8 ms·

I lost everything due to Covid in 2020. I have been on and off homeless since. Not able to find affordable or stable housing. I wrote three books, one of which

I lost everything due to Covid in 2020. I have been on and off homeless since. Not able to find affordable or stable housing. I wrote three books, one of which is top ten on Apple Books for "design system", while living in parking lots at the library. I get continually harassed and fired for things I cant help. Americans are cruel to the homeless. Its quite disturbing. I have met so many that quite literally will never get out of their situation. No facilities, no showers. One lost a leg due to infection. Never trust your eyes only and most humans these days dont even use theirs very good.

changoplatanero 4y ago
Our government collects a lot of taxes for helping people like you. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that that’s not working but do you have any insight into why none of the homeless assistance projects aren’t capable of bringing you back to a stable situation?
- cvccvroomvroom 4y ago
  It's a haphazard, inconsistent, bureaucratic, unkind, demeaning patchwork that isn't funded enough to meet the needs of people left-out in the actual cold. It's not meant to help people improve their situation because it treats people consistently like lazy criminals who don't want help and can't be helped. - Section 8 housing takes forever. - Work programs are for menial jobs that don't pay anywhere close to livable wages. - Cash assistance amounts to $5 per day. - Food assistance amounts to $7 per day (without a means of refrigeration). - Medic-aid is barely accepted by any doctors except random ones. Medicare with SSDI takes years to get. - Make just enough to try to get ahead, then you can't afford medications. Working severely penalizes the destitute into even more impossible situations. - Everything takes longer and is more difficult and more expensive: laundry, showering, and transportation. - Social workers don't go outdoors in most of America. They sit at desks, fill out paperwork, and randomly stop benefits based on errors, assumptions, and their lack of communication.
  - ceeplusplus 4y ago
    > Medic-aid is barely accepted by any doctors except random ones What makes you think any sort of government intervention will solve this? If you implement universal healthcare these doctors will still have revenue streams from rich people and won't need to take poor patients. You can't force doctors to treat people they don't want to.
    - the_only_law 4y ago
      They never said that. All they did was describe why the current American system sucks.
    - vladvasiliu 4y ago
      An even more absurd form of this is happening in France. There used to be some "abuse" (according to the national health insurance administration) where people would, supposedly, try to see specialists for no reason. So they figured that everyone should have a "family doctor" and, with a few exceptions (dentist, eyes, maybe others) you always have to go through this doctor first. Now most of these doctors are "full" and won't take any new clients. You don't need to be poor, they don't even ask your situation. If you call them up, they'll ask you if the doc knows you. If not, they hang up. And even if they're your family doctor, you better hope your cough isn't anything too urgent, 'cause they're in no hurry to see you. Of course, there are doctors who will see you, but usually they charge extra, so they're not fully covered by the "free" healthcare, if at all.
      - baby 4y ago
        That’s mostly a problem in small towns, not that it makes the problem OK
        vladvasiliu 4y ago
        From what I hear it's brutal in small towns. My post above came from my own experience, living in Paris proper.
        4y ago
- rdubs333 4y ago
  urban campgrounds. even Rome had showers. people like me. i am a web developer and artist. i never took no help from any of your tax dollars. i paid my way or asked permission. very rarely broke laws. racially discriminated, income discriminated. people like me is part of the problem
  - soared 4y ago
    Seems weird to complain about a bad situation and then refuse the help that exists.
  - rdubs333 4y ago
    I wouldn't say refuse, I was accepted to a program but got mugged and had to move to new location only to get mugged again. I think you are grossly over estimating the help there is or the strings tied to that help. I do still have legs and a brain and I work as much as I can, give back but I also dont sell out my work or myself or my goals or freedom.
    - Avicebron 4y ago
      why do you refer to yourself on your website in third person? genuinely curious, as marketing goes, thats a red flag. also the load time is wack, and the stats aren't backed up, im confused
      - rdubs333 4y ago
        red flag for what? ask me anything. good feedback but i guess i been so many roles over years i rather be objective about my accomplishments. the man, the myth, the legend!!!
        ham-sandwich 4y ago
        You should seek therapy, there’s a few red flags here
        Avicebron 4y ago
- lupire 4y ago
  One of the major problems is that inexpensive housing is illegal. India has slums, and Brazil has favelas. They aren't good but they are better than the street. US used to have rooming houses. Now, if you cant afford an apartment, and can't get an expensive one gifted from the state, you have to live in the street. (Not in your car; that's usually illegal too.)
  - rdubs333 4y ago
    russia has house shares that work good for them
- kingcharles 4y ago
  If you're an immigrant like me, then a lot of these services are not available to you in the USA. Or, if you do take advantage of any of them you are permanently excluded for applying for citizenship.
hattmall 4y ago
I don't understand how is this possible exactly? A minimum wage job will get you at least $900 a month. You can get an apartment for $500. Health Insurance is $30, utilities $200. You can get a minimum of $50 per week in food stamps. You will get about $1000 in EITC each year. That is with bare-bones, $7.25 an hour minimum wage and the lowest level of assistance. With a tiny bit of advancement you can afford much more.
- rhacker 4y ago
  I agree with you. But I think some people are so sick of hearing about $400k salaries and those people complaining of a pay cut since inflation outpaced their $15k raise in 2022 that they might be "fighting the system" by living in tents next to rich people making $415k.
  - hattmall 4y ago
    That may be, but I didn't get that from the OP.
- me_me_mu_mu 4y ago
  Are you trolling, not in the US, or from the past?
  - hattmall 4y ago
    No, I'm not trolling and I live in the US. What part of the specifics do you take issue with?
    - objectivetruth 4y ago
      I'll bite! >>You can get an apartment for $500. Health Insurance is $30, utilities $200 Right off the bat, you're not "getting an apartment for $500." MAYBE you can find someone trustworthy who can rent you a bedroom for $500/month in some cities but: As of 2020, monthly rent averaged $1,164 nationwide; median rent is $1,104. -- https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/renting-statistics https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/renting-statistics Only 7% of US counties have 1-bedroom apartments affordable on the prevailing minimum wage. -- https://reports.nlihc.org/oor https://reports.nlihc.org/oor Also, you need first month's rent ($500), security deposit ($500-$1000), utility deposit ($50 - $500), and sometimes last month's rent ($500). So now we're talking a few grand. Better hope you spent the past three months working that guaranteed-40-hours/week minimum wage job without spending a single penny of your wages! I also hope that your job is very close to your new apartment because you're going to need to spend a LOT of time chasing all the benefits that you seem to think are easily handed out and you don't have money for transit. Nope, you can't afford to take a whole day off work to wait in line for a free transit pass -- after all, you're going to spend $700 of this month's $900 income on housing and utilities! At least make up numbers from this century if you're going to pull this Horatio Alger stuff :-)
AussieWog93 4y ago
Just an offhand comment, but looking through your personal site[1] makes it seems like you're living this amazing life and smashing goals. One of those real "Instagram vs. Reality" contrasts. [1]https://rwoodall.com/ https://rwoodall.com/
- rdubs333 4y ago
  thanks for viewing my portfolio i worked really hard for those pieces and accomplishments. not trying to be anything its got its ups m downs

changoplatanero 4y ago

Our government collects a lot of taxes for helping people like you. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that that’s not working but do you have any insight into why none of the homeless assistance projects aren’t capable of bringing you back to a stable situation?

cvccvroomvroom 4y ago
It's a haphazard, inconsistent, bureaucratic, unkind, demeaning patchwork that isn't funded enough to meet the needs of people left-out in the actual cold. It's not meant to help people improve their situation because it treats people consistently like lazy criminals who don't want help and can't be helped. - Section 8 housing takes forever. - Work programs are for menial jobs that don't pay anywhere close to livable wages. - Cash assistance amounts to $5 per day. - Food assistance amounts to $7 per day (without a means of refrigeration). - Medic-aid is barely accepted by any doctors except random ones. Medicare with SSDI takes years to get. - Make just enough to try to get ahead, then you can't afford medications. Working severely penalizes the destitute into even more impossible situations. - Everything takes longer and is more difficult and more expensive: laundry, showering, and transportation. - Social workers don't go outdoors in most of America. They sit at desks, fill out paperwork, and randomly stop benefits based on errors, assumptions, and their lack of communication.
- ceeplusplus 4y ago
  > Medic-aid is barely accepted by any doctors except random ones What makes you think any sort of government intervention will solve this? If you implement universal healthcare these doctors will still have revenue streams from rich people and won't need to take poor patients. You can't force doctors to treat people they don't want to.
  - the_only_law 4y ago
    They never said that. All they did was describe why the current American system sucks.
  - vladvasiliu 4y ago
    An even more absurd form of this is happening in France. There used to be some "abuse" (according to the national health insurance administration) where people would, supposedly, try to see specialists for no reason. So they figured that everyone should have a "family doctor" and, with a few exceptions (dentist, eyes, maybe others) you always have to go through this doctor first. Now most of these doctors are "full" and won't take any new clients. You don't need to be poor, they don't even ask your situation. If you call them up, they'll ask you if the doc knows you. If not, they hang up. And even if they're your family doctor, you better hope your cough isn't anything too urgent, 'cause they're in no hurry to see you. Of course, there are doctors who will see you, but usually they charge extra, so they're not fully covered by the "free" healthcare, if at all.
    - baby 4y ago
      That’s mostly a problem in small towns, not that it makes the problem OK
      - vladvasiliu 4y ago
        From what I hear it's brutal in small towns. My post above came from my own experience, living in Paris proper.
      - 4y ago
rdubs333 4y ago
urban campgrounds. even Rome had showers. people like me. i am a web developer and artist. i never took no help from any of your tax dollars. i paid my way or asked permission. very rarely broke laws. racially discriminated, income discriminated. people like me is part of the problem
- soared 4y ago
  Seems weird to complain about a bad situation and then refuse the help that exists.
- rdubs333 4y ago
  I wouldn't say refuse, I was accepted to a program but got mugged and had to move to new location only to get mugged again. I think you are grossly over estimating the help there is or the strings tied to that help. I do still have legs and a brain and I work as much as I can, give back but I also dont sell out my work or myself or my goals or freedom.
  - Avicebron 4y ago
    why do you refer to yourself on your website in third person? genuinely curious, as marketing goes, thats a red flag. also the load time is wack, and the stats aren't backed up, im confused
    - rdubs333 4y ago
      red flag for what? ask me anything. good feedback but i guess i been so many roles over years i rather be objective about my accomplishments. the man, the myth, the legend!!!
      - ham-sandwich 4y ago
        You should seek therapy, there’s a few red flags here
      - Avicebron 4y ago
lupire 4y ago
One of the major problems is that inexpensive housing is illegal. India has slums, and Brazil has favelas. They aren't good but they are better than the street. US used to have rooming houses. Now, if you cant afford an apartment, and can't get an expensive one gifted from the state, you have to live in the street. (Not in your car; that's usually illegal too.)
- rdubs333 4y ago
  russia has house shares that work good for them
kingcharles 4y ago
If you're an immigrant like me, then a lot of these services are not available to you in the USA. Or, if you do take advantage of any of them you are permanently excluded for applying for citizenship.

hattmall 4y ago

I don't understand how is this possible exactly? A minimum wage job will get you at least $900 a month. You can get an apartment for $500. Health Insurance is $30, utilities $200. You can get a minimum of $50 per week in food stamps. You will get about $1000 in EITC each year. That is with bare-bones, $7.25 an hour minimum wage and the lowest level of assistance. With a tiny bit of advancement you can afford much more.

rhacker 4y ago
I agree with you. But I think some people are so sick of hearing about $400k salaries and those people complaining of a pay cut since inflation outpaced their $15k raise in 2022 that they might be "fighting the system" by living in tents next to rich people making $415k.
- hattmall 4y ago
  That may be, but I didn't get that from the OP.
me_me_mu_mu 4y ago
Are you trolling, not in the US, or from the past?
- hattmall 4y ago
  No, I'm not trolling and I live in the US. What part of the specifics do you take issue with?
  - objectivetruth 4y ago
    I'll bite! >>You can get an apartment for $500. Health Insurance is $30, utilities $200 Right off the bat, you're not "getting an apartment for $500." MAYBE you can find someone trustworthy who can rent you a bedroom for $500/month in some cities but: As of 2020, monthly rent averaged $1,164 nationwide; median rent is $1,104. -- https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/renting-statistics https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/renting-statistics Only 7% of US counties have 1-bedroom apartments affordable on the prevailing minimum wage. -- https://reports.nlihc.org/oor https://reports.nlihc.org/oor Also, you need first month's rent ($500), security deposit ($500-$1000), utility deposit ($50 - $500), and sometimes last month's rent ($500). So now we're talking a few grand. Better hope you spent the past three months working that guaranteed-40-hours/week minimum wage job without spending a single penny of your wages! I also hope that your job is very close to your new apartment because you're going to need to spend a LOT of time chasing all the benefits that you seem to think are easily handed out and you don't have money for transit. Nope, you can't afford to take a whole day off work to wait in line for a free transit pass -- after all, you're going to spend $700 of this month's $900 income on housing and utilities! At least make up numbers from this century if you're going to pull this Horatio Alger stuff :-)

AussieWog93 4y ago

Just an offhand comment, but looking through your personal site[1] makes it seems like you're living this amazing life and smashing goals. One of those real "Instagram vs. Reality" contrasts. [1]https://rwoodall.com/ https://rwoodall.com/

rdubs333 4y ago
thanks for viewing my portfolio i worked really hard for those pieces and accomplishments. not trying to be anything its got its ups m downs