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You probably don't have any homeless

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nr

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I doubt you have many homeless people in your areas for a variety of reasons so I hesitate to bring up this topic.

But yesterday there was an all-day meeting in our town to try to find new ways to help people out of that situation. Some of the guest speakers crushed the stereotypes we have of the homeless (that they're just lazy). They were current or former homeless folks who were thrown into that situation by divorce which lead to a total depressed state which lead to job loss, one of whom had had a six-digit income married to a tv producer prior to the split. Another lost her home when she left 15 years of physical abuse then while living on the street she got into alcoholism. She is now employed by the shelter.
Another woman and her husb. early in their marriage became homeless and slept on the ground for some period of time. They have recovered and she is now a nurse practitioner and helps the homeless in Maryland.

So though the topic is a sad one, especially the children who are made fun of by other school children if they live in a shelter, :mad: :cry2: it was encouraging to hear that 90-95% of the homeless in our town need only a small amount of help to get them back on their feet and independent.
 
Back when I was in highschool I used to volunteer at a shelter once a week during the fall and winter/ealy spring with my school. Once a week we would go meat at the school at 5:30 and head on into the local shelter and serve up some food, clean up the area so the residents could get out of there and look for jobs or go to work if they had a job but where just trying to save some money up. The ones that saddend me the most were the families.. Hard to imagine.

There also were the ones with their fair share of problems. Drugs and alchol but mostly they were people who were desperately in need of mental health help. Sometime in the mid-late 80's the localmental hospital closed down except for people that were criminally insane. The plan was for these folks to come in every X amount of days to get their meds but they numbers coming back kept dropping.. It was sad but some of those people were just down right non functional. Talking to themselves, terrible tics... There were not going to get better without some serious help that they would most likely never get...
 
Your right nr. we don't have homeless in our rural area but our citys do.The homeless all are heartbreaking but I feel sooo bad for young adolesants that leave horrid home situations and end up on the street. Seems to me you have to start with some money to even get a job.
 
Most work places you need to put an address and a phone number so they can contact you.. Hard to do that when you are a transient...

For some reason or another, maybe it is the cool air moving in, I have been thinking about this situatuoin more and more of late....
 
Yes your right about the address thing,not sure about the States rules but in Alta. you can't even open a bank account without three pieces of I.D and one of the pieces should be a credit card.Most job places direct deposit now,so no bank account,your looped,because our banks will NOT cash a cheque without I.D.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
Mrs Greg , my daughter was telling me that they even have homeless people in Sylvan Lake. Rent prices have gone crazy and no affordable housing.
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Oh I believe it,and its going to get worse because of the boom,rent prices have skyrocketed.People come from everywhere for the work and really no homes avaiable to speak of. Ft. Mac. just made a tent city move...where these people will go who knows. Theres another example of homeless.people with jobs but can't find housing. Yup Alta. was prepared for this. :roll: :mad: Seriously Sask. is looking better and better all the time.
 
I'd tend to think there are some homeless people in this area. Not sure they know they are homeless as they pass out though. :???:
 
Wish I could remember all the details, but believe it was last Winter, a bunch of heavy blankets were passed out to homeless people in SD, who mostly just discarded them.
 
There are a lot of people that I would call homeless on the Indian reservations in South Dakota. They may not live on the streets as they do in the cities but they have no real home of their own. Often their kids are farmed out to a grandmother or an aunt. As one Indian woman just told me a few days ago when I asked her where she lived. She said here and there. This woman was supposed to go to Sessiton, SD this morning to an alcohol and drug treatment center. said she would be there for 90 days. Said she wanted to get back, find a job and make a home for her son. Hope she makes it, but?
 
Some of these people are just the "working poor". One minimun wage job doesn't provide enough income for food and shelter. in some places. Alberta has had such a economy/population boom that their is no affordable housing left . In sask we have quite abit of cheaper housing in many same towns but no jobs. the houses are empty because everybody is moving west to Alberta.
 
We know a guy from Shanavon,was the town man...got tired of the wages,hes now commuting back and forth to Ft.Mac. Who knows BMR,that may end up being the norm if housing can't be found in Alta.

Our daughters BF,from NS.had a friend move down here just over a month ago,was only working a couple days then they shut down for 10 days,no where to go. We had him get on the bus from GP,and come stay with us...you can't even afford a hotel room in Alta. if you can find one available,lots of workers living in hotel rooms.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
Some of these people are just the "working poor". One minimun wage job doesn't provide enough income for food and shelter. in some places. Alberta has had such a economy/population boom that their is no affordable housing left . In sask we have quite abit of cheaper housing in many same towns but no jobs. the houses are empty because everybody is moving west to Alberta.
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As described in the meeting, folks having to live on minimum wage may be able to exist awhile but come just one problem, like a car breaking down, or gas prices going up for their car that got poor mileage anyway, or extra medical bills when they don't have insurance, or any number of other unexpected events- and out they land on the street.

There was a longitudinal study done of the poor that lasted I think it was 10 years following people by their social security number through hospitalizations, shelter visits etc. A good study. Anyway it showed that some high percentage maybe 80% are only homeless for a short time and they can get back on track. Some 10% I believe are chronic and need lots of following up and used most of the dollars allotted for social programs for the homeless. They've determined from this it is more cost effective to provide housing and intensive programs for that 10%.

I hope our towns can get working effectively on this problem to help prevent another generation being subjected to street living. But it surely is a hard nut to crack.
 
It's funny How Little It Take to Help Them
We live in a rual area/district in Silicon Valley
The Gilroy NG Armary is open winter nights for them.

There are 3 that live under the bridge down the road this summer.

I am the Care Taker/Handy for Man my landloard who own this side of the block - two houses and 6 businesses

Retired and with a girl in college I don't have any extra money but I can Help.

1 - Mailing Address - I let them use my P.O. Box and give them any mail they get - (something then need for a job)

2 - I let them use my Phone # on job Apps - (also needed for a job)

3 - Referances - The business here will give Ref, Letters. (No skin off our nose)
My Old Electrical Co
A Lawyer
South Valley Internet
The Barber Shop
Store
Palm Reader :(

4 - I give them little jobs - Street Sweeping and ... - - For Refs.
Every business/house on the block pays $11 per month to pay the street sweeper $15 per week to sweep

One is a Gay Hair Dresser - He now has a job, rented a house, and bought a horse (That he don't need - $100 per month Feed and Board) and is changing his Life Style. (To get out of the AIDS scean (sp)

Another one came back to thank me last month wereing a suit and clean shaven
 
OldDog/NewTricks said:
It's funny How Little It Take to Help Them
We live in a rual area/district in Silicon Valley
The Gilroy NG Armary is open winter nights for them.

There are 3 that live under the bridge down the road this summer.

I am the Care Taker/Handy for Man my landloard who own this side of the block - two houses and 6 businesses

Retired and with a girl in college I don't have any extra money but I can Help.

1 - Mailing Address - I let them use my P.O. Box and give them any mail they get - (something then need for a job)

2 - I let them use my Phone # on job Apps - (also needed for a job)

3 - Referances - The business here will give Ref, Letters. (No skin off our nose)
My Old Electrical Co
A Lawyer
South Valley Internet
The Barber Shop
Store
Palm Reader :(

4 - I give them little jobs - Street Sweeping and ... - - For Refs.
Every business/house on the block pays $11 per month to pay the street sweeper $15 per week to sweep

One is a Gay Hair Dresser - He now has a job, rented a house, and bought a horse (That he don't need - $100 per month Feed and Board) and is changing his Life Style. (To get out of the AIDS scean (sp)

Another one came back to thank me last month wereing a suit and clean shaven
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Those are all great ways to help. Just goes to show it only takes some creativity and willingness sometimes to be a big help. I think I'll copy your email and take it to the next meeting for inspiration!
 
Re. the people with mental problems, and the shut down of a mental hospital in the '80's........I believe there was also a demand by liberals in that era to release many of the patients in those facilites if they did not want to stay. Little thought was given to the fact that must maybe they were not capable of making such a decision. Many of them have been the chronically homeless. Sad what happens when misguided 'do-gooders' lobby for such changes without understanding the probably results.

The worst part of it is all the minor age children who suffer through this, all too often because of alcohol and/or drug dependent parents. Not enough foster parent homes, and too much insistence the foster parents be of the same race as the child doesn't help, either.

MRJ
 
At the moment,I'm employed,and have SSI..However,the house I have needs renovation..I don't make enough for Rural Houseing to help me,however,make too much for weatherizeing people to help..(I'm 63)
 
I knew OD that you are a special man. Not many contribute, or find ways of helping others as you do.

In my SW class last week we watched a movie, that everyone should watch if they can find it. "God Bless the Child". It was just heart wrenching filled with so many truths of what happens with the homeless. Homeless is in ever community, you might not see them..but, they are there. What really got to me is knowing that could have been me if I had not had my family to help me 6 years ago. Guess that is where I get this wanting to help others get back on their feet, even when it keeps me crawling. I have met so many that I have helped, that have no family, which is even sadder. I have seen so many realities of this in the last few years....But, as OD has done it only takes a outreached hand to help them make it back.

I am sappy at times...but, this is a Profession I have chosen to do. And, the only thing that seems right now I have a problem with, is getting to deeply involved. But, how do you not take a child into your heart that needs your help with their family, to get them living as a family unit, then turn them lose? We are told that we can keep up with them, but no personal contact once they leave the system. We are to give them the means to make a living, support their families and help the children to make sure they get what they need. That is a lot of hours spent with a family, to just be able to turn lose of. My heart gets in the way....I believe compassion is necessary, but I also see that i need to be able to bottle it up when it is time.

Good Topic....and one that sure hits home.

Easty
 
EastTexasGal said:
I knew OD that you are a special man. Not many contribute, or find ways of helping others as you do.

In my SW class last week we watched a movie, that everyone should watch if they can find it. "God Bless the Child". It was just heart wrenching filled with so many truths of what happens with the homeless. Homeless is in ever community, you might not see them..but, they are there. What really got to me is knowing that could have been me if I had not had my family to help me 6 years ago. Guess that is where I get this wanting to help others get back on their feet, even when it keeps me crawling. I have met so many that I have helped, that have no family, which is even sadder. I have seen so many realities of this in the last few years....But, as OD has done it only takes a outreached hand to help them make it back.

I am sappy at times...but, this is a Profession I have chosen to do. And, the only thing that seems right now I have a problem with, is getting to deeply involved. But, how do you not take a child into your heart that needs your help with their family, to get them living as a family unit, then turn them lose? We are told that we can keep up with them, but no personal contact once they leave the system. We are to give them the means to make a living, support their families and help the children to make sure they get what they need. That is a lot of hours spent with a family, to just be able to turn lose of. My heart gets in the way....I believe compassion is necessary, but I also see that i need to be able to bottle it up when it is time.

Good Topic....and one that sure hits home.

Easty
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Easty, it sounds like you've found your true calling and your past experiences will help you relate to others in a fix as you share your wisdom from the school of hard knocks.
When you finish your training you probably won't be able to keep as close contact with your past cases because you'll be buried under current cases. At least that's how it was when I was a social worker/nurse. The number of cases assigned is totally unrealistic where we live and probably across the nation. You just do the best you can for them and trust the good Lord to do the rest.
 

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