Gaineyvilles: The Homeless Camps of Pittsburgh (Allentown, Washington: living in, move to, money)

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by screechingweasel

This might seem like a weird question, but why is homelessness so much of a problem in cold climates? Why don't they all just ride the rails down south for the winter? WTF?

Homelessness is not a big problem in cold climates:



It's basically a west-coast phenomena outside of NYC and DC. And in those cases (like all eastern/midwestern cities) the vast majority of homeless people are sheltered.



Pennsylvania as a whole is estimated to be around 13% unsheltered (2,000 out of a roughly 13,500 total).

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I never quite understood it myself. If I was going to be experiencing homelessness long-term and/or indefinitely I would probably "snowbird". I would start walking south several miles per day in like September until I was in the South by November. I would then start walking north several miles per day in like March until I was in the North by May. That way I would rarely have to experience living outdoors in harsh weather. I understand not everyone is able-bodied, but the vast majority of the long-term homeless I see Downtown everyday seem to move around just fine.

At some point you will have to eat and drink. Cities provide population density for panhandling. How would a traveling homeless person sustain themselves on the road? Where would the get food and drink?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

At some point you will have to eat and drink. Cities provide population density for panhandling. How would a traveling homeless person sustain themselves on the road? Where would the get food and drink?

True. I thought maybe they would pack enough food/drink to carry with them in a backpack to make due for several days at a time while walking between populated areas and panhandling again. I mean that's what I would do to avoid suffering in a harsh climate for half the year in a certain part of the country.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

True. I thought maybe they would pack enough food/drink to carry with them in a backpack to make due for several days at a time while walking between populated areas and panhandling again. I mean that's what I would do to avoid suffering in a harsh climate for half the year in a certain part of the country.

They're notoriously lazy of course, so the littlest amount of energy they expend to panhandle (mooch) the better.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by svband76

They're notoriously lazy of course, so the littlest amount of energy they expend to panhandle (mooch) the better.

They are obviously mentally I’ll and incapable of managing life. Sane individuals do not live on sidewalks. That is insanity and or undiagnosed mental illness. There have always been segments of society that are not capable of handling life which is unfortunate. To refer to a sick person as a mooch is out of touch with reality, dismissive and mean spirited.

[Reggiezz]

Most of them are drug addicts, alienated from their families. They choose to live on the street so they can keep using drugs. They're not homeless.

Tell them about all the benefits druggies get in California when giving them a bus ticket. The streets out there are paved with fentanyl.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by Reggiezz

Most of them are drug addicts, alienated from their families. They choose to live on the street so they can keep using drugs. They're not homeless.

Tell them about all the benefits druggies get in California when giving them a bus ticket. The streets out there are paved with fentanyl.

The streets here in the Pittsburgh metro are paved with fentanyl and meth.

[eschaton]

Again, anyone who thinks Pittsburgh has a notable homeless problem hasn't been to any cities in the western U.S. in the last 10-20 years. It's an order of magnitude worse out there.

Allegheny County as a whole has only around 900 homeless people at any given time. Most of them are transitory homeless or in shelters. The actual encampment folks and those that sleep on the streets are maybe 300 tops. I see some of the same ones multiple times a week, which shows it's not an overall huge population.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

They are obviously mentally I’ll and incapable of managing life. Sane individuals do not live on sidewalks. That is insanity and or undiagnosed mental illness. There have always been segments of society that are not capable of handling life which is unfortunate. To refer to a sick person as a mooch is out of touch with reality, dismissive and mean spirited.

It's not a popular viewpoint on the left or right, but the rise of visible homelessness in the U.S. again coincided with the end of involuntary commitment of those with mental illness/addiction in the 1970s.

The only way you get some of these people off the streets is against their will, for better or worse.

[guy2073]

Homeless don't move around because they are either mentally ill or they don't want to reestablish new connections for their drugs or ways to raise money.