Americas Homeless

[Marie Mallory]

Why are so many Americans homeless now, especially in Florida?
I think I know, anyone remember when we had low income apts in most cities?
Not violent ghettos but affordable n'hoods for low income people.

We need to build more of those for people who work or retired. So many hard working people are being throwed out of their homes because of, insurance, taxes and other add on charges.

 

[Don Alaska]

Anchorage's very Left-wing mayor tried to clear a homeless encampment from a city park yesterday, and the "campers set the woods on fire in retaliation. Every time the fire department got one fire out, the homeless started another. There was a big unintentional fire in a park there a few years ago that nearly burned the center of the city. Some of the homeless here are disabled, but most are druggies that cannot get a job because of their drug habits. Some are also Alaska Natives who get stranded in Anchorage and cannot get home.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

There is probably a mix of baggage in these "communities" that keeps them going. Druggies, runaways, people on the dodge, mentally ill, mentally deficient... sure. But also basic malcontents, kids who never grow up, those "stranded" as described, those who suffered some calamity that destroyed their world, etc. And after living that way for a time it becomes their normal, making it hard to change. Can they ever work a steady job to pay for housing? If housing is basically free, will they ever respect it?

I think the numbers have swelled for several reasons. One is a loss of safety nets for the extreme cases. But another is its tolerance and a gradual normalization of homelessness. Such a positive-feedback cycle tends to run out of control.

 

[Marie Mallory]

Anchorage's very Left-wing mayor tried to clear a homeless encampment from a city park yesterday, and the "campers set the woods on fire in retaliation. Every time the fire department got one fire out, the homeless started another. There was a big unintentional fire in a park there a few years ago that nearly burned the center of the city. Some of the homeless here are disabled, but most are druggies that cannot get a job because of their drug habits. Some are also Alaska Natives who get stranded in Anchorage and cannot get home.

I do know many are on drugs although now many just can't afford the cost now to own a home. And rent is high too.
I don't know how to fix anything just commenting.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

I casually know somebody in Missouri, though I haven't heard from her in almost 6 months. Her own situation was bizarre enough, having to rent a room in some guy's house with a lot of regular tension between them. I think a legal settlement came through and she now owns her car and had enough to get into her own apartment. Hopefully her silence is a sign of a better situation.

But for a while she was telling me about some new coworker who lived in his car parked outside near work and he even had at least one dog, maybe two in there with him. I just can't see that as good for the dog(s) or him either. From what I could tell he was fairly young and just never got his act together after high school. My guess is that he couldn't hold a job and that's why he moved from one low-end part time job to another.

I believe there are a LOT of abusive pet ownership situations out there. Not actively abusive but not really capable of meeting the needs of a real pet. But we seem to be in a culture where this is taken as a right now, and I assume it becomes a kind of crutch for many so they can live without human relationships and their demands more easily.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

I used to be an advocate for all homeless people. But because of some volunteer work I've done, I learned that the vast majority of homeless people are homeless because they choose to be. As a result, right or wrong, I put homeless people into groups.

There's those who just want to live off the grid. That's a bigger thing in places where living off the grid is a common a way of life, such in parts of Alaska. But some people do it in the lower 48 and are successful at it. These people may get some federal or state assistance, such as food stamps, but for the most part they take care of themselves. Even if they make their money collecting cans, they're still making money.

There are street people, who don't want to work, and will tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get you to hand them money, which they use for booze or dope. For example, one day in Eureka, I was walking around downtown and I happened to be wearing an Army Corp of Engineers baseball cap. This guy comes up to me and starts telling me he's an Army Vet, the VA isn't helping him, could I help him, blah blah.

So I asked him what he did in the Army. He said he was in the Corp of Engineers too. Casually I said "Essayons." He says "What?" I said "I said Essayons. Don't you know what that is or what it means?" He says no. So I said, "It's the Corp of Engineers Motto, which you would know if you were actually in the Corp of Engineers" and walked off before I got angry. I have little tolerance for Stolen Valor...

I have always heard "The average American is one paycheck away from the street." That is why I wanted to help the homeless. There are many families that are homeless through no fault of their own. Children should not be living on the street.

Then we have those with mental illnesses. You can't really blame them for not being able to have a normal life, it isn't their fault either. And a lot of that is the governments doing. They decided that giving tax breaks to rich people was more important than helping the disabled.

As a result of volunteering and a round of living in the woods after I fell, I learned that some homeless need help and others do not. By the same token, some are deserving of help and others are definitely not.