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All over the US and in increasing numbers in Urban areas in first world countries, homelessness is on the rise. What is behind this increase in numbers? This is not like the 30's in the US with "hobos" who rode the rails looking for work or help, or the nearest soup kitchen. There was a real homeless culture in the 80's and now it's just off the rails, with every urban area just overrun with homeless. Problems with sanitation and balancing economics with human behavior. What do you feel is the root problem behind the huge numbers that have blossomed over the last decade?
We have quite a population of homeless here in my area, they seem to be from a wide demographic and have little in common, with the exception that they have no place to sleep. Jeremy Rifkin wrote about the new economy (The End Of Work) of lessened human labor, in that new reality we can see the eventual upheaval of entire societies, and not just the west but globally. The darker side of this army of the under and un-employed includes the obvious social decay that usually acompanies long term hopelessness, booze, drugs, violence, it all comes to the surface in this environment of fear, insecurity and poverty.
I was in the Ashland Oregon area last month, I noted the big difference in the homeless there as one of age. I doubted the mass of the scraggly youth were all in dire straits, thinking that they may go to the local ATM for their allotment of trust fund money to carry them through the next few months of "street theatre" homelessness. I could be wrong but that was the impression I got in that very affluent town with it's beautiful college campus and the draw of summertime ramblin. On the other hand the homeless in Portland Oregon are the real deal, vets, the unemployed, abused and angry youth, the elderly, and a brigade of the mentally ill. Within the ranks of the homeless are the career criminals recently out of prison and no place to go, socially marginalized kids who aren't really abused but are suffering in school, and a lot of drug and alcohol addicts.
In the book, A Planet Of Slums, author Mike Davis relates the tale of a mass of migration to the worlds largest cities by those who have been displaced in the lesser populated regions for one reason or another, mostly the displaced from the agricultural mechanization that has taken human labor jobs. In the US it is the rise of a lower classes of a marginalized populace that seems to be filling the homeless camps, people with little skill and no way to get those skills, they run out of time and money quickly, housing being the first thing in their lives to disappear, then cars, family, friends, and in no small way the entire community.
Our local paper is filled with the hate diatribes of judgement and disrespect for these lost souls, the few who do help are overwhelmed. I don't know what most people expect when we see the mass of our low pay jobs being taken by foreigners, who are worse off than our own poverty stricken, or the mass of illegal people we have here seeking the life they can't ever expect from their homeland's meager economy. That fact aside, the rise of the machine is the biggest threat to the human labor force, with no comprehensive way to shift entire population segments of the displaced we'll continue to see the circus of despair that homelessness has become.
Nice response Jertheber! I live very close (minutes away) from Ashland Oregon, and the homelessness there isn't really the town's homelessness. (in my opinion) It is a culture and it attracts homeless who aren't from there. It is "cool" to be homeless in Ashland. In Medford however, just 15 miles north of Ashland there is also massive homelessness. Meth and heroin are huge in this area. The homeless on the street, for the most part are not women, children or families. They are mostly people living a lifestyle of drugs and aimlessness. There are veterans to be sure. The homeless make up their own community too. It's a dog eat dog world where drugs and alcohol are the currency. We had one case of a homeless man who stabbed his "friend" to death, because he failed to bring his cat some promised food. Bicycle theft and theft from sheds, and garages and the contents of cars are the huge. Also part of the "economy". Your mention of the absence of meaningful work and skill set are very astute. Thank you for response.
You know, I have had several discussions recently on this and related topics. Seems people all know someone, even if just a neighbor's college grad kid, still living at home, and unemployed. Yet, almost no one sees fit to agree with me about the economy. They all insist that we're in a recovery. We're not.
The well-employed cannot see it; the hopeful cannot see it. But I look around and see it everywhere. Do they think that the "tiny house" movement is just an environmentally trendy way to live? What do they think of people - of all ages - moving shed buildings into their parent's or friend's backyard, then fitting them out to live in? Or trading expensive cars in for a van, and moving into that?
Yes, it can be "cool" to live on the street while young, in a kind of fake poverty. This does a true disservice to the truly poor, who simply cannot afford today's rents because wages have not kept up with them...if there are any wages.
Until we can have a frank and intelligent discussion regarding the deteriorating economy, it seems silly to discuss the causes of homelessness.
Just look at the typical obstacles placed in front of the homeless today, many of which are insurmountable!
I was homeless for a period in Spring of 1972 in Denver. How easy it was to rise above homelessness back then!
I applied to work as a lowly Nursing Assistant at a nursing home, didn't even need to buy a uniform for my first day on the job.
Back then: No CPR card needed, no background checks, no drug screening (I was smoking some pot at the time which would have disqualified me today), no fingerprinting, no TB test needed, and no CNA license, which can take a month to get through schooling. And many places today, they want a year of experience. Back then, no experience!
And that's just finding a job in a nursing home!!!
There can be obstacles to overcome just finding a job at a fast food restaurant today!
When I returned from 'Nam in 1967 I found work on a construction site and, after moving, as a specialist machinist in a high tech factory. Jobs were relatively easy to get even in Upstate NY and readily available in Connecticut.
That was then and now is now. I would never be considered for either job if I just returned from Afghanistan today. The first job would already be occupied by an illegal and the second would require machine tool programming skill I would never have learned in the military. I think I would have to use my military skill and find a gang that needed a hired thug. I would prefer that gang be a police department but, as you need a degree in "criminal Justice" to even apply, I would have to settle for a dope smuggler. Hell even criminal organizations need a thug once in a while.
Just look at the typical obstacles placed in front of the homeless today, many of which are insurmountable!
I was homeless for a period in Spring of 1972 in Denver. How easy it was to rise above homelessness back then!
I applied to work as a lowly Nursing Assistant at a nursing home, didn't even need to buy a uniform for my first day on the job.
Back then: No CPR card needed, no background checks, no drug screening (I was smoking some pot at the time which would have disqualified me today), no fingerprinting, no TB test needed, and no CNA license, which can take a month to get through schooling. And many places today, they want a year of experience. Back then, no experience!
And that's just finding a job in a nursing home!!!
There can be obstacles to overcome just finding a job at a fast food restaurant today!
I too was homeless in the 80's with 2 children under the age of 5. But I don't consider myself part of the demographic I'm referring to. Even then, I met other families who were homeless but they all had one goal: Not to be homeless and most eventually found something, some kind of roof over their head. But there was another culture even then of "Lifestyle" homeless, who road the rails, hitched the highways, stopped in campgrounds, slept in watersheds or barrens. They utilized agencies such as soup kitchens and shelters, but they were never going to stay. They weren't looking to not be homeless. So, when the question of why are there are so many many more homeless comes up, there are many aspects to look at: The homeless by event or homeless by choice? But are valid to discuss.
You bring up very good points about skills sets and expertise that didn't need to be preloaded to get into employment. (which, I would like to point out, you did)
Minnesota has an ever growing population of homeless youth. The studies say most of them are escaping a hostile home environment. I suppose that is true for large number of them.
I recognize that there are a range of reasons why people become homeless. Some of them are more than valid. But something I rarely see mentioned in reports of youth homelessness are the number of kids who leave good homes because they don't want to live by the parents' rules. That would have been something not to undertake lightly fifty years ago. There was no place to go. Vagrant youth would have been picked up and returned to the family home.
But today there are so many services available to them and parents' rights no longer overrule their children's rights that I'm sure it is easier to be homeless than it was then. And how are the non-profits going to thrive if they can't present some serious reason for why they are assisting? The public isn't likely to want it's tax payer dollar to go to support kids who left home because they didn't have enough freedom.
In a society that thinks not owning a TV or a vehicle is a hardship it's easy to overestimate just how needy a person actually is. The more you support something the more of it you get. Sometimes I wonder if, by making so much available, we actually encourage the kind of situation we are trying to prevent.
Just look at the typical obstacles placed in front of the homeless today, many of which are insurmountable!
I was homeless for a period in Spring of 1972 in Denver. How easy it was to rise above homelessness back then!
I applied to work as a lowly Nursing Assistant at a nursing home, didn't even need to buy a uniform for my first day on the job.
Back then: No CPR card needed, no background checks, no drug screening (I was smoking some pot at the time which would have disqualified me today), no fingerprinting, no TB test needed, and no CNA license, which can take a month to get through schooling. And many places today, they want a year of experience. Back then, no experience!
And that's just finding a job in a nursing home!!!
There can be obstacles to overcome just finding a job at a fast food restaurant today!
Your wonderful "qualifications" are behind the reasons for reforms to nursing assistant hiring for nursing homes and some other facilities/home care.
Minnesota has an ever growing population of homeless youth. The studies say most of them are escaping a hostile home environment. I suppose that is true for large number of them.
I recognize that there are a range of reasons why people become homeless. Some of them are more than valid. But something I rarely see mentioned in reports of youth homelessness are the number of kids who leave good homes because they don't want to live by the parents' rules. That would have been something not to undertake lightly fifty years ago. There was no place to go. Vagrant youth would have been picked up and returned to the family home.
But today there are so many services available to them and parents' rights no longer overrule their children's rights that I'm sure it is easier to be homeless than it was then. And how are the non-profits going to thrive if they can't present some serious reason for why they are assisting? The public isn't likely to want it's tax payer dollar to go to support kids who left home because they didn't have enough freedom.
In a society that thinks not owning a TV or a vehicle is a hardship it's easy to overestimate just how needy a person actually is. The more you support something the more of it you get. Sometimes I wonder if, by making so much available, we actually encourage the kind of situation we are trying to prevent.
Here in NYC if a parent calls NYPD and says they want their minor child "out of their house" it isn't that easy. LE will inform them unless a crime has been committed and or some other legally compelling reason they just cannot "remove" a minor and that legally the parent is responsible for the safety and welfare of its children. If there are clear signs or alleged abuse that is another matter.
That being said both LE and child welfare agencies are well aware of the dangers of "forcing" a minor to remain in an environment where he or she isn't wanted. However the alternatives are often few and what is available either not much better than the home situation and or stretched to the limit.
You have large numbers of young teens "coming out" as gay or whatever and their parents just aren't having it. Add to this drug use, bad behavior and so forth and you end up with very bad home situations. The old "long as you are living under my roof....." sermon many of us got growing up just doesn't seem to work much today. I mean how can you ask a gay kid not to be gay?
You also have home situations where the custodial father or mother has remarried and or is shacking up with an adult who is not the child's parent. Then as how those sorts of situations can lead to introducing things like child abuse (sexual and or physical) along with a host of other things the teen does not like into his or her once stable home. Sad thing is often the biological parent takes the word over their new "lover" over the child.
Long story short either these teens are kicked out or leave of their own accord, either way it is a very sad situation.
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