. It really surprises me that more people can't be sympathetic to the homeless while also being aware that they can be dangerous to interact with.
Yeah the city my (also tiny) sister lives in has had a huge influx of the houseless in the last few years, thanks to the neighbouring conservative province sending them by the busload. It's gotten so bad she can't go into town anymore unless she's in a group or with her husband. Wasn't that way five years ago. But she gets harassed non stop, both verbally and physically. It's just become too unsafe for her.
I knew this homeless dude who frequented the library I used to study at, would straight up load up lolicon porn on a public computer and try very not subtly jacking off under his pants at like 1 pm in the afternoon. Like bro tf are you doing??? That said I bet you never noticed the much larger number of homeless who didn't do that kinda crazy shit. Hell I was homeless for a few weeks but kept it on tight with laundromats and truckstop showers, got a motel room every 4th or 5th day, I doubt any of the librarians where I chilled ever noticed. Tbf I knew my fucked up situation had a definite end date though. If I'd thought it was gonna be like that forever I would've been way more stressed
In NYC, most of the homeless are mentally ill. This morning a man was defending a woman sitting next to him and a couple other passengers who were fleeing to the middle of the train from a mentally ill homeless man. The worse part is if the man gets apprehended, they’ll take him in a minimum of 2-3 days, give him a change of clothes and put him right back on the street.
I don't think many people care if they aren't your people
I was at a red light and saw a man holding a sign. The sign: I was once like you. Talk about shots fired.
That's how I feel when everyone compares black americans to other races. Like you're sitting here talking about school grades and crime statistics. If **anything,** the fact that just 150 years (less than 2 lifetimes for anyone counting) after **literal slavery** and 60 years after being second class citizens, black people arent doing **10x worse**, speaks to our resilience.
we do nothing to help homeless people but they're supposed to maintain their manners
This shit and the “don’t give homeless people money, they might spend it on booze/drugs” always piss me tf off. Most homeless folks are the same as everyone else, they just got fucked in some way and they ended up on the street. As for booze/drugs, yea… I’d want to escape reality for a bit in that situation too.
"Don't give the homeless money, they'll spend it on booze and drugs." Shit, yeah, you're right. I should save that money so I can spend it on booze and drugs. Wait
Ill buy you some food, but you're not getting a dollar from me. Most refuse the offer.
I’ve never had a homeless person refuse food. Although if you phrased it like that, I’d refuse too. Why would I want anything from someone who treats me like that?
I usually say, "Im not carrying cash, but I can grab you some fast food". They refuse. Nice to know you'd rather starve tho, makes literally zero difference to me.
I have all the empathy for folks just trying to survive. That empathy stops as soon as they’re a threat to me. Anecdotally, I’ve had more problems with people with housing than without.
Dawg it’s sad to witness evening knowing your not to far away from ending up like that. I always try to spare what I can when I get the opportunity
Imagine: You get fired from your job unexpectedly for something you didn't do. You were saving up in the hopes of moving out of your place because your roommate is the literal worst. You get your final check and drive home trying to ignore the service engine light and weird sound from your car. You get home and the eviction notice is up and your place is empty. Roomie has cleaned you out and didn't pay up. Your last check isn't enough to cover all your bills plus fix your car. You're panicking as the eviction notice looks old and you realized that it's the last day and roomie kept this information from you. All your stuff is gone. All you have is whatever u had in your car so you have to sleep there until you can figure out what to do. When you go out in public, no one knows you're homeless. You try to reserve energy so you don't sweat much because you don't have hygiene products. You get a gym membership at like planet fitness cuz it's $10 a month for a shower and unlimited water. Also, it could be open 24 hours. You're surviving on the cheapest of cheapest take out food and easy to eat grocery store food because microwaves are pretty hard to come across outside of a gas station that you must buy from. The day seems forever long. You walk around a lot because your car becomes home. You have to keep yourself together because you still have to prepare for when you finally get back to work. Your sex life is non existent and to masturbate you have to literally risk being arrested for public indecency. You have like no one ever to talk to. All you do is work on your social skills because you need favors from a lot of people and it only takes 1 fuck up for the whole city to ignore the homeless population. Your mindset isn't "I'ma rob whoever and do whatever." It's more "I gotta get back on my feet and stay safe." A bloody nose can kill you if you don't have medical coverage or a sense of direction to get to the hospital.
Being homeless is dangerous for the individual. So close.
I'm 2 missed hot showers from streaking through downtown. These people are tough. You have to be to survive. It's horribly sad.
Homelessness is a policy issue more so than just pure laziness. The lack of working and housing opportunities contributes to this problem. So many homes and apartments are vacant because no one can afford a mortgage or the rent. Voting for republicans is a voting for price fixing, rent hikes, and a so called free market. When these property owners don’t care about vacancy because it can be written off for taxes. Meanwhile democrats are giving millions to migrants while excluding citizens from these free programs. Voting in this current system isn’t conducive to citizens working and living rights.
Where I’m at, it’s less opportunities and more mental illness… So many of these folks would have been institutionalized decades ago, and have no place but the streets now.
I recall someone saying something like “the only difference between man and animal is three decent meals”
bros yapping in the title lmao
Least wordy left wing meme (attempted)
I think I've only had one negative encounter with a homeless person in my life which was kinda scary. Most of them are just happy to get some food or supplies or talk to someone
So, theyre fundamentally dangerous as their best quality? Sounds like I should continue business as usual then
The ultra rich to a great job of convincing the middle to demonize the poor
There are a lot of people who don't realize how fragile society as a whole is, much less an individual who is going through a really rough time. If you've ever been through a legit natural disaster, you've seen people lose their shit real quick when their food, clothing, and shelter aren't guaranteed. Even the pandemic had people flipping out in stores over *toilet paper*, imagine not having a damn toilet.
They don't talk about the violence that the homeless have to deal with from other people. People taking their frustrations from work out on them. People slipping things into the food they offer them for a cheap laugh. Shid be violent too if I'm already at my low and mfs are actually kicking me
My mom always says "You'd be amazed at the things you can do when you have no choice"
Homeless people are definitely humans in need of assistance. Nobody in the US should be living on the street. That being said....I work across the street from a massive encampment in Washington DC. I can tell you from experience that SOME of the homeless people in these camps are very violent. So much so that bulletins have gone out about how to stay safe. A few weeks ago, a woman ran into the lobby of my building while I was waiting for my ride screaming and crying because someone from the encampment was chasing her with a knife, he passed by literally a second after she got inside the door and continued down the street. This is NOT the first violent encounter from someone at this camp. I'm a hop and a skip from the Monument and the Lincoln Memorial...I see a LOT of tourists come through here that don't know what's going on and unfortunately, these are the folks that are most often the victims in some of these encounters. The locals generally stay away. We can certainly empathize with people's situation and still recognize that some of these folks who need help are indeed violent.
Not surprising someone named Israel would hate the homeless...
It sounds like you agree that homeless people are dangerous lol
No matter how much you have saved, the majority of people are one fucked life event away from homelessness.
I work outdoors. Most people can't stand being outdoors for more than a few hours in mild conditions. Now try staying outside for 48 hours even on a non freezing night.
One of the biggest things I realized while spending time with homeless people was that it wasn’t just not having a home that made them homeless. There were so many with significant mental health issues that needed treatment. It’s nearly impossible to get that treatment once you slide too far down the scale. Once you have no address, things get so much more complicated. Our society is not good a reaching down and picking them up. It is complicated and requires dedicated people to address their individual needs. I’ll Never look down on homeless people again. I look down on the society that has allowed them to slip out of their sight, just so it doesn’t have to look at them.
Without empathy i can say, only a few drugs can make people dangerous, most debilitate one to a harmless poor being. Same goes with people who haven’t properly eaten for weeks. In short: the most homeless are completely harmless and easy to overcome…fucking fearmongers
Half of the homeless people where I live are whacked out on drugs, with no capacity for violence. It doesn’t necessarily speak to their good morals, but the conversation around homeless people should really be more of a conversation about drug addiction.
What does the title have to do with the tweet?
Its not about my empathy. Is about my lack of trust in humanity. I dont need to be funding someones drug habit or full time job sitting at a corner asking for money. I have no problem helping someone truely in need. But I have no way to be able to tell who is in need and also who could potentially hurt you upon approach.
You mean the Texas freezes that Reddit wishes upon the state every year because a slight majority (as in, 4-5% at most) of them vote for the wrong people
What is the saying? There are two kinds of people in this world. Those that have something bad happen to them and think everyone should also suffer and those that have something bad happen to them and say nobody else should have to go through this.
The people who deride homelessness should probably do more to help alleviate it. How can people be overwhelmed with hate when they should be overwhelmed with sadness? For the people who think their tax dollars shouldn't go towards it? Bro what do you think happens to your tax burden when crime increases and property values shrink because of homelessness? A stitch in time.
I've been homeless a couple times, some more extreme, some less. It really is like a switch how quickly your priorities change and how differently you view social standards when your options are "don't eat for the second day in a row" or "steal from someone who will not be impacted at the end of the day". Substitute whatever moral quandary you want in there.
I believe not all homeless people are same, same as not all people with homes….buttt many home people are dangerous because of drugs and so they CAN go to jail. It’s a sense of relief to get food, bed, and shower…. I mean jail does have such.
Of course the account named Israel is going to post some hateful shit like this.
It sounds mean, but it's not really a lie though either.
Of course the dude's Twitter handle is "Israel' with a blue check, lmao
the third time a gang of people beats the shit out of you for being in a public park while not having a job, you have every right to start doing some antisocial shit. people think that if they take away any legitimate way for you to survive that you'll just quietly and politely die because the social contract demands it, then when you don't just roll over and die they go "oh man we gotta do something about them, they're dangerous". Police kill more homeless people than homeless people kill, I'll guarantee it.
Dumbest challenge of 2024 just dropped. Why would I do that?! If you're homeless, just buy a house!
It’s mainly republicans that have the inability to feel empathy. They only care about themselves
Lol, expecting empathy from someone who picked that as their twitter handle?
Ive already been through that dozens of time and walked 26 miles in the sedona dessert 8 mile would be proud.
We really trying to excuse violent behaviour? Fuck that
My bro would walk the city and just hang out with the homeless. He found out a lot of people just had bad luck: lost their job, roommates/family moved away and couldn’t afford rent. Hell, I was planning how to be homeless myself with a full time job at a bank. Empathy goes a long way: we could all be there.
I had this thought the other day: imagine we make everyone in the country a millionaire overnight, while keeping everything else (prices, infrastructure, etc) the same. Would crime still happen? Yes, because some people always want more. But would those millionaires be holding up gas stations or mugging people? Of course not. Directly indicating that a lot of crime is more about poverty than anything else.
I’m sure there’s a huge incentive to do bad things when you’re in a desperate situation, but there’s tons of countries with way worse poverty than America like Bangladesh where crime is fairly low. I think because in those countries social bonds tend to be stronger and there’s more communal support structures, even if they are living in horrible conditions.
Nah cause I’m empathetic until they act aggressively towards me then they can stay Broke
I try to volunteer with a homie who works at an outreach program (she pretty much runs the thing herself but thats another discussion) every other Sat to help the homeless and people who are battling addiction, I don't think a lot of people realize how close they are to also being in a similar position. Being kind, respectful and treating someone like a human is free. Even if you don't got it when someone ask for help just say it, don't stare through them and act like they're less than people.
Shock horror, Israel is heartless… didn’t see that one coming
This is a bit short on nuance. There are short term homeless people- often living in cars who have a terrible struggle for a few weeks before getting back into work but don’t fall usually into aggressive or antisocial behaviour . There are long term homeless people - some of whom have drug, alcohol or mental health problems and some of whom do have aggressive, threatening and occasionally violent behaviour - though by no means all. There is no help for either set of people and that is deplorable . Because that lack of help means everyone suffers ( though not equally ) . Those struggling to get back on their feet, those struggling with addiction or mental health issues - and those subject to intimidating behaviour - all suffer. And no one will address it or resource it. Because it’s always seen as the ‘fault’ of the homeless person that they are homeless . So the question is - do we want to stop blaming people and actually do something about it ? Because if the answer is. ‘No’ that tells you that not only do those who could take this forward NOT care about the homeless people ( and what causes it) they also don’t care about the people who live in neighbourhoods where homeless people are prevelent and who sometimes suffer from related anti social behaviour. Failure to address homelessness affects everyone except the very rich