Recently a friend and I became embroiled in a discussion about homelessness. I had been discussing statistics (of which I am a fan) and he was saying that the current foreclosure crisis was not creating as much homelessness as I was spouting.
The other day he had to admit I was actually more accurate than even he had surmised. USA Today published a “Limited Survey” of a few states. Some of these states, as you will note in this article, show that street or shelter homelessness has increased by over 30% in many states in 2008 because of Foreclosures.
The federal figures for 2007 include only 2005’s actual accounting and will not encompass this year. The 2007 figures released by the government state that homelessness had remained “neutral” over the last ten years.
The Federal Reserve has a series of charts. These charts estimate that every time gasoline prices go up, x number of households go into bankruptcy and x number of businesses also close. These businesses are mainly “small businesses” started by individuals that have their life savings tied to them. These charts are scary to think about, as with coldness, they predict the doom of families and small businesses across this country.
Anyone who is charging groceries or gasoline to their credit cards without paying their monthly balance is heading for a fall. I am not speaking in dooming terms here, but let’s be honest, when did your last pay raise match what the hike in food and gas jumped to? If it did you are lucky: It means you received a raise of over 30% of your income.
I never did ask my friend about his change of heart, nor will I. I will say that as the cost of living goes up for all of us in gasoline and food, so it does for the homeless. The homeless normally have a poor diet to begin with. It is not because they are all alcoholics; it is because they do not have the money to afford a diet. Many who are not homeless are now finding themselves dealing with this latter issue, including many reading this.
Often I hear that the homeless are just lazy and they should “get a job”. Many of the homeless are and have been employed steadily, but are just not paid overly well, with either debts or other obligations often keeping them in homelessness. Look around your houses and apartments and imagine what it would cost to get started again, from deposits / down payments through replacing what is needed to live in those four walls, all while still having to pay to survive living on the streets as well.
I support giving money, water and other sundry items to the homeless. Remember, the homeless have to carry their groceries, clothing and sleeping gear with them. It is great to give them money also, as I know it is hard to carry 48 donated bottles of water by yourself. The majority of the homeless I have met do share amongst themselves so your donations are not wasted. Most homeless live where their homes (camps) are often torn down on the whims of a Mayor or City Council. The homeless live in cities because they offer transit, food, medicine and though strained, a touch to humanity.
Become aware of what your elected officials are doing in your name. If you disagree, let them know it. Better yet, quit electing morons into offices they are unfit to hold. You certainly can stop some terrible local politicians from becoming even worse state or federal leaders.
The homeless are not in the cities because they want to be a visible presence on the streets. Actually, they do not want to beg for your money or other donations, either. But they need them for their daily survival.
I recently had someone named Hayden write to me regarding the article I wrote titled “The Man”. Hayden went on to say the following:
Its extreme egocentricity to believe the damaged and unfortunate we see on our streets is any sort of problem just because it makes US feel bad.
One nutbag is no tragedy.
I admit I just sat there and looked at Hayden’s email.
I am a huge believer in the the Declaration of Independence and that “All Men Have Unalienable Rights”. That includes medical treatment and kindness. When the forefathers wrote the DOI, they wrote it for all of its citizens… For every “Nutbag” as Hayden would call them is included.
The Homeless are not treated as equal citizens in this country. We do have a class system of the “have and have nots”. I was passing a park the other day and there was a sign stating “Park Closed from 11pm to 4am”. This park was located in a higher end neighborhood, nice homes, and a lot of donors to charity I would imagine. I am glad all of these people donate, they allow great things to be done with the money they contribute. But wonder why they roll up the sidewalk at 11pm? I do not think it was to deny the local residents use of the park.
In thinking of the man and his mental health made me think of the old song In the Year 2525 by Zager and Evans and the line…
Everything you think, do and say is in the pill you took today.
In a society that takes their medications daily, I had to think more about Haydens email. I could not help The Man as I was above and far away. If given proper medication, it is possible The Man might never have caught my attention. I wondered though how many people that passed him though had taken a pill for their depression or other issues prescribed by a doctor to make them feel better.
Recently in Cleveland, Ohio a homeless man was beaten to death, the video showed the local motorists slowed down to watch but no one left their cars to help him. Homeless people are veterans, family members, the mentally ill, child support payers, coworkers, abused women, and maybe even some people that are acquaintances you pass on the street and could not imagine as being homeless. Some are just those that their wages never kept up with inflation. If your boss this year gave you a 30% raise to cover gas and food increases, I applaud you.
The majority of the homeless did not wake up one morning and say, “boy that sidewalk looks comfy!” As a child no one said from their bedrooms with their stuffed animals “I want to be homeless some day”. Mental illness is one pathway into homelessness, but their are more people in this country that have to take a little pill in the morning to face everyday life. The homeless have to face it unmedicated for the the most part. The current statistics say that 49% of the homeless are lower income, where did the other 51% come from?
Hayden, every man, woman and child that does not have a home is a tragedy, not a Nutbag.
This is a dedicated and hardworking group in Huntsville working to assist Homeless Veterans in their area. Please help them out if you can. -W-
Operation Stand Down Huntsville will be having a benefit singing at Music Barn /Chandler Steakhouse in Hazel Green on July6th. There will be Entertainment, Food, and a 50/50 drawing. Tickets will be $5.00 at the door. Directions: go North on North Memorial Parkway to Hazel Green, turn Left on Charity Lane, Go straight until you get to Butter and Egg Road. Music Barn is on the right. Time 6pm or call (256) 714-1974 for assistance in making a donation or other directions.
The other day I was standing on a bridge just gazing, clearing my thoughts, not really thinking nor comprehending. People going back and forth, going to work, shopping and doing whatever it is that they do, swinging their bags to and fro. Cars, taxis, police vehicles and buses rolling along the streets. Just another day in a downtown.
As I was mindlessly staring something was nagging my consciousness. I started staring into the crowds and was watching them going around a man…
He was not well dressed. He was in a raggedy T-shirt, old sneakers and ratty pants. His hair was disheveled, eyes were cast down. He was taking about twenty steps forward then going back a few steps, and staring at the ground. He kept repeating this process while going down the sidewalk and even repeated the staring portion in the middle of the cross walk.
I watched yellow shirted police officers on their bicycles observe this man and turn away. I watched shoppers make a wide berth around him, and other business people do their “power walks” right on by him with out even a side glance.
It made me sad that no one wanted to look at this man. Looking at him might have drawn a feeling of compassion or a thought that something was wrong with a society that allows something like this to go on? That our law enforcement would not check on the well being of this man is also something I have to question.
I was too far away to aid this man as I was above him at a distance. The reason that I noticed this man from afar was that the people were parting for him,like Moses parting the Red Sea, but not stopping for this man . Are we now just immune to suffering like this in our own country that pain has to be broadcast on television from far away lands to have an impact on our souls? These were my thoughts that day on the bridge. Undoubtedly, we can walk right around suffering on our streets and not want to feel or look at it.
Sometimes I wonder ~ if we feel, if we look, are we bothered by the fact that we don’t help those in need? So if we do not look, then our consciences are not bothered, thus we can continue doing nothing?
There are many pathways into homelessness, but few pathways out for those that are there.
Recently I ran into a situation where I could not get my tinder to stay lit. I was backpacking in the woods and all I had for tinder was some small sticks and there was no dry grass available for tinder to aid in lighting the wood.
So ,scratching my head in what to do, since making the wood bow out of wood and the ever present dental floss was out of the question something did dawn on me from my reading. I reached deep into my cargo pocket where I keep my ever present bottle of hand sanitizer and reread the back of the bottle again and it said: Ethyl Alcohol62%……Antiseptic. Like a blue flash I had an idea.
I took a twig and placed a two inch line of hand sanitizer along its stem. I then lit it without result I thought. I lit it again and burned my finger as it was burning so clear and hot that it was burning invisibly. The fire had started without me being able to see it.
I had a fire within minutes. This is a good tip for wet areas.
One of the recurrent themes seen throughout the US regarding the homeless population is that local communties seem to be notorious for their negative stance towards homelessness. That is, most communities view the issue of homelessness as something that is a nuisance to deal with. It’s human nature to avoid issues that are a nuisance and most local communities follow suit in finding ways to avoid dealing with the homeless. Many cities deal with the nuisance of homelessness by making such ordinances as prohibiting panhandling, forbidding sleeping on public benches, tearing down homeless camps…all things that merely avoid dealing with the underlying issue of why people find themselves homeless.
It’s a rarity for people to tackle nuisances head on and find a way to deal with them. It’s much easier to blame others, create divisions of “right and wrong” and never take the time to actually analyze the underlying problem of something that is seen as a nuisance. There is a lot of prejudice towards our homeless citizens. There is also alot of ignorance surrounding the statistics of homelessness. Many think that homelessness only happens to addicts or people who refuse to join the mainstream and get a job. The reality of homelessness is that there are many people just one pay check away from facing life without a home and many out there who will have some catastrophic event occur in their lives that will place them on the streets. In fact, we all might engage with a homeless person and not realize it….there is an entire population of “working” homeless that in fact do have low wage jobs but cannot afford housing and who don’t fit the stereotype of the homeless person on the street.
Luckily, there are communitites that have tackled homelessness not with avoidance but with insight and persistence. Columbus Ohio has found what is a role model for dealing the homeless of their community. Rebuilding Lives has found a viable solution to the issue of homelessness within the Columbus community.
Ten years ago, the Community Shelter Board’s plan to move hundreds of chronically homeless people into permanent housing seemed as bold as Jackie Graves was hopeless.
“But here we are,” Graves said yesterday.
She is safe and happy in her own apartment. And local officials are backing a $51 million expansion of Rebuilding Lives, the program that helped Graves and has since become a national model for linking the homeless with shelter and support that isn’t temporary.
It’s amazing how an issue like homelessness has become some sort of puzzle that most communtites have no idea how to handle. It’s not all that difficult…if you have homeless folks on the street then the answer to this “nusiance” is to get those folks off the streets into affordable housing. Provide folks with a way to get off the streets and services that support the homeless and it’s taken care of. It’s my thought that the people who really want to get off the streets will thrive given a chance…those that embrace homelessness and don’t want the help can pass on it and endure the consequences of denying assistance. The statistics in Columbus certainly support the fact that once most people are given a helping hand out of homelessness only 9% return to the streets.
“The plan was hailed as visionary, even a little daring,” she said during a gathering of supporters yesterday outside the Commons at Grant, a Rebuilding Lives community that is operated by National Church Residences.
“You rallied behind it,” DiBella said. “Instead of wringing hands, you joined hands.”
Yes indeed…instead of wringing hands and avoiding this issue the folks in Columbus decided that homelessness was a cause worthy of their efforts,afterall, it involves the welfare of all citizens of the community. Seeking a way of making this solution work didn’t happen overnight ~it took creative focus and a vision by all to see this project to fruition.
Shelter board officials say Rebuilding Lives saves taxpayers money because it is cheaper to provide supportive housing than to pay for jail, prison, psychiatric care and hospitalization.
In monetary terms this is exactly why getting our homeless off the streets makes good sense. Spending funding and time on avoiding this issue are simply wasted efforts and does nothing to promote a solution. It’s also the right moral thing to do to help those in need.
Mayor Michael B. Coleman said other cities frequently study the Rebuilding Lives model. “Great cities take care of their most vulnerable,” he said. “Columbus is a great city.”
Rebuilding lives is indeed a role model for a means to solve the issue of homelessness in our country. Well done Columbus…I hope others cities aspire to follow your role model in dealing with homeless solutions and become “great” cities.
This week Lt.Gen Ann .E Dunwoody has been nominated as a Four Star General in the Army. If confirmed she will be the first female Four Star General in American history.The nomination of a woman for this senior military position is a landmark event in the history of our military services. This accomplishment is one of extreme dedication to the service of this country. While this news celebrates the accomplishments of females in the military, another story reveals what a high price some pay for their loyalty to our country. A friend of Wanderingvets recently shared an article that spotlighted another glimpse into females in our military~ this one is about female veterans who find themselves homeless.
There are an estimated 8,000-12,000 female veterans who find themselves without homes in our country (which is probably a low number given current tracking systems greatly underestimate all numbers of homeless veterans.) Female veterans comprise 4% of the homeless population
Rescue Mission Ministries Billboard Campaign in Denver.(The word “homeless” is composed of 143 individual portraits of actual Denver homeless,shot over a four week period. Two weeks later, half the faces in “less” are gone.Two weeks after that, only the faces in “Home” are left.Just like what the Denver Rescue Mission hopes to accomplish for its clients; putting them in a home.)
As I was on my commute this morning I was tuned into the national news on the radio listening to the myriad of problems our nation faces. The list of problems that America faces is daunting to say the least. We are facing economic hardships on the domestic front, our situation in Iraq is without resolution, we have environmental issues that need our immediate attention & a need for healthcare reform, to name just a few. It’s really easy to sit back and depend on our government to be the ones that make the change in so many of the issues that need addressing in this country.The average citizen often feels incapable of making a difference and our complacency or apathy can be further contribute to problems.
Just as I was engaged in such thoughts I glanced up and saw a sign that reminded me of the power that individuals can have in making a difference in the needed changes in our country. I usually don’t pay much attention to the billboards along the interstate as they are the all too familiar advertisements that I have seen hundreds of times before, but this one certainly caught my eye. This was a full sized billboard with a picture of a man’s face and the caption “Homeless”. It was an advertisement about homelessness sponsored by The Rescue Mission. Yes indeed, this is certainly a sign of our current economic times and the fact that people were viewing this billboard along a major interstate brought a smile to my face.
On Fathers Day I ran into a vendor for the Real Change newspaper out of Seattle. I see this vendor often and buy his paper from him. I ran into him at a local 7-11 while I was buying a coffee and he was stopping in for a soft drink. Real Change is a newspaper that the Homeless sell instead of panhandling.
He told me that the location where he normally sells the paper asked him not to work his spot on Saturday (his best day) since they had a special event and did not want homelessness present during that big event. Anyway, I bought my paper and he said “selling the first one of the day is the hardest, thank you - I sold it before I even got to work.” Keep reading →
Photo of clean up after a homeless sweep in Seattle by Erica Shultz/The Seattle Times
Sweep is defined as:
a: to remove from a surface with or as if with a broom or brush table>b: to destroy completely :c: to remove or take with a single continuous forceful action d: to remove from sight or consideration e: to drive or carry along with irresistible force
There has been alot of news lately about widespread homeless sweeps throughout the US. Just the defintion of this act denotes the unethical act it really is…. a forceful removal of people without a home. Included in homeless sweeps is the confiscation of personal property. Local governments are going into places where the homeless are trying to survive, ceasing property of those who live in poverty and claiming that they are doing their civic duty….to me this is a sad commentary on the lack of moral focus that seems to be pervasive in our country. Keep reading →
Recently a friend and I became embroiled in a discussion about homelessness. I had been discussing statistics (of which I am a fan) and he was saying that the current foreclosure crisis was not creating as much homelessness as I was spouting.
