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Homelessness


Debp

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Of course there are many different causes for people becoming homeless.   Have you ever known a person who became homeless?   Or do you ever talk to someone who is homeless?

I have known two people that became homeless.  One woman was a neighbor who after many years of being sober had a surgery.  After the surgery, she started to drink again.  After nearly burning her apartment up, she was evicted.   A couple of guys who owned this building at the time gave her a little room, however, she ended up on the street.  People tried to help her get off of the street but she kept returning to live on the street.  She finally disappeared.

The other woman who became homeless was a pen pal who lived in Hawaii.  Both of her parents died of cancer within months of each other.  My pen pal had already had a stroke years before their death.  She was paralyzed on one side.   She always told me the termites were holding her rental home together.  I thought she was joking but the termites were the reason she was evicted from that house!   She lived on the street, eventually getting an apartment for the disabled.   However, she got evicted from that apartment after marrying an ex-con....the building management didn't want him to stay there.  So she was back to living on the streets.   I heard she got a leg amputated and after that I never heard from her again.   So she might have passed away.  I knew her since we were both 16 years old...now we are senior citizens.   A missionary friend of mine would always take her to lunch when she was in Hawaii.

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2 hours ago, Debp said:

 Have you ever known a person who became homeless?   Or do you ever talk to someone who is homeless?

Yes. And yes.

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Most of the population of this country is less than $400 from being found unable to keep their shelter whatever that shelter may be.

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 I have over the many years of having once  been a landlord talked to several homeless. I also have had the nasty job of making some homeless too. And in some of those cases physically helping them move to affordable living quarters, finding resources for finances for them, getting their family's to help them, and so on. It is a nasty part of life's duties that come along with the many nice privileges God provides.

We have had homeless within the family and they have been provided for by other family members so that they had shelter. We have family that have gotten in way over their heads and they too  have been helped by family. otherwise there would be more than one within  our group homeless.

We have homeless come to church on a regular basis. Some will not accept any help in the manner of getting work, they just want to be homeless.  There is an excellent church ministry called Everybody's Tabernacle not far away that provides temporary shelter, mentoring, cleaning up, clothing, food ,and help in  getting work so that  the homeless can become self sustaining once again- if they will work toward it. BUT, sadly many will not. They actually desire to be wandering homeless rather than working.

Our church body members for decades had a very large circus tent and two portable kitchens that would be set up Saturdays downtown to feed breakfast free to the homeless. But the police department didn't much like the burden  it seemed to cause them, eventually we lost the right to set up the tent and that was that. Now the homeless have to get an ID card from the local police to stay in town. That is supposed to help somehow. Maybe it does I don't know.

It is a tough problem in the whole area, for the year round weather is not all that horrible here, one in not going to freeze, and there are pockets of woods and jungle where they can set up shopping carts that they take, plus bits of plastic, and make camp shelters, plus there are  beaches and lot of malls.

Our church body facility is on the route homeless walk each day from under the beach pier  where many sleep and the larger mall in the area where they scavenge and beg, and unfortunate some rob too. So we get homeless walking by all the time. It became a real problem of sanitation and security too for our local body of Christ, with homeless sleeping in the landscaping urinating on the buildings, defecating in the bushes at night,  using the restrooms for shaving and trying to "shower" in the sinks, taking the toilet paper  and towels and books and whatever was loose (mostly out of their desperation). Plus they would panhandle in the parking lot follow women out of the building  sometimes threatening ometimes begging. We had to install security cameras, keep doors locked, and have police on grounds during services. Times are changing, it is hard- How to help? how to protect? how to share, at home and abroad? How to manage the benevolent services and funds for our own as well?

Way back when I was at Los Angeles a couple we knew then got motivated tohelp. they sold their home on the "hill" and bought a home along the tracks right across from Santa anita and th eold Forum all so thy could minister to the homeless there  at nigh tith water food  and the word of god, then go into the then section that was illegels where they were all hot sheeting living as many as 17 to a room. They would bring clothes, some food, and Bibles.  My wife helped  as did many at the local body there with supplying their missionary  toil with clothes food and Bibles.

So yes of course I have seen homeless, up close. I think it is pretty hard not to, as most are that $400 from being there themselves. And it is hard very hard to work through how to avoid being homeless, how to help the homeless, and what to do once homeless.

 

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As a thought- that bag  or two of groceries that one quietly leaves or gives to a friend or neighbor or fellow tenant that is in tough shakes, can be the difference between their paying the rent that month or going homeless. Help each other  in any way possible is the only thing I know, the problem is not going to go away totally it seems; though on the USA domestic political front  the national policy change is certainly helping many find and keep work today! And so I thank God for the  near miracle of the last USA presidential election, where a terrible man beat a horrile woman and he has turned out to  for the time being to have some ideas that have helped greatly on a practical level.

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Guest shiloh357
1 hour ago, Debp said:

Of course there are many different causes for people becoming homeless.   Have you ever known a person who became homeless?   Or do you ever talk to someone who is homeless?

Yes and many of them choose to remain that way.   They know how to game the system each month.   Many live in tent cities just outside the city limits and come into town to panhandle and stuff.  It's easier and they make money tax free.   Many choose to remain homeless because they are skipping out on child support and/or are registered sex offenders and don't want get a job or an apartment because they have to reveal those facts and they prefer to remain homeless and jobless. 

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There is an other aspect of homelessness- government. And the truly weird things that happen because of government's employees and the way they think to work things out when they run out of money for their agency's needs. Example: There is State money for providing a group home for the mentally disabled here, but there is not enough money to provide  for the homeless that wander. So  ahah, have homeless declared mentally disabled and then have them put into the group homes with the mentally disabled. 

See a problem there?

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“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’”

 

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Many homeless are abused females; many homeless do lack education  making good paying work hard to come by; many are those brought up on the plantation of government programs that have collapsed as costs of programs have exceeded financial resources. 

Many are hard hard working people that got sick one too many times and lost all that they had in the way  of resources.

Many are veterans back from the endless warring games of governments that have found it hard to get work  in civilian workplace.

Many are friends an family that took a prescription from the pill pusher doctor that alleviated the pain that was preventing them from working only to become addicted to the pills and then not stable enough for employers to keep them  in their workplace.

There are myriad reasons for the plight of homelessness. The thing is the plight exists, it is real! Those are real individuals suffering greatly, in need of help, if not compassion. Fruitful compassion  helps in some manner. Worry for or simply disdain of the homeless accomplishes precious little. The challenge is there before us all today , right now.

Tomorrow it may be any one of us that will be reaching into our own pocket for our own last $400 of personal resource to sustain ourselves. I think it best for me in the meantime  to have some merciful mindset,  compassion, and to actually do something, as the opportunity presents itself. Doing so for family, for church member community, and for total strangers when possible, and by honestly accessing my own  government tax burden and paying it in full.

 

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This Bible verse come to mind.

Mark 14:7 (KJV) For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

As far as homelessness there's so much I don't know. About the only two facts I know for sure are:

[1] The poor, hungry and homeless have always been there.

[2] The government(s) have replaced family, friends and the churches responsibilities. 

I'm tempted to write a dissertation of how; drugs, alcohol, the fractional reserve banking system (greedy bankers), government programs / dependence / regulations and property taxes all contribute to our ills. Just think, if here in the United States, if we didn't have the 'cycle of generational dependence', what percentage of the population would be homeless?

Genesis 3:19 (KJV) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Perhaps some don't like the idea of hard work?

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29 minutes ago, Dennis1209 said:

Perhaps some don't like the idea of hard work?

Hi, as you state don't want to go off on a tangent.  The question asked of us -  do you know any homeless do you talk to  any homeless?  I do,  and I know many many that fit the category of being $400 from homelessness that work very very hard. Electrical contractors,  exterminators, teachers, lots of teachers, engineers, architects, all hard workers - all within $400 of homelessness, and many have had to file bankruptcy within the last 7 years.

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23 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Hi, as you state don't want to go off on a tangent.  The question asked of us -  do you know any homeless do you talk to  any homeless?  I do,  and I know many many that fit the category of being $400 from homelessness that work very very hard. Electrical contractors,  exterminators, teachers, lots of teachers, engineers, architects, all hard workers - all within $400 of homelessness, and many have had to file bankruptcy within the last 7 years.

I didn't mean to slide of topic, bit it's difficult to stay on topic the further a thread develops with side bars. 

To the OP point: No, I personally don't know anyone homeless or who went homeless. My experience is occasionally when I run into someone homeless, I'll briefly talk to him / her, give them a few bucks to get something to eat and give them a Bible tract. I was by no means making a blanket statement of all homelessness, just pointing out some choices and causes. 

And how true; so many of us are only one paycheck away from the streets ourselves. But as you brought up bankruptcy for instance, how does one discuss homelessness and leave off bankruptcy in the discussion? 

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1 hour ago, Dennis1209 said:

I didn't mean to slide of topic, bit it's difficult to stay on topic the further a thread develops with side bars. 

To the OP point: No, I personally don't know anyone homeless or who went homeless. My experience is occasionally when I run into someone homeless, I'll briefly talk to him / her, give them a few bucks to get something to eat and give them a Bible tract. I was by no means making a blanket statement of all homelessness, just pointing out some choices and causes. 

And how true; so many of us are only one paycheck away from the streets ourselves. But as you brought up bankruptcy for instance, how does one discuss homelessness and leave off bankruptcy in the discussion? 

Hi I wasn't being critical, it is not my place to do so. 

I was off topic if the circumstances surrounding homelessness  are off topic.

I was reminding myself and asking for additional information of you and all others that may add their insight to the subject.

 

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