Who cares about the homeless?

I'm a senior living off of a small pension. The cost of rent has gone up big time maybe as a result of the cost of buying houses. Greed is the energy fueling this huge rise in the cost of rents, and it is a side effect of the free market let free in the real estate market.

People are living in tents and in cars. Children are some of these people. Shame is the word that comes to mind.

Almost nobody cares about the homeless. As long as their cozy dens and their wonderful tech toys and their trips to warm places keep happening, lets keep this thing happening.

If there are benevolent ets observing the Earth, they see us as savages.

I get that most of you love this reality.

a reply to: droid56

As a soon to be 31 year old living at home with his parents living off a very small wage I would like to say that while some of what you've written is true what isn't is that no one cares about the homeless or even that very few care about the homeless. I promise you many, a large majority probably care about the homeless but the only problem is that those who do give a damn about the homeless is that they are barely making their bills as it is.

I think and help out where I can including giving what little I can and only wish I could give more but that is the sad fact that only the rich and those with enough to live happily, have the ability not to care the poor always care about the homeless because we fear that by the end of the week we will be one of them.

a reply to: droid56

I hear ya mate, weve lost our way and everything now comes down to $$$
Ive never really understood how the economy works, there are always the same amount of resources and similar demand yet somehow in blink of an eye and the shift of a few 1s and 0s everything gets thrown into chaos and people lose jobs lose homes and cant afford to feed themselves, once again not because theres a shortage of these things (in fact quite the opposite) but because someone somewhere feels its no longer profitable.
Its a sad, sickening and sorry state of affairs and I feel ya.

All of that said I have no idea how we can fix this problem short of everyone going back to the barter system.

The only part of your post I couldnt relate to was you saying that most on here love this reality.

Mate in all my life Ive never come across such a group of pissed off malcontents than Ive seen here on ATS and its kinda the reason I feel so at home, guaranteed to one degree or another almost everyone on this site can relate to what your saying.
Were in good company here

a reply to: droid56

I can empathize with you. Although I have my own place, I have a family to support on a basic wage. Also have some family problems I'm going through at the moment. (Who cares!!! ATS does.)

I volunteer with the "Salvation Army" and assist in providing for the homeless.

It is something of a passion for me.

I understand that the homeless have their own issues and grief but I have seen an increase in the abuse directed to me and other volunteers regardless of being amicable and showing respect and empathy. Do I continue in my work and be abused and assaulted for trying to be nice and helpful.

Sorry, but no disrespect intended, and I know some cases are isolated but I( am not a spoon feeding service and a punching bag at the same time.

If a homeless person doesn't like the home cooked meal I provide and prefers a macca's. I'm sorry. I can';t afford to buy a macca's for my own family each night. And I don't have smokes! Or alcohol. Please don't get angry. Enjoy the Lamb, gravy and vege's. Don't punch my face, I've just had surgery.

bally

a reply to: Dwoodward85

My thoughts as well,

Good post

bally

There's no doubt that some of the homeless are flawed human beings, but their children get a pass.

originally posted by: Dwoodward85
a reply to: droid56

As a soon to be 31 year old living at home with his parents living off a very small wage I would like to say that while some of what you've written is true what isn't is that no one cares about the homeless or even that very few care about the homeless. I promise you many, a large majority probably care about the homeless but the only problem is that those who do give a damn about the homeless is that they are barely making their bills as it is.

Exactly, minus some that care that have the resources and donate to help out.

I think and help out where I can including giving what little I can and only wish I could give more but that is the sad fact that only the rich and those with enough to live happily, have the ability not to care the poor always care about the homeless because we fear that by the end of the week we will be one of them.

One way to help out, if at all possible is volunteer, from homeless centers to food banks any little effort goes a long way.

a reply to: droid56

Like the Romans watching the gladiators, Americans have no shortage of distractions. And like the way of the Romans, the American empire will soon be no more.

Follow thread

a reply to: droid56

Maybe it's just time to move? Take your tiny pension and go somewhere else? Little town, little rent the further away from big cities the cheaper it gets.
Still a pub or something near by which you could afford maybe once a week, lots of walks in the green, maybe a neighbour let's you use a bit of their vegetable garden, it's lovely to watch and tender to the growth of life.
Maybe even a fishing place or what you're into, sports clubs, you could adopt a dog.

Just guessing of course, I don't know your circumstances.

The Homeless I Happen To See In These Areas Are All Dealing With Addiction To One Thing Or Another.... Helping Them According To Their Desires Just Means $10 For A Common Thanks.
I Pretty Much Just Guess They'll Spend It On Getting A Fix Rather Than A Meal....
I Oftentimes Wish I Could Help... But Helping Themselves Is The Code Of The Streets Thanks To Hammurabi...

a reply to: droid56

The reality is, is that few people care about the unemployed and the govt is worst offender.

The worst of all this is that there is absolutely nothing to stop the govt from creating all the money it needs for its own purposes, out of thin air using the exact same method the banks use to create money out of thin air.

They know they can do this but they refuse to do so for whatever reasons.

Few if any will agree with this but we are reaching the point where people will have to be paid not to work. However, those with jobs and those doing ok will never agree with this until automation and robotics takes their job then they will sequel like stuck pigs in agreement with what I'm saying.

there are 45 million homeless in the US and given the way statistics works we can safely assume there is an equal number of people who are 30 days or less from being homeless themselves.

I have read of accounts of those who have seen the homeless taken away, others have noticed that they have simply disappeared over night etc. No body seems to know and more over, few even care. This in itself assures it would quite easy for 'someone' to use them for something, medical experiments, perhaps body parts, making FEMA exercises more real, chopping them up for cattle feed etc, who knows.

I've even read where some claim to have seen them being used for food by some alien type.

a reply to: IkNOwSTuff

The problem that you Americans have, from my perspective, is that you have an extreme way of looking at life, it seems to me that its a case of every man for himself, dog eat dog, may the best man win and winner take all.

America seems to value nothing but money and a mans value is measured in terms of how much he has.

As i was just saying, on another thread there there is no reason at all why govt cannot create all the money they need for their own purposes, including ensuring every person has a survivable income, the best possible health care etc.

As many are discovering, those at the top take an ideological approach to these things and they just do not care about those below them. They just take the view you either earn or die.

Thats not the world I want.

a reply to: Azureblue

"Slow kill" doesn't seem to far off of a conspiracy when it comes to how the elderly and homeless are treated when on the streets.

One can hope it's not as extreme as to said camps and even as you mentioned about being food. I do know some homeless are shipped off to different cities. Places that are very intolerable about the homeless probably lock them up for most anything.

Also, murder and kidnapping and human trafficking is rampant. There's a quote about being homeless in large cities when people you know go missing, in the effect of: " If someone you know vanishes there's a chance they have thrown into a dumpster."

originally posted by: Azureblue
a reply to: IkNOwSTuff

The problem that you Americans have, from my perspective, is that you have an extreme way of looking at life, it seems to me that its a case of every man for himself, dog eat dog, may the best man win and winner take all.

America seems to value nothing but money and a mans value is measured in terms of how much he has.

As i was just saying, on another thread there there is no reason at all why govt cannot create all the money they need for their own purposes, including ensuring every person has a survivable income, the best possible health care etc.

As many are discovering, those at the top take an ideological approach to these things and they just do not care about those below them. They just take the view you either earn or die.

Thats not the world I want.

America has always been Independent in spirit some of that is reflected through what you are mentioning. Though, what is seen now days is more of the result of crony capitalism when it comes to how extreme it is. Also, has to do with the propaganda in advertising, that keeps a hold on people making everyone in perpetual competition with one another of shaping the "Keeping up with the Joneses" to the "Me Generation".

a reply to: droid56

There are two type's of people, human being's with empathy whom care even when they can do nothing and those that look human but are a twisted throwback and have no empathy, they I would regard as not human as they simply care nothing for other's at all.

In the UK I can see the deliberate action's of the right wing minority whom destroyed our social housing, this was a part of a deliberate destruction which they knew would take two to three generation's to complete as a wealth filter came into effect and the wealth of the nation trickled then poured into the hand's of a tiny minority while impoverishing and hurting the majority especially the poorest, this was Thatchers grand scheme to restore the Class System of master servant, Owner Slave which this nation had run on until the latter part of the first half of the 20th century (changed started about the 1920's but stalled then accelerated after the war before the right wing started to reverse it from the 1980's onward).

Today they call it corporate politics and corporate economic's but either way it stink's to high heaven and is the most inhumane and cruel greed driven system, a truly wicked and cruel method of implementing this wealth filter (rather call it a wealth funnel but it filter's out the poor in what today is called Social cleansing in the UK.

I get the feeling if we truly cared we would be out there helping them now.

But we're not, we're on the Internet.

Something not right about that.

I work in central London often and on occasion I will take charity workers to known homeless locations, the over riding factor I have found was that there is help but many people simply do not want it.

Addiction is a massive issue and personally it is someones choice how clean they make their life, if you start sticking needles in your arm that is your issue. We all have life problems some of us try to change our situations others self implode to a life of crime, addiction and prostitution. I would say 70% of people we have contact during these meetings are addicts.

Yes the price of living is high but then peoples stupid wants are massive, Iphone's over food. I had a neighbor who was moaning she could not afford baby milk yet she was driving s decent car on credit and she has all the modern must haves.. Priorities for some people are twisted to hell, I have lived poor as anything and you can always get by if you are disciplined, and sadly many people are not.

In London at least the thing that is driving the housing market to stratospheric levels of cost is massive uncontrolled migration, houses in my local neighborhood have gone from £35k-70K 15 years ago to the same house costing £600K+ today and in that time peoples salaries have not changed much due to the massive level of low skilled workers that are driving the wage structure down. This intern leads to high stress levels being put on a monthly budget and the 60-100 year mortgage is a very really thing, in that time so much can happen and that is also a leading reason that stress is put onto social housing when people find then cannot make ends meet.

My conclusion is that people really do care and the kindness I see daily from strangers is amazing, sadly the system is totally f#cked but why would it change when a majority of people are addicted to Social media and a unhealthy lifestyle to even being to understand how they are being used.. I guess that is another thread though..


RA

a reply to: droid56

We contribute to the support of two families. Tapped out our pension. We could be living really good if we didn't care.

There are no decent paying jobs. And it aint' getting better with all repubs in charge. I live in a state run by republicans for 25 years and they are killing working and retireee homeowners with property taxes.

a reply to: droid56

I'm a senior living off of a small pension. The cost of rent has gone up big time maybe as a result of the cost of buying houses. Greed is the energy fueling this huge rise in the cost of rents, and it is a side effect of the free market let free in the real estate market.

I have no idea where in the US you live but, I certainly can sympathize with your financial situation in that when my father died, my mother had to begin living with my sister and I and then me full time. She could have managed in an assisted living facility (NOT a nursing home) based on income though, I suppose. She could not have afforded her own rent, utilities, medicines, food and/or the cost of hiring a full time 'helper' for her conditions/disabilities. The cost of rent is exorbitant, I agree, as I have been 'house hunting' for a while and although I can find places that I can easily afford, there would be little money for savings and that is my goal. Less expensive upkeep/rent and more money in the bank, so to speak.

It is shameful that children and the elderly would be living in less than humane conditions, anyone for that matter but, the children/elderly especially as I believe we are charged with the future of the humans we are helping to create and owe it to those who came before us (my personal feelings as others, I'm sure, feel differently).

Almost nobody cares about the homeless. As long as their cozy dens and their wonderful tech toys and their trips to warm places keep happening, lets keep this thing happening.

I'm not sure about this broad of a statement. In my local community, there is an outreach/shelter that supports and assists the homeless population including women and children. They are provided a safe and warm place, Doctors once a week provide services free of charge, they are assisted and encouraged with seeking employment and housing options are explored. They are committed to a Christian based philosophy, though, and some folks can be 'put off' by that and not want to participate in the help that the mission can provide (I have met some of those people). Perhaps smaller communities are able to help on a larger scale, in a way?

I have met those as well who have left the mission, weather permitting, to go back into the woods and partake of their drug or alcohol of choice and when the binge is over, they return to get cleaned up, eat and sleep. They are rather transient at the mission. I'm not sure what they're future could hold as they don't seem committed or able to come up from where they are currently. There are no children involved in those few situations that I am aware of.

If there are benevolent ets observing the Earth, they see us as savages.
I get that most of you love this reality.

I can agree with your first sentence. The treatment of those less fortunate, children and the elderly is despicable in an awful lot of situations, IMO and if being viewed from afar must be seen as very uncaring and selfish.

I disagree with your second statement as I believe sometimes all we can do is try to change our little corner of the world and perhaps charity and good will can spread. Maybe folks don't know where to begin to help as the problems seem so insurmountable. I think we can begin to effect a change by helping those closest to us. If everyone cared for the children, the elderly and the less fortunate in their own families/communities (I'm not talking about addicts, necessarily) the demands on the homeless shelters, low income housings and the like may be less so that those with no one to care for them could be helped more easily. Just a thought, perhaps a stupid one.

I don't know you but, I wish you good luck in the future and I wish you well. I think the more of us that can come out of our little protective bubbles and realize the human suffering on the planet the better as many may feel compelled to help, in whatever way they are able.

There is still some good out there. Thanks for your posting.