Simon FormanDon't think of "the homeless" as a group or a class, that's the first step in dehumanizing us. Normal folks want to avoid thinking about how it could happen to them, so there's a strong psychological "force" to perceive homeless folks as "not like us". The simple truth is that there are lots of different reasons why people wind up on the streets.
I saw some photos recently of the homeless shelters we built (here in San Francisco and down in San Diego) and let me tell you, as a former homeless person, I wouldn't stay in one of them. You couldn't pay me to stay in one. It's an issue of safety, and of administration, and a little bit of dignity. Basically they are designed like a jail but without the bars and guards.
Log 🪵@carapace How about "forcibly evicted people"? That puts the negativity on the landlords, code enforcers, and foreclosing lenders, where it belongs.
gehsteiger@carapace
"You are closer to the street, than you'll ever be to a billionaire."
discodeerdiary.gov@carapace I've come to believe that renting in Boston when you're in the lower income brackets is very nearly a form of luxury couchsurfing
Marek@carapace what really blew my mind is that half of the 'homeless' population are orphans...
@kozy138 That's so messed up. I didn't realize it at the time (on the street you don't usually get into each others' personal histories that much, y'know?) but it fits with what I saw when I was out there.
More than shelter, we need family, even if we have to learn how to be family "manually" as it were, absent solid trustworthy guidance and care as kids.
Ω 🌍 Gus Posey@carapace People should pause and thank the Universe if they've had a life so caring that they never had to sleep outside.
Sparrows@carapace Everyone always insists they're closer to a hundred steps up the ladder than a few steps down.
David Palk#RejoinEU 💖🇪🇺🕊🌈@carapace In my adult life it would be a 50/50 split. I never regarded myself as 'homeless'...I was a 'Gentleman of the Road' when without a fixed abode. Society seemed overly concerned with getting me into 'secure' accommodation. Some of which was little better than a dog kennel. Especially at this time of year I still get 'itchy feet'. I have experienced 'contentment' twice, once under a hedge and once in a cave. Never in a house, church or other dwelling. 🕉️ 💖 #justsaying 🙏
Robin Barton@carapace Well said and I fully agree
okanogen VerminEnemyFromWithin@carapace
There are a lot of reasons people live on the street or are homeless (unhoused), most of them are society's fault but some are not, unless involuntary commitment or forced intreatment sobriety are on the table.
There are a lot of reasons people live on the street or are homeless (unhoused), most of them are society's fault but some are not, unless involuntary commitment or forced intreatment sobriety are on the table.
Felix 🐊@carapace I was homeless for a summer a few years ago and next semester I'll be graduating summa cum laude. It's no use thinking I'm "one of the good ones," the reality is I was "one of them."
Homelessness is not what people think it is. It is much more mundane, yet significantly more threatening than people realize. There is no shame in being homeless. It's so obviously a symptom of a society that has been lied to several times.
I don't know if there is a "solution" insofar as, if there is, it starts with empathy and understanding. Anything else is a race to the bottom for everyone involved.
Alison Meeks@carapace There but for shear luck go I. There have been times I was on the knifes edge.
Dean F.@carapace I once spent a winter working at a seasonal homeless shelter. During that time, I learned to think of "the homeless" as individuals, not a shapeless mass. All these years later, I still think that way.