Can You Beat Homelessness?

[AllieBaba]

Ima gonna fill you and Jbeuk on on sumptin;

I am poor.

I have has a land lord try to up my rent. When we were standing outside the court house he started to mumble his apologies and that after further research, blah blah blah. I took him to task, got a better apartment for the same rent.

Land lords (some) will out the screws to pussies, you turn the screws on them they flop like a school yard bully.

and no, I didn't have a lawyer.

I'm poor too. I don't count on the courts or state institutions to go to bat for me. I don't think it's worth the effort. I can expend that energy in a much more productive manner; i.e., parenting my children, focusing on being a decent person and doing the right thing. If I have a landlord try to up my rent w/out warning then I move.

Poor people do get the shaft but let me tell you something about poor people (and this is a subject I know inside and out)...they are poor because of bad choices and a lack of interest in their economic status; or they are poor because they're just stupid. The point is, people will shit on you when you're poor (and a poor single woman, omg, the schools shit on you, the courts shit on you, even the cops shit on you). But we ALL have the opportunity in this country to dig our way up into a different state of being. It's just about coming to terms with what needs to be done and what you are willing to change or sacrifice in order to get it done.

Did you just say you're stupid?

I'm inclined to agree- you are pretty stupid. Not everyone is poor because they're stupid or they did anything wrong- but that is a great thing to tell yourself so you feel better about those who starve or labour in the world's sweatshops or find that every time they apply for a job, the fact they they remain unemployed i held against them. Nor does it address those who are denied the opportunity to do right and improve their condition when they to change themselves or get beyond whatever has happened in the past.

As I said, I don't know why I would bother to debate with people who have already admitted they have some fairly major issues.

P.S. I have never been homeless...however, you have. So why don't you tell me how it's everyone else's fault again?

*denied the opportunity*....lol..what a load of crap. Who denied you what opportunity, loser?

 

[JBeukema]

I'll not waste time with someone who just made a post declaring herself to be stupid.

 

[Madeline]

Time and again you show that you seem to be viewing a completely different forum than everyone else

Bullshit, JB. Every single one of your posts on here has fairly screamed "no event could hold me down".

Wtf are you talkin' about?

Like I said, I've been on the streets in three different states. I've seen why handouts don't work, I've seen how to run programs that really help people, I've seen those who don't want to help themselves and those who do. I've seen how being homeless makes it so difficult to find a job and how past joblessness compounds the difficulty in ending it. I've seen people get ripped off, known people who were killed, and seen programs that use the homeless to get funding to pay the people running it. I've seen groups (often church-based) that do all they can for those who really want to improve. I've seen the bourgeoisie spit on the poor and I've seen employers willing to put their neck out to give someone a chance.

Until you've gone hungry, slept in an abandoned warehouse, taken a birdbath in a bathroom because you needed a shower, slept outside a homeless shelter because it was full, and waited in line to get into the Armory because it was a hard freeze and you were just trying to get through the night, you can shut the fuck up. Some of us actually know what we're talking about.

To this day, I sometimes lie awake at night- in my own home, where I've lived for quite some time- listening for anyone who might be about- police, thieves, the owners of whatever building I might be in... Time on the streets, like time in prison, is something that stays with you for a long time afterward.

I admire you for all that you've endured and overcome, JB, but most of us have at least been touched by homelessness. In HS, I officially had a home...11 different foster homes in 4 years. I spent a few nights on the streets. Cold, in upstate New York, in winter, in the ghetto, broke. That was no picnic, but anything was better than some of those foster "fathers".

I have been at the "do I take the baby to the doctor or do I feed the baby" point as well, inasmuch as I married myself a loser who refused to work. I know I crawled out in part because I was lucky, in part because I was smart, and in part because I worked my ass off.

People who has less going for them need more help. As you say, some programs work, some don't...and anyone who has ever needed one knows why. I think the first thing anyone homeless loses is their dignity, and it should not be that way.

 

[AllieBaba]

I'll not waste time with someone who just made a post declaring herself to be stupid.

Liar.

Also mentally ill..speaking of homeless losers, aren't you the retard who was mooching off an ex-girlfriend, then taking a bus to some random destination with the glib assertion that work would be easy to find? How'd that work out for you? I see you've found another person with internet to leech off of...

 

[JBeukema]

People who has less going for them need more help. As you say, some programs work, some don't...and anyone who has ever needed one knows why.

Many programs fail because they give too much and demand too little. There was a place (well, two programs, but right next to eachother) where some people stayed for years getting free food, clothes, and a cot. Many came and went for months at a time. They demanded almost nothing of people who went there and many became content in their condition.

There is a program in the city I am now in which helped me get on my feet before. They demand much, They make it very difficult to get any assistance. You have to work for it. You must prove that you're looking for work if you want food. If you want a place to stay, you must be on time for every single meeting, always be dressed in business casual or interview clothes, and attend all classes. (Classes cover how to make a resume', interview tips, and various life-skill subjects). They are only interested in helping those who are truly interested in working to improve their condition. Those who are serious rarely fail to get on their feet in 2 or 3 months (they can assist in finding temporary housing in the meantime). Those who aren't serious simply can't be helped and are a waste of time.

The difference between these two is this: The former offers handouts. The latter offers a hand up.

I think the first thing anyone homeless loses is their dignity, and it should not be that way.

Handouts don't help you with that- if anything, they encourage you to become, to feel like, and to act as a charity case. The second program I mentioned refers you to places where you receive, after completing the first stage, a suit for interviews and some business casual clothes. They make you shine your shoes before you start the day and keep your clothes looking nice. And you know what- when you see yourself in the mirror in a sharp suit and shoes you can see your face in, and you know what to say in the interview, and you know that you've been working for what they've helped you get so far and it hasn't just been handed to you- it feels pretty damn good. And the tools they provide help you land a job and get your own place... it's one of the best feelings in the world, second only to taking your woman to bed in your new home.

I've learned a lot about how good intentions can lead to programs that are the very opposite of what people really need to improve themselves and their condition. Too many libs think that throwing money at the problem and offering people innumerable handouts for nothing will make things better. They are severely misguided.

 

[JBeukema]

I'll not waste time with someone who just made a post declaring herself to be stupid.

Liar.

Also mentally ill..speaking of homeless losers, aren't you the retard who was mooching off an ex-girlfriend, then taking a bus to some random destination with the glib assertion that work would be easy to find? How'd that work out for you? I see you've found another person with internet to leech off of...

What in the blue hell are you babbling about? I'm sitting at my desk in my home about to open a beer I bought after work today. I'm also just remembered I need to check my voice-mail as I think I got a call back about a better job I interviewed for the other day.

But whatever you say, Babs

 

[Douger]

Play the game of Spent to find out.

SPENT

I ran out of cash on Day 23.

I made it through the month with $202 left over and didn't even have to rob a liquor store.

 

[California Girl]

I made it thru the month with $434.

Can I borrow $20?

No.

You can have $20, no strings. Maybe one day, I'll need some help from you.... Karma.