Homelessness

[Goafer]

At the risk of getting all hot and bothered on the topic again (more on that later), I figure I'll ask people on here's views of the homeless.

 

The reason I ask is because I had a discussion at work on the topic that pretty much ended with me solidifying my opinion that one of my coworkers is a complete over-privileged tool.

 

It all started when I saw this video:

 

 

It put the thought of homelessness into my head and at some point I worked it into conversation at work. We discussed it for a while and for a while it went ok. No one really mentioned the stereotype of them all being drunks/on drugs and for a while it seemed that we all agreed that in most cases they were the victim of circumstance.

 

That was until my already semi-despised colleague weighed in with "It can't be that hard to find somewhere to live surely?" in his usual privileged way. I mentioned that it obviously must be, as no one in their right mind would choose to be homeless, especially in winter. His response was "I guess some people just want to be martyrs".

 

That was when the conversation ended. Up until that point, it was a good conversation, with proper discussion about things such as most homeless people only being homeless for a few months before sorting things out, the difficulties of getting out of homelessness when you don't have a fixed address etc. But after that, I just gave up.

 

So yeah, homelessness. Discuss.

[Grazza]

Homelessness is all too easy to understand, and one of the biggest failings of government, in my opinion. The way house prices are, it's hard enough to afford one even if you've got a job. I shudder to think how hard it'd be with no income or savings.

 

We don't have enough accommodation or a big enough range. Why aren't there really small houses that cost £50,000, for instance? Pre-fabs, that sort of thing. If you want to live in a caravan, you won't be allowed unless you're a certain age, and maybe not all year round anyway. There just aren't enough options, in my opinion, and this is something that could be dealt with on a regulation level.

[arab_freak]

As previously mentioned, destitution is mainly a sign of failure in several sectors of government. The prevalent stigma associated with being homeless doesn't help matters either as no class seems to have any compassion for the the plight of the common man, and there are entire industries that profit by keeping them poor.

 

For a first-hand account, here's a fascinating article on what it's like to be a bum in the US:

http://www.cracked.com/article_20720_7-things-no-one-tells-you-about-being-homeless.html

[Iun]

I'm always of two minds:

 

The government could do a lot more on this. As someone said, affordable housing is in short supply, and therefore something should be done to make more affordable housing available. That being said: the government is not responsible for your own lack of responsibility in failing to get off your ass, study harder and get yourself into a decent job.

 

It pisses me off when people get all "Oh, the government is interfering with our privacy! They keep internet files on everyone! That's wrong!" And then say "The government needs to do more to help people! They need to pick up everyone's mess for them!" Come on.

 

I don't think anyone is homeless by choice, but I have found in conversation with some homeless people that they were trying to prove a point at some stage: I'll run away and you'll be sorry; you've forced me to wreck my life; you wanted to control me, you can't control me etc.

 

There are a lot of genuine cases where people have completely wrecked their lives through drug or alcohol abuse, or have been beaten into running away... but how do you distinguish? How do you know which person is telling the truth?

 

And how do you know when there is too much government? And then where do you redraw the line?

[Zechs Merquise]

Homelessness is like anything else - it is a spectrum.

 

Whilst there will be some people on the streets who are undoubtedly scum - there will also be people who have been driven there through abuse in their home, through mental breakdowns, ex-forces with PTSD who couldn't adapt to life out of the army and people who are genuinely in need of help.

 

I think the problem when discussing homelessness is there seems to be two types of people who debate it; the ones who think the homeless are basically all angels who have done no wrong and deserve to be put on a pedestal, and those who think they are all criminal scum with drug and alcohol habits.

 

In reality, the truth is a mix of the above.

 

I feel sorry for people who are on the streets out of necessity or because they have been forced there. However, not all of them are there because of that and some do choose that path for one reason or another.

[MoogleViper]

The reason most people don't understand homelessness is because we all have families. The majority of homeless people don't have any family. If I were to lose my job I'd move back in with my parents. If I didn't have any parents then I'd be in deep shit indeed.

 

Not to mention all of the other benefits that we've been afforded from a stable home. A significantly higher proportion of children who come through the foster system (most notably through children's homes as opposed to foster families) end up as homeless. So it's not just through job creation and affordable housing that the government has failed these people, it's also throughout their childhood.

[Jimbob]

I hate seeing people homeless, it does annoy me that no-one (not even the shelters) will offer help to those whom truly need it. The government is partly to blame for it, and so are many other factors including the military/armed forces etc. They don't exactly help to rehabilitate people to the civilian lifestyle and some former soldiers/armed forces personnel do end up on the streets. Which is not right at all, as i have spoken to a few of them who do struggle to re-adapt into society once their service is up. It's also those who are there due to no fault of their own. It's this side of the coin i feel sorry for, the ones who truly need the help.

 

Then there is the other side of the coin, the ones who are homeless because they chose to be in that situation. I see it all the time in Cardiff, the ones whom chose the drink/drug path and have lost everything due to that. Most of them do hang around the bus station as their is a cheap shop for the alcohol, and not even the Police bother with them. I have seen people trying to offer help, but they clearly don't want it. Someone bought them a coffee and a sandwich only to see it being thrown back at them. This side i don't really care about.