Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Every county in my area has an office on aging. There is PLENTY of assistance for seniors. In fact, in my county, there are more resources than people using them.
And all the attention is NOT on illegals. In what way do senior illegals get more "attention" than our senior citizens?
My observations are identical.
Please note - YOUR county is the difference. I'm originally from NY state which does well by it's seniors but HUD housing can have a wait list of up to 2 yrs and we're talking upstate - not NYC. Also usually unless you have transportation to get into the city - they only come to the outlying areas - or the suburbs once every month and you have to make an appt.
Here in Alabama - there are not all the safety nets that NY State and PA has. Very few HUD apts to begin with and they don't have the social programs that NY has. It's actually refreshing to see so many people - young and old working and they actually enjoy the work. I've helped out quite a few people who are working but in need of items or who can't work because of a surgery or disability.
I see more generosity and willingness to help thy neighbor down here. Maybe it's because so many still involved in church or maybe it's because people don't expect others to support them and are grateful for everything they have.
I'm confident of what I've written as my cousin lives in senior HUD housing in NY and I've experienced what the seniors go through to get onto these programs.
People put tents on sidewalks and I always think "why don't they camp in the woods?"
I don't think camping qualifies as homeless in the way "we" have come to view the term homeless.
To keep from being rousted by the cops, many homeless do have to camp in woods. But don't forget, the majority need to access social services and those places are usually located near the center of cities on the bus lines, as are the shelters. Have you ever brought your tent onto a bus to get to a place where you can apply for help?
Plus, there's garbage in the cities near stores so there may be food at hand and also, there's people there who might give you a few dollars a day. None of that in the woods. And the homeless, like everyone else, need to be close to some sort of drinking water. The two hardest things when being homeless are finding drinking water and finding a place to toss trash. Why do you think trash is all over the streets where the tents are? Owners of dumpsters get upset when you toss trash into their dumpsters. I can attest to that one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by considerforamoment
So you're basically saying "van life" or "RV life" is homeless? I do not see it that way.
If you can't afford to buy or rent the ground underneath you, then you're homeless. There's all kinds of homeless. There's homeless sleeping on the street, homeless living in a vehicle, homeless sleeping on a friend's couch, homeless staying in a shelter, and homeless staying with people who could toss you out in a second.
Van life or the RV life you see on YouTube is generally chosen by people who can afford it and can exit it if they want. For the homeless, it's all they have left once their homes and belongings are gone and is not something they either chose or want.
It's the same difference between people who camp out in tents at a campground for a month and people who camp in tents because there's no other place to stay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disgustedman
How many articles have been posted here about seniors renting out their rooms so they could stay in their homes for longer?
How many discussions have we had about people renting out rooms but rejecting it because they want to keep their privacy?
And the other problems seniors have, are too prideful to want to survive any other way but their choices. I finally left the situation down in Vancouver Washington because a lot of people wouldn't move to where I am now because it's not a popular destination. The main point for me it's not community it's survival.
You're assuming people who are homeless have/had houses. Rising rental costs are what's going to drive most people to homelessness in the future and if you are renting, you may have signed a contract stating the only person in the rental unit is you. It's pretty well known that if you bring in someone else to split the rent, that rent will go up. And it's sort of hard subletting a bedroom in your apartment when one bedroom is all you have.
Last edited by rodentraiser; 09-13-2023 at 05:09 PM..
Reason: spelling
After reading the article, and many others like it, one thing seems to be common among the older homeless. They were lifetime renters. A senior with a paid off home will usually be doing ok. When downsizing they can get a smaller place and they usually have money left over.
The first time I never applied for food stamps because I was working full time and without having to pay rent, I had enough to pay for food. I applied for low income housing and was told that as a single woman, my wait time would more than likely be ten years, as women with children were helped first.
The second time I was homeless, it was for just a couple months before I got into low income housing, which wasn't an apartment, but a single room with a kitchenette and a shared bathroom. It was hell. The person I shared the bathroom with had "issues" and had to be reminded to clean up after herself every time she had a blow out. Yes, that's just what it sounds like. All over the toilet, the floor, and the walls. Then she'd walk out of the bathroom and forget about it.
Then there were the bedbugs. Our building was constantly being invaded by bedbugs and roaches (helped in no small way by my neighbor).
And worst of all, while you were a resident of this building, you were NOT allowed to go to the local community college full time. It was something to do with their funding. Can you believe it?
I applied for Section 8 after it opened up after being closed for years. It was not first-come, first served. It was a freaking lottery - in other words, your name had to be pulled out of a hat and they only drew 300 names. That wasn't for shelter, that was for a voucher. If you got a voucher, you then had to find a landlord that would accept it. You had 6 months to do this and if you couldn't find a landlord who would take your voucher, you had to give it up. The local paper even ran a story on how many people had to give up their vouchers because landlords simply didn't want to comply with the twice-yearly checks on their rentals if they accepted Section 8.
I did have health care through Medicaid, thank God. Before I qualified for that, I was going into a low income clinic and after 3 refills for high blood pressure, I was told I needed blood work done before I could receive any more medication. I couldn't afford the blood work, so my blood pressure eventually ended up at 190 over 130 or something like that.
But Medicaid covered my aneurysm. I still have to wonder if the aneurysm was due to high blood pressure since it was in 2011 that my meds stopped and I had the aneurysm in 2014.
And just to let you know, food stamps don't cover things like tampons or pads, paper towels, kleenex, or hot food. So if someone is on the street, they need to buy cold food and heat it up. Why do you think homeless people have all those fires going? In my case, I just kept a 5 gallon tank of propane and a camp stove in the back of my car and used that. I used to tell people that after they complained about their taxes going for food stamps and then listen to them lecture me on how dangerous that was.
There are food banks, yes. Food banks depend on the generosity of the community they reside in. If you were a member of say, Poulsbo or Silverdale here in the Puget Sound, you wouldn't believe the food you could get. Dairy, meat, vegetables, fruits, even desserts. But I lived in Bremerton, a blue collar town. I remember only being able to get bad potatoes and canned stuff. And even though there were 3 food banks in Bremerton, you could only apply to visit one. Once a week.
Also keep in mind that shelters aren't a whole lot better. You can get beaten up in shelters, get sick (they're good places to pick up bed bugs, lice, and TB), and have your stuff stolen. If I had a choice between staying at shelter overnight and being on the street, I'd choose the street. I think it's safer.
Currently I'm getting $23 a month for food stamps and my social security checks are so small, I also qualify for special help. That means twice a year I have to go to Social Services for an interview to requalify for each of those. It's a 50 mile round trip and an all day adventure. The last time I was dinged because I "own" a recreational vehicle. It didn't matter that said recreational vehicle leaks, has no hot water, and is my main dwelling. LOL I own a trailer, so that puts me right up there with all them rich people!
Yeah, there's services out there, but man, it can be a pain to use them sometimes.
And don't even get me started about the "services" that exist to help you find a job. Honestly, I don't know how anyone pulls themselves up out of homelessness these days. And if someone is an alcoholic or addicted, my dude, if you can get yourself clean, employed, and off the street, my hat is off to you!
Edit to add: If you want to see some homeless seniors, check out the Walmart parking lots sometime. As a matter of fact, just about any van, station wagon, or camper parked in a parking lot after hours is probably someone's home. Once you know what to look for, you'll see them.
I am so sorry you have had to go through such problems. I think one of the main problems is that in general, Americans just do not care unless it affects them directly. I used to have a friend that was extremely judgmental and ugly about homeless people, the "illegals", anyone who was not lilly-white, etc. - you get the idea. But when her daughter and son-in-law found themselves in a position where only one of them worked and they were making little more than minimum wage at first, my friend was first in line to get her grandchildren on Medicaid and anything else she could find for them. I never addressed her "situational ethics" with her.
When people can adopt the thinking that "if it happens to them, it happens to me" and start caring about others, this situation can change. I'm not sure I will see this in my lifetime, but I keep hoping.
You're assuming people who are homeless have/had houses. Rising rental costs are what's going to drive most people to homelessness in the future and if you are renting, you may have signed a contract stating the only person in the rental unit is you. It's pretty well known that if you bring in someone else to split the rent, that rent will go up. And it's sort of hard subletting a bedroom in your apartment when one bedroom is all you have.
No I'm not assuming anything which you of course obviously missed. My point was simply we've had discussions on the homeless people and we've had discussions on seniors who weren't able to financially afford living out of their houses unless that they rented out their rooms and some said they won't do it to maintain their privacy.
What I was saying was that we've been discussing this ad nauseam for quite a few times this didn't add anything beneficial to the discussion.
I've never been homeless but am not surprised at increase among Boomers because I am one.
I've always had a job and was self-employed most of my adult years in a small town.
There were few high-paying jobs in the area and many like me were self-employed in order to live there.
We wanted to live there, near family and liked small town life.
The biggest issue I never expected was the unholy cost of healthcare I paid in the last 15 years before hitting Medicare age. Many people just couldn't afford it, it was a private issue they didn't discuss out loud. Obamacare made a difference for some but for others they had to choose between groceries and having health insurance, groceries won.
Covid was no help to Boomers if their job disappeared, maybe their job had healthcare. Maybe they got divorced and lost that financial support. My 35 year old relative told told me right now there is a huge divorce bomb going on with her friends and family members. Lots of people have been thrown off-axis with Covid, Jan 6 and many other unsettling events.
Giving food and money to food pantries is something I do but need to do more.
If you own a home you have choices such as renting out bedrooms or selling and buying a small condo. Renters don’t have those options if they have always been living on the edge.
In your experience as a volunteer, would you say that the shelters prioritized the seniors at all or was everyone treated first come, first serve.
I've, very thankfully, never been homeless and I've volunteered a lot of places but never in a homeless shelter.
I've only volunteered in the shelter's kitchen, serving food. In that situation, they do two separate serving times -- the women and children, then about 30 minutes later, the men and it's first come, first serve. There are two separate large shelters (men/women and children), but they are building a new women's shelter so right now all are funneled through the main shelter. Note: This is just one organization. There are multiple organizations here who run food and shelter programs.
No I'm not assuming anything which you of course obviously missed. My point was simply we've had discussions on the homeless people and we've had discussions on seniors who weren't able to financially afford living out of their houses unless that they rented out their rooms and some said they won't do it to maintain their privacy.
What I was saying was that we've been discussing this ad nauseam for quite a few times this didn't add anything beneficial to the discussion.
Look at it from the viewpoint of the people owning a house. If you're in your 60s, have had health problems, and/or have someone vulnerable living with you (a spouse or a grandchild), do you really want to rent a room to someone you may not know? The person you're renting a room to will have access to your entire house, including the bedroom where you sleep at night. They can invite their friends over to party or drink and if they choose to use drugs in their room, there's not much you can immediately do about it. Evictions take months and in the meantime, you've got someone living in your house and maybe trashing it and threatening you.
Thousands of younger people have found out the hard way that roommates cause more problems than they solve by cutting expenses. And those younger people are renting a room in an apartment that they can leave if they want. How would you like to be a senior in your own house having to face leaving because your renter is threatening you or stealing from you?
Do you personally take rides from strangers or pick people up on the road and ask them to share the cost for gas? Do you open the door to people you don't know? Do you invite strangers into your house for a meal? Do you trust strangers you don't know around other members of your family and around your belongings? Do you give strangers unlimited access to your own house? If you don't, I don't understand why you think seniors should do as you won't do. It's essentially the same thing. You can check out a person until the cows come home but you don't really know anyone until you live with them. You might find the perfect renter or you might rent a room out to a serial killer.
As a senior person, you go into your house and lock the door when you feel threatened. When you rent a room to someone, that person is already in your house. Seniors want privacy, yes, but they also want safety.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
