Do you see a lot of homeless in your area...

[butterfly77]

Lately,I have been seeing more and more people carrying shopping bags and sleeping in bus stops and empty buildings...

[Sanity Claws]

1. I noticed them in the library

They were looking for a place to keep warm during our really cold weather. They were reading quietly and stayed together.

[JuniperLea]

2. Yes

Home and at work... I work in Downtown Los Angeles... it's horrid right now. Makeshift tents line the buildings in the mornings and on the way home at night there are hundreds of homeless in the streets. It's hard to take sometimes. I just sent one of the guys down with a plate of sandwiches leftover from a lunch meeting... we do what we can.

[butterfly77]

4. I saw them on television ...

when the priest was handing them money over the holiday in Los Angeles...I can't believe it they all live there and the country does nothing

[JuniperLea]

8. One of my former bosses donates to those priests

Former boss is a self-made billionaire... and a democrat... we need more like him. He's doing a lot for Downtown beyond giving money to the homeless.

I'm embarrassed that we as a nation do nothing for these people.

Other nations are doing far more than we are...

http://www.share-international.org/archives/homelessness/index.htm

[Codeblue]

3. No

Because Hickenlooper did one bad thing...he caved into the wishes of rich tourists visiting the 16th Street Mall.

He decided no homeless could hang out in high profile areas but at the same time closed down some homeless shelters in the city. I like him and think he's a great mayor, but this is one mistake he made.

[butterfly77]

6. Did they tear down all affordable housing ...

in the bush adm don't give a damn they would rather build up other countries than provide low income or affordable housing. A lot of republicons have now begun to lose their jobs and business I wonder if any of them are in the statistics...

[Warpy]

13. They left it up to that magical free market

which built bigger and bigger barns for yuppies because that's where the most PROFIT was. They could make the money when they put a yuppie into debt past his eyeballs that they would have made on 10 affordable places for working folks.

At the same time, all the old rooming houses were snapped up by yuppies, the marginal workers kicked out onto the street, and the houses turned back into mansions.

Most other countries subsidize housing for marginal workers. They have national healthcare, too. Face it, this country doesn't give a fuck about its people.

[butterfly77]

20. I saw two women on thanksgiving ...

and they were discussing how they became homeless and it was due to gentrification...

[Megahurtz]

43. Perfect Discription. n/t

[crazyblueracer]

5. ....

No. I kinda wish I did. Not that I wish there were more but just that I know there are some but I don't know where they are. We often clear out old coats and such and I wish I could give them to someone that could use them. I've also thought it would be good to be able to hire some to help me around the house with yardwork and such.

The other day I stopped in a Taco Bell and there was a homeless man sleeping in a corner. On my way out I bought some gift certificates and left them on his table. I'm not a saint by any means but I feel you should help those who need help if you've been blessed with the ability to help.

[angry_chuck]

16. welcome to DU

debate is great. welcome.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

7. More than I can count.

Not very good for the nation's capitol. Then again, being a prime tourist location, perhaps it attracts more than the average city as well. Either way, it's overwhelmingly sad.

[AngryAmish]

9. No

I live in an affluent area.

[sinkingfeeling]

Yes, and I live in a very small city: about 65,000.

[ceile]

10. Define "a lot"?

One is too many. But I suppose I see a lot. There's at least 2 at every major intersection in town that I drive through. A lot are homeless vets. We have a lot of homeless in our city, but not enough beds at shelters. We also have a "camping ban" i.e. "no homeless sleeping in parks" so where they go at night......

[Esra Star]

38. "Where do they go at night?"

I took a walk through Sydney city with a homeless person a few years back.
He pointed out to me all the nooks and crannies where other homeless people lived/slept.
It was a real eye opener. There were so many.

[warrens]

11. Less than a few months ago

Probably some move south...homeless in Chicago during winter is a very, very tough thing.

[AlCzervik]

12. yes, i'm glad you brought this up. I see the homeless or what i think are

homeless panhandling on some of the highway off ramps in my town, thats new to this area or at least new to me.

[angry_chuck]

14. some people

don't want to work, some do want to but can't find employment, some just can't work because of disability. The fact that we can justify spending money on a war or loan it to other countries to provide military aid (directly or indirectly) is an affront to democracy and a shameful mark upon the idea which once constituted our nation. So much hate and greed in this world. What happened to I am my brother's keeper? I would like to see someone from skid row get to ask that of cheney or bush or rove. Fucking cowards. Let them run away to Paraguay to some secret military base away from ICC jurisdiction. They cannot hide forever.

[butterfly77]

29. All of those billions...

stolen and wasted and in Iraq and when someone asks about it they say lie, if they did use some to rebuild they blew up a lot of it and most will never be accounted for. I don't believe that a lot of it went for weapons,it went into someones pocket we don't know who or where...

[grizmaster]

15. yup, and I know more than a few personally

saddest of the bunch is the guy who works his ass off full time and still has to live in a shelter because rents are so sky high here.

[twilight_sailing]

17. Silver City, NM

Hell yes. Way too many for a small town.

[Cult]

18. Not so many, Lincoln NE.

There's always at least two on the corner when I go to work, and If I'm able, I stock them up with change and cigarettes. Definitely less here than in Atlanta or San Diego, though.

-E!

[blueknight]

19. yes i do,

and i volunteer every friday morning at the local homeless center

[elocs]

28. In my city of 50,000 there are not "a lot" who are visibly homeless.

I know they are here, but they are hard to see. As a Deist who is very familiar with the teachings of Jesus I wonder why the churches are not doing more to help the homeless and those in need. Most church buildings are unused for most of the week. If each church would "adopt" a few homeless persons or a family, in my city that would put a big dent in the homeless problem. Concerning the homeless, churches seriously need to consider "what would Jesus do?" when it comes to the homeless, hungry and needy in their own communities.

Matthew 25:34-40

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Any church which does not follow this teaching should be ashamed. Ashamed.

[butterfly77]

33. If the evangels that support really did..

practice what they preach they would be telling the republicons we need affordable housing in this country ...they always complain about our taxes those taxes went to bombs and were stolen from the billions in Iraq...

[acmejack]

23. I like to give them something they can use.

food, food vouchers, warm stuff, etc. But things hard to convert to substance abuse. I hate to enable self-destruction, I have been there, well intentioned cash generally aids and abets that behavior.

[martymar64]

39. I see them everywhere here

Every corner along Ben White, at the corner of 51st and I-35. All along Braker and Parmer. There are way too many of them downtown. Ina trown like ours, it stinks that we don't do more for them. Will Wynn and the City Council need to get off their fat asses and start putting up some shelters and providing programs to help the homeless ASAP. This is yet another shame of our once great nation.

[acmejack]

44. It will be bad for them Thursday.

I would like to see a census of the homeless to get a general idea of how many homeless there actually are. It would probably be numbers like the Datadiva said, there are so many invisible people & there are still many places folks camp. In my area there are some by Barton Creek Mall and the far end of the Green Belt. Anywhere there is some water and/or facilities.

I have learned it the hard way; There, but for the grace of God, go I...

[butterfly77]

46. Is there a homeless march today?

[datadiva]

21. I heard this recently,

that in my city of 300,000, there were almost 20,000 homeless. Staggering to say the least.

[acmejack]

25. Damn-I almost fell out of my chair!

As I went to see where you lived. Why so High? Is it that high from immigrant workers?

[Cleita]

32. And I'll bet there are homes and apartments that go empty

because they are second homes or vacation homes.

[butterfly77]

36. This country is a mess...

since bush took office, he has opened the eyes of many who really believed their were no problems like these until it hit them...

[Cleita]

22. This is what happens to the homeless in my area.

http://www.newtimes-slo.com/index.php?p=showarticle&id=2069

Yet, when I had to take my cat Benny to the vet last week, a woman came in with a box that held a feral cat she found lying in the road, probably hit by a car, but still alive. She said she had been feeding him for about seven years, but that he was wild. Yet, she kindly was willing to pay the vet bills for this cat out of her own pocket to get him better, not to put him down.

We do have a feral cat program in my county that catches feral cats, neuters them, set's up feeding stations with volunteers for them to be sure they eat and then releases them back into the countryside to live out their lives. Many kind people like this woman volunteer for this program.

Yet, I am struck by the irony of an old homeless man dying of cancer in a field with no one really caring about him except his fellow homeless friends. Nobody seems to care about homeless humans as much as they care about homeless cats. Why are these people invisible to even obviously kind people?

[sarcasmo]

24. Remember, you can blame a lot of the problem on the States for

Doing away with most of the Mental Health programs. I drive a cab for a living and see the homeless on a daily basis. I often wonder how I am not drunk every night trying to forget what I have seen.

[Cleita]

27. Maybe this is why we need to federalize these patchy state

programs and make sure funds go where they are needed. Also, a little dirty secret about taxes, when the feds or the states cut taxes, then one or the other has to make up for it by raising taxes. We have to end these gravy train tax breaks and make sure that the richest among us pay the most taxes to take care of the least among us.

[Monkeyman]

26. 196,000 homeless veterans I think you will see a few

[Not Me]

30. We have a marked influx (in Orlando) during the winter months

Hardly surprising; if I were sleeping on the street in Chicago or Minneapolis, I sure would try to find a way to get to a warm place for the winter.

This city/county does little to help people on the streets. In fact, the city recently enacted a law which restricts charity groups from feeding hungry people in public parks (allowed only twice a year, and with a permit,) because they don't want 'those' people in their crown-jewel downtown Lake Eola Park. After some negative reaction, the city designated a space outside of downtown where groups could offer a hot meal to those who are without.

[Le Taz Hot]

31. Yes!

And the thing is, the demographics seem to be changing. I'm seeing more and more young people, women, and one of the saddest thing, people with children. That's the one that tears your heart out.

A couple of people upthread said they couldn't find them . . . check under the overpasses if you have freeways in your town. You'll also find them mostly at night wandering the streets because it's too dangerous for them to sleep. They sleep during the day. Also check out the libraries, they'll be there as well.

[butterfly77]

35. But , where is our mighty media ,...

they won't say shit they will show a short clip about one or two families and they will pick Detroit, so that folks will say its only detroit, or they already have a high unemployment rate...Sixty minutes,Dateline,and shows like these should tell the stories ...

[Le Taz Hot]

45. Well, now, see,

they cannot possibly cover Brangelina, Brittany & K-Fed (now Fed Ex), "Tomkat's" wedding AND the homeless. There are priorities, you know. (Sheesh!) :eyes: ;-)

[nam78_two]

34. Yes but I am in new city

and don't know if its par for the course here :(...

Its very sad cause there are fewer homeless shelters here than there in the city I used to live in...

I have just started helping out at one and at this one they sometimes have to send people away if they run out of food apparently :(...usually the volunteers try to make up the difference, but apparently at times they can't...

[EFerrari]

37. Yes. I know a few who live in this neighborhood and yesterday

met someone new who needed to find a place for treatment for tb.

The weather just turned colder, too.

:(

[tammywammy]

40. Rarely do I see a homeless person

I would venture to say I see maybe one a month max, with many months never seeing any.

[butterfly77]

47. They hide them when there is going to be ...

some type of large event or they think that a lot of vistors from other places will see them.

[Phredicles]

41. They're everywhere in LA

Big city + good weather. I couldn't say if there were more now than usual. But there sure aren't any fewer, either. And I can't tell that helping these people is a priority with anyone.

[cwydro]

42. Many many.

I live in the Keys...and every year when it gets colder up North, they flock down here. Unfortunately, many are opportunists who take advantage of the tourists. No one who genuinely wants a place to live would move down here with no money.

Yes, we have a large caring community and no one goes hungry down here. The county provides a "safe zone" in which to sleep. However, many will not go there, because no alcohol or drugs are allowed.

I have mixed feeling on the subject of the homeless. Of course, people who are legitimately homeless from falling on hard times or kicked out of an apartment through no fault of theirs are one thing; the mentally ill are another...but there are a lot of the opportunists out there too. If I am cursed or spit at again for not having a spare cigarette (I don't smoke), I just might have to tell one of them what I think of him.

[catmandu57]

48. Here we have mostly the hidden homeless

People doubling up with family and friends, there isn't a shortage of housing it's just been priced way over the head of most people.
Down the road a piece is a regional center for the mentally ill, there used to be a state hospital there until they shut it down and turned it into a prison.
Many people with mental problems still gravitate to this town, it's also a dumping point for other people's problem populations. There was a very good place along the river there to make a camp, and there was a bushville growing down there.
The city however, decided that they needed a riverfront park there along with a river walk to connect the casino and another park, the homeless who had been living there for at least a decade maybe longer were pushed out.
I don't know where they've ended up.

[Dorian Gray]

49. I live in NYC...

they're always here. Though there are waves, I don't think it's much worse now than a year ago.