4 ms·

After the pandemic I noticed a lot more homeless people traveling through our area. The actual town I live in is about 5 miles from the I-29 interstate but I sa

After the pandemic I noticed a lot more homeless people traveling through our area. The actual town I live in is about 5 miles from the I-29 interstate but I saw a lot more people trying to panhandle/thumb rides. I've seen people trying to go north for oil field work...walking from North Carolina. I-29 goes basically to the Canada border. An hour south is Saint Joseph, and there were always people panhandling around Walmart. Last time I went, I saw they had put up "Don't support panhandling" signs all around that area. "Go die somewhere else" seems to be the solution most places take to homelessness.

sergers 3y ago
Yea generally... Unfortunately? (Who am I to say, I am not doing anything to help). This has always been the case, I remember many years ago(30+) east coast/central cities shipping the homeless on 1 way greyhound to the west coast.... Maybe that explains Washington state(Portland/seattle), San Francisco, Vancouver BC etc
- I_Am_Nous 3y ago
  I was just talking with a coworker about this issue, where even if someone wants to break the cycle of homelessness the deck is completely stacked against them. People tell them to "get a job" when nobody is going to hire an unwashed homeless person for anything. They need to come back clean, have money to commute, and be reliable -- all of which are very difficult for a homeless person to struggle against. The obvious issue is that people tend to be homeless for a reason, and people always assume it's because they are drug addicted, so finding someone willing to hire the homeless in the first place (smelly or not) is a miracle. There is no easy solution but the "solution" most places take is throwing the baby out with the bathwater and burying it so no one has to see anything that hints at society being imperfect. It's easier to blame the homeless for failing society than it is to acknowledge that society has failed many homeless people who were willing to contribute to society, but were unwanted and ignored rather than helped.
deleted 3y ago
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sergers 3y ago

Yea generally... Unfortunately? (Who am I to say, I am not doing anything to help). This has always been the case, I remember many years ago(30+) east coast/central cities shipping the homeless on 1 way greyhound to the west coast.... Maybe that explains Washington state(Portland/seattle), San Francisco, Vancouver BC etc

I_Am_Nous 3y ago
I was just talking with a coworker about this issue, where even if someone wants to break the cycle of homelessness the deck is completely stacked against them. People tell them to "get a job" when nobody is going to hire an unwashed homeless person for anything. They need to come back clean, have money to commute, and be reliable -- all of which are very difficult for a homeless person to struggle against. The obvious issue is that people tend to be homeless for a reason, and people always assume it's because they are drug addicted, so finding someone willing to hire the homeless in the first place (smelly or not) is a miracle. There is no easy solution but the "solution" most places take is throwing the baby out with the bathwater and burying it so no one has to see anything that hints at society being imperfect. It's easier to blame the homeless for failing society than it is to acknowledge that society has failed many homeless people who were willing to contribute to society, but were unwanted and ignored rather than helped.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]