Austin news: Homeless woman raped with 2 yr old daughter in her arms (how much, home)

[achtungpv]

Stastically most homeless people are mothers and their children. You just don't see them panhandling.

[southdown]

Originally Posted by Driftwood1

When I was in the Northeast in the early 90's I worked for a company which built 10 townhomes to GIVE to homeless people to start a new life..
Within 2 months all were abandoned or taken over by drug users...
Most of these poor souls choose the street, that is except for the poor 2yr old...
Where is CPS?

Great company, and an amazing gift! However...

Without wanting to get too far off the thread... there is an issue with homeless people (not all) needing to be re-housed with more than just 4 walls.

Many homeless people have lost the skills of living in a real home, or may have never learned them through no fault of their own - so if they are given a house but have no furniture, no security systems and no help with organising utilities etc, they slide on the slippery slope back into debt, back in with the 'wrong' people, back on the streets.

It's not just about the 4 walls, they also need an education in how to use them.

It's a huge social problem, but not one we can ignore and/or blame on 'those people'.

[Trainwreck20]

My brother lives off 290 in East Austin and is in close proximity to quite a few halfway houses/apartments used to transition homeless people to 'homed' people, and he is often on the bus (he does not own a car) riding with the residents of them. He himself is only in a dwelling through sheer determination (it is a long story). Anyway, he has commented on the training, counseling, and financial assistance they receive and how few of them manage to actually 're-enter' mainstream life. The addiction to alcohol/drugs and the myriad of mental problems makes it very difficult. "You can lead a horse to water...." is so appropriate, and these are the ones that could be led to the 'water' in the first palce....there are so many that do not want/will not accept assistance. The alterative is forced enrollement (incarceration?) in some type of facility, and that is another adage about a slippery slope.

Generally speaking, CPS does get involved in cases like these, but it can be difficult to find these kids.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

...how few of them manage to actually 're-enter' mainstream life.

Maybe 10 years ago Howard Stern picked a random homeless guy in NYC to give $10,000 to as long as they could track him on his radio show to see if he could get himself off the street. The first thing he bought was a $400 leather jacket and a professional drum kit (yeah, a drum kit). If I remember correctly the money was gone within a week. Most of the homeless of course aren't like that but most of the professional panhandlers probably are.

[southdown]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

......how few of them manage to actually 're-enter' mainstream life. The addiction to alcohol/drugs and the myriad of mental problems makes it very difficult. "You can lead a horse to water...." is so appropriate, and these are the ones that could be led to the 'water' in the first palce....there are so many that do not want/will not accept assistance.

That's true, sad but true...

Many homeless people are in the situation because they find it hard to cope with life, due to some awful childhood experiences.

Which is why we should be so concerned about young children on the streets - they are likely to be the next generation's homeless.

Austin, Texas support services for the homeless | Community Partnership for the Homeless
U.S. Code and Statistics about the Homeless | Community Partnership for the Homeless (http://austinhomeless.org/homeless_facts.php - broken link)

What adverse childhood experiences did homeless clients report?

• 27 percent of homeless clients lived in foster care, a group home, or other institutional setting for part of their childhood.
• 25 percent report childhood physical or sexual abuse.
• 21 percent report childhood experiences of homelessness.
• 33 percent report running away from home and 22 percent report being forced to leave home.

Best wishes to your brother, Trainwreck

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Anyway, he has commented on the training, counseling, and financial assistance they receive and how few of them manage to actually 're-enter' mainstream life. The addiction to alcohol/drugs and the myriad of mental problems makes it very difficult. "You can lead a horse to water...." is so appropriate, and these are the ones that could be led to the 'water' in the first palce....there are so many that do not want/will not accept assistance. The alterative is forced enrollement (incarceration?) in some type of facility, and that is another adage about a slippery slope.

Generally speaking, CPS does get involved in cases like these, but it can be difficult to find these kids.

Trainwreck is absolutely right. In my younger days, I was a prosecutor in abuse and neglect court in a very impoverished area of Chicago. Basically, I took abused and neglected children away from their parents. Someone has to make CPS aware of a child's bad situation in order for them to get that child in the system. Once a child is in the system and a parent is receiving services from CPS, it is really up to the parent. He/she has to want to help him or herself. With the right level of desire, a very good case worker, constant monitoring and the right combination of services, a parent can right-side their situation. But sadly, in most cases, there are people who just cannot move past their addictions and feeding the addiction is the priority, NOT being a good parent.

As a result, there are many women who have crafty ways of working the system by using their children. ONe woman I will never forget came into my courtroom and had her THIRTEENTH child taken away from her due to drugs, inability to care for the child, prostitution, etc. The judge asked the woman why she kept getting pregnant only to have the children repeatedly taken away from her. She said, "I get welfare until they take the baby away from me. I will keep having babies until they let me keep one." There can be a significant lag time between the time a child is born (or begins to be neglected, in the case of an older child) and the time that CPS gets involved and files a case in court, so she was playing the float and collecting checks during that time so she could buy more drugs. Kid gets taken away, and she goes out and gets pregnant again, and repeats the cycle.

The root of most of these problems is drugs - bottom line. It makes people screw up their priorities, ignore their children, not take advantage of services available to them to fix their lives. It's really very sad.

[jimmyjack]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Yes, there are shelters. The people who sleep outside or on the street for the most part opt to be there rather than the shelters. The shelters typically have rules which many will not abide by; curfews, no drinking, smoking, drugs, alcohol, etc. But if their priority is getting off the street there is shelter enough for everyone.

It is pretty common knowledge here, the people outside (even this woman) do not want to stay in the shelters.

If this makes you feel better than go on ahead and believe it. Just close your eyes and keep telling yourself there are plenty of housing options, plenty of treatment programs, it was her fault for not taking advantage of them.

[jimmyjack]

Those idiots. I'll tell you what Driftwood, how's about I give you a drilling rig and a map that points you to a good spot. Everything you need to hit a pocket and live in comfort for the rest of your days. Givin that to you and expecting you to be successful is about the same as giving a homeless person a house. With the right education and support, you'd have a shot at being successful, on your own or with the wrong sort of help, you'd be one of those poor souls too.

[jimmyjack]

Originally Posted by southdown

It's a huge social problem, but not one we can ignore and/or blame on 'those people'.

I think we have done a great job of ignoring it. Heck, we are doing a pretty good job of ignoring our returning veterans. Homeless people are a lot easier than that to ignore. It's only when something particularly heinous occurs that the homeless people come to our attention for a few days or so. Luckily for us they are all mentally ill scummy drug addicts who just won't take advantage of all of the lavish programs we offer to them. If only we could figure a way to take their children away we wouldn't have to think of them at all.

It's too bad sometimes that homeless people aren't dogs. When dogs have it as tough as the homeless do, it's amazing what people will do.

[Driftwood1]

Hey man I was just a student workin construction for these guys (for not very much money either) I am just tellin what happened..

There were social svs in there trying to help them... It was some sort of state based grant or initiative.... it just didnt work..
Why is probably a whole other thread..
Cheers

PS .. my idea of living in comfort has little to do with hitting it rich...
I'd rather have my health and my family...

Originally Posted by jimmyjack

Those idiots. I'll tell you what Driftwood, how's about I give you a drilling rig and a map that points you to a good spot. Everything you need to hit a pocket and live in comfort for the rest of your days. Givin that to you and expecting you to be successful is about the same as giving a homeless person a house. With the right education and support, you'd have a shot at being successful, on your own or with the wrong sort of help, you'd be one of those poor souls too.