A homeless drifter in my town

[thepainterdoug]

I have often thought , what would it take, to take a homeless person, lets just say able bodied and mind , and if willing, pick him up, clean him up, give him clothes and make him presentable and then put him out in the working world and say , ok , get out there now and get a job

And lets say that the person even got a job, at a coffee shop or something, then where would he live, while trying to save his money, what checking account, c card does he have ? how in gods name could he ever begin to have a months deposit, month an a half security for rent rent and realtor fee covered in order to get a modest apartment. Then utility fees ,hooking up electric, phone, insurances and on and on and on.

Im sorry but without prior family or communal help and support, it seems unsurmountable to me . I think If I was already homeless and acclimated to it, I would stay that way

[Pam]

Posted by Mike (here)
I can see how the life of a drifter might be appealing. There's no responsibility, no expectations. Only a burnt out tranquility maybe..at best.

But in this life, meaning is found in responsibility. And you cannot give up responsibility and not forfeit meaning as well. That's the trade off.

The homeless men and women here in the West are not asthetic monks..and ive never assigned that type of romanticism to them. And as unfortunate as their luck may have been, if you listen closely to their stories you'll see that they are almost always responsible in some way for their predicament(with the exception of the mentally ill perhaps).

There are endless jobs out there. More than enough. The only scarcity is in the jobs *people really wouldn't mind doing*. So there's no excuse in not finding a job. There might be some challenges along the way, for a homeless person, but if you really want one, you can get one.

If there is a shelter nearby, a homeless man or woman only needs to come up with a few bucks to get them thru the day. It's not terribly difficult...just a few hours at a busy street corner. It's much easier than working a formal job. And having gotten accustomed to this lifestyle, homeless folks begin feeling entitled to it.

I think every adult has a moral obligation to take care of themselves..to support themselves. Because if you don't, someone else has to do it for you, and that's just wrong in so many ways. The romanticism of the drifter stops there for me. You can't give up personal responsibility without having another person or persons acquire it on your behalf. It's unfair. At the very least, we should shoulder our own burdens. We owe our fellow humans that much.

I totally agree with you, Mike, that meaning is found in responsibility. But I am challenging your assertion that anyone can get a job and a place to live if they want to. I live in Western Washington and it costs 800.00 a month to rent a room. A crappy studio would be around a 1000.00 a month not to mention all the other costs. It is really common to see people living in cars and RVs around here, even in the rural area that I moved to on the peninsula. Anyone without some kind of support system is much closer than they realize to being homeless. If you have convictions of any sort it can be almost impossible to find rentals. I was witness to a younger guy that had a car and apartment and job lose it all for the huge sin of driving while on a suspended license. The state levers so many "fees" for reinstatement and impounds your car so that it is next to impossible for someone to pay other expenses and pay the fees to get your car back and license back on a lower paying job. In Washington state it doesn't take very long for them to sell your car. The system is rigged.

The other side of the coin is that there are those that choose to be homeless. Seattle and Olympia are ultra liberal and seem to encourage homelessness. I believe that homelessness is a money making enterprise for many, just like they turned prison into a profitable enterprise. There are those that live off and exploit this.

As for the person that chooses that life and is not mentally ill and not an addict. I admire that they can live with themselves without the million of little distractions that make up the lives of most of us.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
I have often thought , what would it take, to take a homeless person, lets just say able bodied and mind , and if willing, pick him up, clean him up, give him clothes and make him presentable and then put him out in the working world and say , ok , get out there now and get a job

See the 1983 comedy film Trading Places, with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy.

[Caliban]

Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
I have often thought , what would it take, to take a homeless person, lets just say able bodied and mind , and if willing, pick him up, clean him up, give him clothes and make him presentable and then put him out in the working world and say , ok , get out there now and get a job

And lets say that the person even got a job, at a coffee shop or something, then where would he live, while trying to save his money, what checking account, c card does he have ? how in gods name could he ever begin to have a months deposit, month an a half security for rent rent and realtor fee covered in order to get a modest apartment. Then utility fees ,hooking up electric, phone, insurances and on and on and on.

Im sorry but without prior family or communal help and support, it seems unsurmountable to me . I think If I was already homeless and acclimated to it, I would stay that way

No, there's no real system in place for someone (sans family/good friends' support) for someone in this country trying to get back on their feet after a steep setback. Even someone with real determination is basically on their own. Not to say they're totally lost but it takes enormous strength and faith to draw on resources from within you may not be so well versed in. It can be done, anything can almost but it's a scary scenario.

[Bill Ryan]

A touching small anecdote reported by a most remarkable woman, Rosie Swale-Pope, who at the age of 72 is running from England to Nepal. (Read that again! She may need her own thread.)

• https://explorersweb.com/2019/08/14/...gland-to-nepal

“In Germany in the forest, I came across a guy lying on the path and it was quite obvious he was dying. He absolutely had nothing and he was crying and unhappy. I didn’t know what to do because I was not in touch with anybody, as my phone wasn’t working … I held him, I held him for about an hour, he was beyond help and he just died in my arms.”

~~~

That reminded me of a situation I encountered many years ago when I was living in London, that was very slightly similar, but with a totally different context and outcome.

I was walking on Hampstead Heath which (for non-Londoners) is a very large public park with a great many trees and bushes, not always open and grassy. Maybe a bit like Central Park in New York.

Then I saw there was a very disheveled man who was lying under a bush, moaning softly and continually. And I saw that everyone else had assumed he was a dirty old drunken tramp, and had just walked right past him, doing nothing.

So I stopped to investigate. He wasn't a hobo, at all. He was a regular walker in the park, but he had varicose veins that had ruptured and he was lying with his face in the dirt, bleeding badly.

I was able to improvise a tourniquet, stabilize him a little, reassure him (he was very frightened and weak), and call for an ambulance. After that, he was just fine, and extremely grateful. If I had walked on by as well, together with everyone else that day, he may well have died.

The instant assumptions we sometimes make about people... it makes one think.

[thepainterdoug]

Bill/ he who saves one life, saves the world entire...

thats why I like coming here!

[Caliban]

Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
Bill/ he who saves one life, saves the world entire...

thats why I like coming here!

Why not paint the guy? Immortalize him!

[thepainterdoug]

Caliban i did! go to www.dougauld.com his portrait is among my 100 whistleblowers project.

[Caliban]

Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
Caliban i did! go to www.dougauld.com his portrait is among my 100 whistleblowers project.

I love that series. Which one is he? And--is he a Whistleblower in the sense of sounding the alarm on this nutso reality we've collectively created?

[Sue (Ayt)]

Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
Caliban i did! go to www.dougauld.com his portrait is among my 100 whistleblowers project.

Oh my goodness painterdoug, those are almost ethereal!
(but I couldn't find Corey Goode.... )

[thepainterdoug]

Caliban/ he has a hat on and image is glowing red. click on it name will appear
and yes, the series is of whistleblowers and informers. bill is under that heading for sure


AYT. love the comedy!

[Floating]

Another view... “Is it OK if someone wants to live for years on a bench?”

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-502...eporting-story

About a man and his mother living on a bench. Homeless by choice.
Fascinating read.

[thepainterdoug]

FLOATING/ incredible! thanks for posting

[TomKat]

Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)
Guess I should have chosen a better profession, like coffee server or taxi driver/delivery person. At least they always have work...

Of course you could take a job as a delivery person. But that's the conundrum. Take that job and, as far as unemployment insurance goes, that's your new profession.

[Matthew]

Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
...
I ask myself, what is he thinking? what does he do all day? Does he mourn his plight or anything? is he happy, or is he not thinking at all?
...

I live near a larger town called Reading; it's got a large homeless population, and if a city status was awarded on the number of homeless then the town Reading would have been promoted to a city long ago.

The people of Reading are very sympathetic to the homeless, and there's a large Sikh driven movement to offer free food. Sure, this attracts homeless but I'm still fine with it personally because it's not as if people become homeless because of the free Sikh food.

I see the same faces for a while, but typically the homeless people stay for a bit then move on. The scratch marks on their faces are signs of crack use, but I still spare them change even if I am, actually, and not proudly, funding their habits with my loose change, I hope at least some of it goes towards sustenance, etc.

Sometimes (a year ago at a previous job) me and my co-workers could look out the office window, down to the car park below, and on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday some homeless faces I recognised, well - they'd be jacking up in our office car park and then literally passed out in front of cars parked their. Once they pulled a sofa there and we'd see them sleeping on it - that was better than in front of a car. Point is, while I feel I must, in conscience, spare them change, it's not always as simple as giving them money.

And this is why I'm responding to this thread; I ask myself: what is their story? Did they escape abuse? .. because I assume they did. And some look so young, the memories don't sit well.

Some are quiet, unobtrusive beggers but others are full blown hustlers. Especially since some are only in town for a few days - they have nothing to lose - and will tell what turns out to be a tall tail, something like they only need £20 to secure a homeless shelter for the week! - and I know it doesn't work like that. Because their are free homeless shelters but they are strict on drugs and alcohol. I offer a lift but the story falls apart quickly.

What is their real story? Because I bet it's not good. And now they have become a hustling grifter with addictions. No easy answers, no easy action to help. There is no easy action I can do to help.

The best thing I did was give a homeless person a one litre bottle of orange juice in a heatwave. She asked for money, but it was silly hot, and she mentioned thirsty amongst the begging. I had no change just the juice, and because I've been thirsty in my life and can never forget, it was the best joy to see her drink loads from the bottle and get refreshed. A combination of my own baggage, and my act of kindness made this one of the most rewarding experiences in recent memory. Handing out change is tinged with regret (but I hope some goes towards sustenance), but this was pure, untaintable charity for someone who was thirsty - Charity is not always as clean as that.

One guy who begs for change, doesn't even ask but he is a nice guy and gives me a "hello, how are you?" if I have change or not. If I have no spare change I will apologise in the style of talking to another human, rather than an inconvenience, because being ignored constantly is a dehumanising experience. It's great this guy treats me back as a human rather than a hustle or cash-cow.

[thepainterdoug]

YO YO YO

I admit the easiest thing is to give some money. although its a generous act, you can give money and not really give anything of yourself. we can see this in parenting, where perhaps a dad give a son money, to get out of his hair, thus not having to sit down and talk to his son about whats going on in his life.

its not as easy to have a new cup of coffee in your hand and give it to a homeless person. or as you did, a bottle of orange juice. thats giving something of yourself .

I have mixed feeling about the whole topic. all good people want the same for others. but nature teaches us it doest work that way. its a hard cold environment out in the world, everything feeding on everything else, not all can be winners .

and within this reality, i have always felt that capitalism and our free market system, is the best of all bad systems

[Trisher]

I have never been homeless. I have however been taken for a ride from people I knew who were in a desperate situation. It took me a while to understand just why my generosity had led to such very difficult outcomes. I thought I could rescue them and in fact took away their power to get themselves out of a situation. They became too dependent upon me. I thought I knew better than they did how to resolve their issues. The wise give food and seeds to the hungry villagers so that they can move forward and improve their situation through their own efforts. Here in the UK they give homeless people the chance to make some money by letting them sell "The Big Issue" magazine. There is no one answer for all but initial support and then offering self help opportunities will definitely work for some.

Trisher

[Valerie Villars]

I read a story this morning about a woman who gave a homeless man five dollars. She then asked him what his name was. He asked her why she wanted to know and she replied that she was going to pray for him and she preferred to refer to him by name.

The man's shoulders began to shake and tears rolled down his face.

No one, in all the years he had been homeless, had ever cared enough to ask him what his name was. A little humanity and dignity goes a long way.

[thepainterdoug]

so true Val

I often say with a big smile, to people who look lost and forgotten, I see you...

[Mashika]

Posted by Trisher (here)
I have never been homeless. I have however been taken for a ride from people I knew who were in a desperate situation. It took me a while to understand just why my generosity had led to such very difficult outcomes. I thought I could rescue them and in fact took away their power to get themselves out of a situation. They became too dependent upon me. I thought I knew better than they did how to resolve their issues. The wise give food and seeds to the hungry villagers so that they can move forward and improve their situation through their own efforts. Here in the UK they give homeless people the chance to make some money by letting them sell "The Big Issue" magazine. There is no one answer for all but initial support and then offering self help opportunities will definitely work for some.

Trisher

Totally get that, i have also helped friends in that way, and then they kept coming back in a dependant way. I had to set boundaries for them and be very specific, some liked it and thanked me for it, some rejected me right away "You have all you need in life and two cars, why can't i borrow the older one for a couple months! It's not like you will need it" they said

They did not need help, they demanded it from me because i'm in a better situation, but only because i have worked very hard to get here, unlike them. Somehow they feel i owe them support due to me having a better life. So i had one less friend that day