Homeless People in Seattle - Are You Kidding Me? (rental market, credit rating)

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Mahrie

I must admit, I do tend to go by Christ's admonition to 'Give to the one asking from you.' He didn't say to only give to those who are worthy. NONE of us are worthy of the price Christ paid for us, but since He did it anyway, how can I do less? (Rhetorical question.)

May God bless you,


Mahrie.

The unfortunate reality is that the current homeless situation is a bit different in origin than biblical poverty. People could have never lived 2000 years ago in the conditions found in current homeless populations. They'd have died well before reaching this point.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by Mahrie

All it takes is a car crash or an unexpected illness (or two).

Homelessness (anywhere) isn't limited to 'criminals' and the mentally ill, a large percentage of people who are homeless have physical illnesses which prevent them from staying in the work force. Even one unemployable (disabled) adult in a family nowadays can put that family on the street. It can take upwards of five years, here in British Columbia, Canada, for a sick or injured (or both) person to plow through all the red tape and gain disability status, which even then results in a mere pittance of a pension, certainly nothing anyone can live on in a conventional manner.

Many families and individuals take to living in tents, cars, vans (most common), old RVs, and other cheap 'wheel estate' stealthily, and most of these 'homeless' people either work for low wages or live on meager pensions. Medical care is far beyond the reach of most, and the governments everywhere are famous for kicking people off their programs because they do not have a STREET ADDRESS. It is easier (cheaper) to criminalize these people than to help them. Sleeping in one's converted van is illegal in most places, and safe parking is a continuing problem for families who live on wheels.

I know responsible adults (a few with kids) who have university degrees, yet with the job market being what it is, they can't find any other work than minimum wage jobs, and so they live in immaculate, paid for, converted vans or old RVs. These people are legally homeless and are criminalized by police forces everywhere.

The other segment of society that gravitates towards 'wheel estate' mobile living is those of retirement age who cannot survive on the meager pensions to which they are entitled at age 65. (Most pensions in Canada hover around the $500 mark per person. It's far better in the States, I know, but not in anywhere else in the world - that I'm aware of.) I know of many seniors who once had hundreds of thousands of $$$ in retirement savings, all eaten away because of a costly illness or a medical condition (or two) - NOT covered by their insurance plan(s). And these people die early because nobody gives a damn anymore.

These people are not criminals, nor are they enemies of so-called civilization, but rather they are victims of a social structure that does not work and an increasingly apathetic and self-centered populous.

Certainly there are lazy people who simply don't want to work, but the rest, the majority, be they mentally ill, physically ill, or just plain poor have to choose between housing, medication, and food. Most eat cheap 'junk' food, loaded with sugars, starches, chemicals, and harmful fats (as opposed to the healthy fats), cheap meds, if they can get them, and unconventional housing, such as the 'wheel estate' I mentioned above.

DH and I have lived with and worked with the poor and homeless for 41+years, both here and abroad, ironically traveling in a mobile home ourselves. The only difference between us and them is that we rent a tiny cabin in the mountains in Canada and so have a STREET ADDRESS. We do, of course, work for a living, and we also have a ministry, and yes, you can help these people through us, if you are so inclined. Feel free to PM me for details.

Shalom aleichem,


Mahrie.

I agree with you. It's nice to know someone has a heart.

And I honestly think most "lazy" people suffer depression, rather than just being selfish or uncaring. There might be a small number of poor or homeless people who simply don't want to work and support themselves because they are bad people, but there is no way I could judge that being the case so I feel inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The poor are already demonized enough IMO.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by kanhawk

I noticed one thing about the homeless, I almost never see a homeless Asian. If they are around, it seems they are greatly underrepresented as a percentage of the population. Makes me think it isn't so much a jobs and housing problem as a cultural problem.

I think this has more to do with the fact that Asians believe in taking care of their families, unlike many white and black people.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by SAL9000

Seattle's (hard left) leadership has in effect announced the city as a sanctuary for the disaffected.

Seattle is the only "big" city in the state and the main hub along the ~250 miles of I-5 between Canada and Oregon.

Seattle PD in recent years focuses more on serious crime (the result is notable down trending the last ~15 years).

Seattle has a relatively mild climate.

Yeah, I'm sure everyone is clamoring to sleep in hypothermic wet 39 degree weather in April.

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

Yeah, I'm sure everyone is clamoring to sleep in hypothermic wet 39 degree weather in April.

Exaggerate much?

Keyword was 'relatively'. Compared to many places, Seattle has a very mild year-round climate. It rarely drops below 30 or above 90 for extended periods of time and we generally don't get the extreme temperature/weather changes many other places get.

[kanhawk]

Originally Posted by mrman78

Exaggerate much?

Keyword was 'relatively'. Compared to many places, Seattle has a very mild year-round climate. It rarely drops below 30 or above 90 for extended periods of time and we generally don't get the extreme temperature/weather changes many other places get.

Right. While the weather can be unpleasant, it never gets bitterly cold. A typical winter night in Seattle doesn't even get below freezing.

[Mahrie]

Originally Posted by mkarch

The unfortunate reality is that the current homeless situation is a bit different in origin than biblical poverty. People could have never lived 2000 years ago in the conditions found in current homeless populations. They'd have died well before reaching this point.

With respect, mkarch, clearly you have never lived in the Middle East, or you would not have made such a statement. Nothing much in the way of poverty has changed there over the past two millenia, I'm sorry to say, and Christ Himself was homeless, after all, as were many of those who followed him.

Shalom,


Mahrie.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Mahrie

With respect, mkarch, clearly you have never lived in the Middle East, or you would not have made such a statement. Nothing much in the way of poverty has changed there over the past two millenia, I'm sorry to say, and Christ Himself was homeless, after all, as were many of those who followed him.

Shalom,


Mahrie.

This is about Seattle, and the point was the level of assistance and care available here is far better than it was 2000 years ago in the middle east. If things haven't improved a whole lot over there that has little to do with the homeless situation here in 2015.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

I think this has more to do with the fact that Asians believe in taking care of their families, unlike many white and black people.

Or, as recent immigrants, are more willing to live five to a room.

Yes, groups practicing social exclusion, might suffer less from it. If Asians are more likely to rely on and favor themselves, it is at least partly due to having heavily experienced exclusion in the past.

Hardly means that either (tenement slums or discrimination) represent social goods, however.

[dubfan]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Many who complain the loudest here about lack of enforcement are not willing to pay more taxes to pay for more police, prosecutors, judges, courts, guards, jails, and prisons. Without that, enforcement against petty criminals becomes a revolving door.

I'm not sure it's that we're not willing to pay. The adage goes, "Seattle never met a tax it didn't like". It's that we want to pay taxes for nice happy shiny things like parks and monorails and tunnels, but we don't want to pay for mean bad ugly things like crime and punishment.