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Actually, one of the thefts will probably stay with me for a long time. One of my colleagues and a senior member of our staff, had polio as a child and is wheel-chair bound. She is one smart and independent cookie, in the best sense. She was going to her hotel room, when one of the fellas asked if he could help her. She of course, said, "no." She's totally independent but not exposed to much street crime and/or hordes of homeless.
Before she knew it, he had gotten her purse, slung on the back handle of her chair. She was mortified! I had never seen her like that before or after.
She was so upset, she took an early flight home.
Ha! Sounds like he wanted to help her much like the parking guys help us! Chances are, he would have wheeled her to her room then expected to get a tip for doing that. He didn't steal out of her purse, did he?
Oh well. That's how they make money. They can be quite industrious which sort of blows away the idea of the "homeless that don't want to work."
He took her wallet, in toto. One or two of us I think lent her money to get to the airport.
Yes, so many intelligent or clever people on the streets--surviving on their wits.
But what brought them there?
Quote:
Originally Posted by UB50
Ha! Sounds like he wanted to help her much like the parking guys help us! Chances are, he would have wheeled her to her room then expected to get a tip for doing that. He didn't steal out of her purse, did he?
Oh well. That's how they make money. They can be quite industrious which sort of blows away the idea of the "homeless that don't want to work."
He took her wallet, in toto. One or two of us I think lent her money to get to the airport.
That's a bummer. Most of them are honest. Like I said, I don't keep money in my purse but I've never had anything missing. (I do keep my wallet in my purse and I never shut my purse.)
When we've purchased big boxes of merchandise and our car is far away, we've had homeless guys offer to help us carry the boxes to our car. Maybe they recognize us as regulars? At any rate, we've never had a problem.
Well, I take that back. On one street a guy did allow me to get a parking ticket! I was ticked about that since they usually don't let that happen -- but that was the only time. (And I never parked on his block again!)
I have to admit, I'm somewhat in awe of the business they have going. Most of these guys are black and they really are good workers. I don't know who is the organizer for the group but they work together pretty well. Well, except for the guy who let me get a parking ticket!
Yes, so many intelligent or clever people on the streets--surviving on their wits.
But what brought them there?
As to your other questions. The high cost of housing in California is usually what gets them there. You can have a full time job here and not be able to afford a roof over your head.
If you stick around downtown around 6 p.m., when businesses start closing up, you'll see a lot of well dressed people getting in line at the front of the missions. They "look" like they have jobs. There are newspaper articles too -- about the working homeless.
As long as housing costs stay high and wages stay low, I don't see a solution to this problem. In fact, I can see the numbers of homeless increasing because housing just keeps going up and up while wages don't rise at all. A lot of California's housing stock (at least in the cities) is being bought up by wealthy immigrants. (Not illegal immigrants but investor type immigrants.) The Chinese have tons of bucks and someone pointed out to me that there are more Chinese millionaires than there are American millionaires. Small wonder since we keep sending our dollars overseas.
Most Asian immigrants come to California. I think we have over 1/2 of all Asian immigrants in this state -- that's why I don't understand all the people who are so focused on hispanic immigrants. I guess the hispanics have spread out further but these same people aren't going to be really happy when they start meeting their new Asian neighbors. Not only do they not speak English, they don't even write in letters like Mexicans and Americans do. They have these "funny" symbols they use instead of letters that are even harder to figure out.
Coming from a smaller city, the homeless we have here are not very industrious or organized like those in the previous examples. For the most part, they like to ask for change when you're filling gas or walking out of a grocery store. Usually, they give you a story about how they "ran out of gas" or something similar. I'm really not impressed with these bogus tales, so I rarely give them money. However, several years ago a man was holding a sign that read,"Why lie? I need beer," off the side of the road. I couldn't resist giving him several dollars because (I felt) he was being more or less honest. Was this PC? No. But I was more impressed with the truth above all else in this example.
Demographics = sex, age, race, etc. Nothing specific, but the density and distribution may affect the poverty rate in differing areas--cluster groups they call them in the small world I was once a part of
I do know that the last time I was in California, San Francisco to be specific, I was literally shocked at how many homeless were downtown. We had several nasty incidents during the 5-days I spent there attending an AIDS Conference with folks jostling each other crossing the street from the hotel to the conference center. Desperation was very high, so we had several quick thefts and some interesting story-telling to get some grub money.
San Fransisco is very easy to explain. SF is very "homeless-friendly". They attract homeless people from all over the world with the give-aways they provide. The same can be said for NY and D.C, but to a smaller extent. These areas have provided an atmosphere of government dependency, providing little incentive for its citizens to find a job.
Shocked that more people arent homeless in the expensive areas
I think the homless component is different in the midwest then the coasts.
The one thing about midwest homelessness it seems to be at least 90% older middle-aged men, very few homeless families in the midwest compared to other parts of the country.
In a vast majority of midwest the cost of apartments is very low. The main reason for homlessness in the midwest is lack of jobs more then anything else, even the fast-food or janitor jobs in the midwest is enough for a single person, but not a family. In alot of medium-sized midwestern towns like (Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, Iowa) a small old apartment can be had for 200 dollars a month and 2 bedroom house is more like 350 dollars.
When ever I read an article on what people in California and the North-East pay for an apartment I am shocked and most midwesterners are also.
I would venture to guess in California the people staying in weekly rooming houses pay the same amount of rent as somebody with the monthly rent of a small apartment in Nebraska, Iowa or North Dakota.
Thanks so much for providing a Midwest perspective and in particular the Dakotas and Nebraska. It is fascinating to hear how much a rental cost.
In NYC, I would say that housing is not the issue for homelessness. No one reason has been determined but some of the primary reasons are
- an inability to secure a job (poverty)
- limited social services (families abandoned)
- substance using issues
- throw away and run-away children and adolescents
- mental health complications
- extreme poverty (loss of lease, inability to pay)
Whatever the reason, I really would like to find appropriate housing for all American citizens and decrease homelessness to 0%.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattDen
I think the homless component is different in the midwest then the coasts.
In a vast majority of midwest the cost of apartments is very low. The main reason for homlessness in the midwest is lack of jobs more then anything else, even the fast-food or janitor jobs in the midwest is enough for a single person, but not a family.
In Nebraska where I am now and in North Dakota where I was last the cost of housing because of extremely low demand and very high vacancies is very low. Small apartments can be had for 200 dollars a month and 2 bedrooms for 350 dollars or so.
I would venture to guess in California the people staying in weekly rooming houses pay the same amount of rent as somebody with the monthly rent of a small apartment in Nebraska, Iowa or North Dakota.
I think the reasons for homelessness in the high-cost west tend to be affordability related, while those in the midwest are mainly people who hopped of the train in the last few months and really doesnt have to do with the cost of housing so much.
There are some blogs on the internet that have been started by homeless people. It's easier to understand why people are homeless when you read some of their stories.
One guy ended up homeless but has a laptop and a cell phone. He spends most of his time looking for 1) food 2) place to sleep 3) places to clean clothes 4) a job. He's had to go on job interviews carrying everything he owns -- which is a sure sign he's homeless and it's why some employers have refused to give him a job. He won't sell his laptop because it's the only way he has to look for a job.
Another woman was raped and beaten up on the streets in San Francisco. She already had some physical problems before this happened so it's been very hard for her to get her life back together.
Yes, I remember one young woman who kept a blog and shared her experiences. - a post-adolescent without parents.
Life ain't easy; and then we die!
Quote:
Originally Posted by UB50
There are some blogs on the internet that have been started by homeless people. It's easier to understand why people are homeless when you read some of their stories.
One guy ended up homeless but has a laptop and a cell phone. He spends most of his time looking for 1) food 2) place to sleep 3) places to clean clothes 4) a job. He's had to go on job interviews carrying everything he owns -- which is a sure sign he's homeless and it's why some employers have refused to give him a job. He won't sell his laptop because it's the only way he has to look for a job.
Another woman was raped and beaten up on the streets in San Francisco. She already had some physical problems before this happened so it's been very hard for her to get her life back together.
Anyway, the stories are a real eye-opener.
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Shocked that more people arent homeless in the expensive areas
- a post-adolescent without parents.