Five Dollars and a Snickers Bar. Your experience with homeless people?

[Bertha Venation]

Not blowing my own horn, folks. Seeking your experiences.

I'm humbled by how grateful my homeless friend, Eli, is when I give this to him. He hugs me, tells me he appreciates me and loves me. I have so much, and I can only muster five bucks and a candy bar?

What kind of experiences have you had with homeless folks?

[Aristus]

1. Most Loungers already know I work in a medical clinic for the homeless.

I started working there as a Medical Assistant back in 2005. I loved it so much, I made an effort to get hired there when I graduated from PA School. I thought it would be a long shot, since there is a position for only one provider. But I got the job, and I've been happy ever since.

I've become a strong advocate for the rights of the homeless. And although I've said this before, it bears repeating: I would love to have one of those 'why-don't-they-just-go-get-a-job?'-types follow me around for a day, and learn the realities of life in the homeless community. For example, a lot of homeless people have jobs; they're usually those Labor Ready things. You know, work today, get paid today. Which is fine. It earns them an income. But it's rarely enough to get them off the streets. Not when you need first and last months' rent, credit check, damage deposit, criminal background check, etc.

Most homeless people are on the streets only temporarily. Many people are the ones you hear about on news reports during recessions; the people who live only a paycheck or two from the streets. They'll be homeless for a few months, and then get back up on their feet. I've had patients whom I've visited with and treated two or three times, and then never see again. I hear later that they've been mainstreamed, and are getting on with their lives.

Then there are the chronically homeless. The ones who will likely never get off the streets permanently. I have a number of those patients. Two of the biggest culprits are drug addiction and mental illness. Tough obstacles to overcome, but I've seen success stories.

Co-morbid illnesses are rampant in the homeless community; Diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, heart disease, COPD, chronic pain, etc. I have patients who have all of these at once. It's challenging. But I have success stories for them, too.

The next time any of you see a homeless person, please don't think of him or her as homeless; think of him or her as a person.

And if they seem angry, irritable, out-of-sorts, or muttering to themselves, remember, it's a grindingly hard, discouraging, dangerous life. The rich Republican assholes who think the poor lead lives of comfort and leisure are full of shit. And I will advocate for the rights of the homeless to my dying breath.

[Bertha Venation]

3. The next time any of you see a homeless person . . .

"The next time any of you see a homeless person, please don't think of him or her as homeless; think of him or her as a person."

I'm chagrined. I really do love these people, and they really don't need to be labeled. All I can do is try to help.

[Aristus]

10. I hope I'm not the one who made you feel chagrined, Bertha.

I knew you weren't labelling anybody...

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. well, I was pretty much one of them for the last 4 years.

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Living in a trailer since 2009 with no hydro/water hook-ups.

All that changed 2 months ago with an inheritance that allowed me to buy my my own home,

and rent a motel room in the interim with hydro and water

Culture shock!

and here I am

living like a "normal" person

Dealt with our welfare system, all their paperwork to get a measly 7k per year.

I am SO happy to be done with that.

CC

[Bertha Venation]

4. I'm very glad to hear this, Canuk!

May I ask how you bathed and did other things that require plumbing? Did you have heat in the trailer? What did you eat? Sorry if you see me as nosy; smack me down if you wish. I'm curious.

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. Thanx, I'm happy to answer your questions.

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Heat in the trailer - yup - propane, not enough to be comfortable, expensive as hell, but I survived.

missed the plumbing thing - here ya go -

I'm a male - used a portapotty dry, shitting on newspaper and folding it up, let the little guy hang over the edge to do the pee thing in another pot.

remember - you asked, right?

fold up the doo-doo in the newspaper and put it close to the trailer door, the coldest spot so it would not stink too much. Same thing with the pee pot.

Ate mostly canned and dried food - not the best because canned food is full of sodium/salt.

No hydro, no fridge/freezer - could not store decent food.

Bathing - now that was a rarity - I had comments from people that I stank - no more of that!

I did however have a bathtub attached outside on the back of my trailer that I filled with rainwater occasionally, and managed a few baths during the summer.

Ya got more questions?

I'll answer them.

Dave.

[Bertha Venation]

11. Thank you.

I hope that telling this stuff wasn't humiliating. I wish I'd thought of that possibility before I asked.

But now that you've answered, I have other questions. What did you do for money? Was anyone ever especially kind or especially mean to you? Did you have friends during this time?

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. Wasn't humiliating at all, anyways - answers to your other questions

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Haven't had any employment since 2009, the same year the landlady cut my hydro and started chasing my friends away.

for money, I was on Welfare until 2 years ago, getting almost $600/mo - got so pissed with them that I quit that and pulled in my small pensions, totaling $500/mo.

anyone especially kind? - oh yeah,

just a few, but they helped keep me above water, both financially and spirituality wise.

Lost my driver's licence 2 years ago when I was still poor, landlady came over and threatened to have my friends/guests charged with trespassing two days later.

That should answer the question re "especially mean".

Even called Canada Post head office to stop me from getting flyers in the mailbox, and prevent the mailman (who has been a friend of mine for decades) from delivering gas, propane and water while he was on his mail run.

Only ONE friend has visited me during the last two years while I was there.

However, I've had 5 friends visit me in the last month at the motel I'm staying while I wait to get into my new home in the bush.

Many more coming - no one wanted to put up with her interference at my trailer.

I don't blame them.

CC

[Bertha Venation]

15. There aren't words in English

to describe adequately that kind of meanness, even evil. I am sorry to hear of it, CC.

[ConcernedCanuk]

18. Evil is it - used that word to myself more than once.

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Ya nailed it in one word.!

CC

[struggle4progress]

5. There's significant variation in the population: I've met a woman who could

converse intelligently and in detail about the history of the English succession, but who also had an imaginary friend with whom she carried out discreet conversations now and then; I've met PhDs with serious substance abuse issues; I've met teenage LGBT youth thrown out of their homes by parents then thrown out of their new homes by lovers; I've met a woman who was brought to the US as an infant but never knew it until she developed an auto-immune problem that kept her from holding a steady job, at which point she learned for the first time she wasn't a US citizen and therefore was ineligible for most aid; I met a high school kid who was living with his mom in a shelter and had a summer research job at a local university; I've met a guy who ran away from home at 14 to join the carnival that passed through his small time and who had made due with that life for several decades but couldn't get by anymore when the economy went sour ...

[Sekhmets Daughter]

6. I live in south Florida

which can be easier climate wise on the homeless. Nevertheless, we do have cold fronts move in that can last several days and drop temps down to the 30s & 40s. I moved to my present home in Dec. 2011 and found that the little square where I begin the morning walk with my dog, is a meeting place for the homeless when the local shelter closes in the am. The first cold front that came through sent me home to gather several articles of warm clothing that had belonged to my late SO. And that's how it began with people I now consider "mine"

I bring them thermoses of coffee and styrofoam cups on cold days.... In the hot weather I make sure everyone is hydrated. I'll pick up a bag of burgers or a couple of pizzas around lunch time. I know the faces...I recognize new ones and miss old ones....and find I worry when I don't see an old face for any length of time. I recently saw two such. One happily reported his wife has taken him back...she must be a saint, he is way 'out there'.... The other is not a chronically homeless person, and has found a job and an apartment he shares with another fellow. Both ran up to greet me and gave me a hug. Recently I picked up about 2 dozen rain ponchos...an idea from another DUer...to have on hand for our rainy season.

The women are the hardest...they won't look at me and have to be gently coaxed to accept anything from me. A couple of weeks ago I made a new acquaintance...Kathleen. After a prolonged exchange, she asked me my name and offered hers. That was a major breakthrough!

I find my homeless family almost as rewarding as I found raising my children. It keeps me ever mindful of how very fortunate I am and affirms my own humanity. It is, perhaps, a selfish impulse.

[olddots]

8. A woman wanted quarters for a battered women's shelter

I gave her 5$ this was a block away from the Porsche/Audi dealer .......We go to downtown L.A. with Duffy to hand out Green bags -he's been doing for ever.

[Rhythm]

9. I used to work downtown in my small city -- at a store down the block from the shelter

I worked in in both a restaurant and a general-goods retailer in my college-town -- at the store, i had clients of the local transitional shelter, as well as those one would call 'chronically homeless' ('street people') who stayed in the emergency shelter at night.
They were all in-and-out of the store all day.

The shelter folks were generally chatty, but sometimes rude to the employees of the store, especially when asked to check bulky bags/backpacks at the front of the store (our location had a horrendous shoplifting problem, but inadequate surveillance or personnel to curtail it).

The majority of the chronically homeless that i encountered didn't interact with others very much... a sort of self-shunning behavior i guess they had learned from long times of being looked down on by others. I'd engage them in conversation if i had time at all, if only because i knew that my words might be the only kindness they encountered all day... and people need people.

Within the group of chronically homeless, i befriended:
* an autistic man in his 40's so bashful with women that he could originally barely get out a hello when he saw me.
We now talk regularly about history, politics, and literature.
* an older man originally from Nigeria who was part of a refugee rescue during the Carter administration. He earned a PhD in mathematics, but suffered a nervous breakdown and basically fell through the cracks.
* a guy who looks like 'Grizzly Adams', and with a speaking-voice that should be on radio.

The list could go on for a while...

I helped monetarily where i could, but i work two jobs to support my family, and even then money's tight and we struggle.
But a random meal from my restaurant job, or paying the difference when one of them came up short a buck or so at the register was something i needed to do, not just to help THEM, but to help ME.

[benld74]

12. I ALWAYS,

when leaving sports events, at stop lights or whenever I am asked empty my pockets to those in need. AND sometimes my kids ask why, and I tell them because they need it more than I do?
Before a baseball game a homeless couple were positioned right in the walk area to the stadium. The man looked everyone in the eyes. His wife or girlfriend was practically tryin to hide next to him.
Some people ignored them the best they could. Some people didn't see them until the crowd parted around them and they had to crowd around them as well.
I spotted them from a distance. I walked up to them, and gave them the twenty i was going to spend on stadium snacks.
I got a bless you from the man. I told him no need man, Hope this helps a little.
I got an 'Asshole' from the guy I stopped in front of to give the money. I told him I dont forget a face and he better not be hit with bad luck because I'm gonna wak around you when I see you.
And he cussed me some more.

[applegrove]

14. Good experiences. A few hugs. Some joke telling. People not so desperate in

my city. When they ask for money and I don't have it, they say thanks for the most part. This is Canada though. I was in France one time and they had this huge 18 wheeled camper truck that would drive around in the winter, pick up homeless people from where they were, give them food and drive them to a shelter. But I think the homeless were more spread out in Paris. Still we need social housing. And a different government in Ottawa. The conservatives like to cut advocacy for the poor and such. At least they did when I was involved in the business as a receptionist.

[In_The_Wind]

16. I donate: money, clothing, contributions to food banks.

When I managed a store for corporate Carvel (not a franchise owned location) we always donated the extra ice cream cakes I made sure were left over.
The profits on my store could easily afford it without hurting the profit margin.

[ConcernedCanuk]

19. I have budgeted $$ to support our local foodbank

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that has helped me keep a bit healthier over the last 6 years.

I know what I missed food-wise,

and will be bringing in fresh veggies and real meat on the days they are open (every two weeks) in the near future.

Busy with legal matters and getting my stuff moved off the farm I was living at for the next few months.

I have a plan, and I'm stickin' to it.

CC

[In_The_Wind]

20. That is wonderful. You'll make it.

The parts of your plan/dream that are yours to control will come to pass.
I believe in you CC.

[ConcernedCanuk]

21. Thank you ITW

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But you are not quite correct.

There are parts of my dream that are NOT in my control that are coming true!

Took one truck and trailer load to my new home today - as soon as I got out of my truck I noticed something immediately.

QUIET

Sucked in the beauty of nothing but bush around my home. Even had to almost stop to let two deer cross the road safely.

I slowed down more than necessary to watch them as they climbed up the side of a rock cliff - didn't know they could do that!

The guys I hired to help me were more than impressed with the place, and the price I got it for.

Actually - so am I!!

CC

[DFW]

17. My wife is a social worker, worked with them for years

After almost four decades as a full-time social worker, she just retired.

We still donate to food banks, shelters, the like.