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Am I the only person deeply shocked by this guy’s significant level of ignorance? The first 70 to 80% of his article could essentially be surmised as ‘Hey, home

by KoZeN 16y ago

Am I the only person deeply shocked by this guy’s significant level of ignorance? The first 70 to 80% of his article could essentially be surmised as ‘Hey, homelessness is easy as long as you put some thought into it.’ There is a reason homelessness is a vicious cycle and he didn’t even come close to discovering that. Fine, he met some truly decent, capable people living on the streets but the vast majority are there purely because they are stuck in said cycle. Be it alcohol, drugs, criminal convictions or a combination of the aforementioned, most people on the streets are there for a reason beyond their immediate control and not because they were simply the victim of bad luck. Most "real" homeless people who have temporarily fallen on hard times rarely ask for money in any of these ways. This summed it up for me. ‘real’ homeless people…that attitude actually hurts my brain. I’ll give the guy credit for giving it a go but he has seriously missed the point. SOURCE: 1st hand experience for just under a year of my life. Unquestionably the hardest year of my life.

dgreensp 16y ago
So "bad luck" would be a reason within their immediate control? It sounds like you and the blogger are both saying that most people asking for money on the street need a lot more than money to change their situation. I often think about this myself when I pass one; what if I gave them $100? $1000? Would it get them off the street? What's your take on this?
- KoZeN 16y ago
  The fact is, money won't get the majority of people off the street. That being said, when I give money to homeless people I don't give it with the hope that they may take the first step towards assimilating with regular society, I give it with the hope that it may pay for their next meal or even help towards putting a roof over their head for the night. I can personally guarantee you that if someone handed me £100k it would change my life exponentially and allow me to turn things around because I have the drive and determination to do so. If the same person handed me £1k it wouldn't change my life but it would relieve a lot of pressure when it comes to bills and so on. Be it £100,000 or £1,000, either donation would be hugely appreciated and help me enormously. For someone who has no money & doesn't know where their next meal is coming from then I guarantee they will have the same attitude if you took a couple of zero's off those amounts.

by KoZeN 16y ago

dgreensp 16y ago

So "bad luck" would be a reason within their immediate control? It sounds like you and the blogger are both saying that most people asking for money on the street need a lot more than money to change their situation. I often think about this myself when I pass one; what if I gave them $100? $1000? Would it get them off the street? What's your take on this?

KoZeN 16y ago
The fact is, money won't get the majority of people off the street. That being said, when I give money to homeless people I don't give it with the hope that they may take the first step towards assimilating with regular society, I give it with the hope that it may pay for their next meal or even help towards putting a roof over their head for the night. I can personally guarantee you that if someone handed me £100k it would change my life exponentially and allow me to turn things around because I have the drive and determination to do so. If the same person handed me £1k it wouldn't change my life but it would relieve a lot of pressure when it comes to bills and so on. Be it £100,000 or £1,000, either donation would be hugely appreciated and help me enormously. For someone who has no money & doesn't know where their next meal is coming from then I guarantee they will have the same attitude if you took a couple of zero's off those amounts.