Do you 'walk on by' ?

[eris]

I mostly ignore them.



I live in a major city. Downtown is full of them, and most of them really are just drug addicts. When I go downtown I get approached at least 5 times.


so, I just "walk on by". But there have been a few isolated incidents where I gave people food.

[ZEGH8578]

if they approach me directly, i will give them a hurried and subtle "no can do" sign, that so far, they understand fine..
if they insist, which is very rare, ill give them a cig :b

['andersom']

Depends. Will say hello or something like that at least.

In a bigger city where I have to be now and then, I meet lots, and I will say hi or something like that. Funny, I think they know me by now, they hardly ever ask me for something. Would they, and I would have some change, they'd get some.

Here in the village, only once in a blue moon, there is a homeless person selling a homeless magazine at the supermarket. Certainly in the beginning, I was sure that their bus ticket to get here was more expensive than the amount of money I had to do groceries. So, just a hello was what they'd get.

I feel no need to ignore people who are homeless. I know it is very easy to get to that stage.

[odeon]

I don't often give them change. There are far too many "pros" begging around here and it's easy enough to find shelter and food--the fact is that you don't actually have to be homeless in Sweden. You choose to be. Sure, you might not have your own room and they might not tolerate that you drink or smoke while there, but you get a hot meal and a bed.

['andersom']

I don't often give them change. There are far too many "pros" begging around here and it's easy enough to find shelter and food--the fact is that you don't actually have to be homeless in Sweden. You choose to be. Sure, you might not have your own room and they might not tolerate that you drink or smoke while there, but you get a hot meal and a bed.

I hardly get asked for change, also because of the possibilities that are there for homeless people.

Here you can get an allowance if you are homeless. Same as the minimum income people get when they end up at the final financial "safetynet", but without money needed for rent and such. And some get a permit to sell magazines or make music.

There is shelter, and a way to get food for most too. But, there isn't enough shelter to warrant a bed for everyone here all the time.

Don't know how it is now. Couple of years ago, big part of homeless newbies consisted of families with kids. Can't imagine how hard it must be living in the streets with little kids, certainly when they never were used to live in hardship before.

[eris]

In my city, there are homeless shelters but they cost 10$ a day and are dangerous places full of drug addicts. If you have a corner somewhere it's better than the shelters. In the winter churches sometimes open up.

in my neighborhood, there is a place called "the beach"

there are abandoned cars, and people sit there and drink out of brown paper bags.

It is almost something out of a movie.


Also, I know someone who chooses to be homeless. He is like a friend of a friend and a good bit older than me. Like 10 years ago he had a wife and a kid and a job. Now he is just an alcoholic like most of my old friends. He doesn't want to pay child support, or alimony, so he just drinks all day and lives in an abandoned house and eats out of garbage cans. He found out that my brother is the manager of a restaurant and bothered the hell out of him for food. He once came to my house with some girl that smelled of piss till I told him to buzz off.

yeah, a lot of them really are just alcoholic scum. The ones who just got bad luck likely find a way out eventually.

['andersom']

The homeless people I see mostly are either addicts, or given up by the psychiatric help system I think. And those two things can be closely related to eachother too. Some people just can't be "fixed" to be fitting into the minimal "normal" ways of life that are needed to live in a house and are way too good to institutionalise.

[RageBeoulve]

No. Go away.

[bodie]

I think the problem here is that you can't get any 'benefit's' unless you have an address,  you can't get a place off the housing
unless you claim benefits? ? ?  Well you can apply for properties but only if you have an address  

It's bizarre really.

There are shelters, B&B's too, but mostly they are underfunded or completely dependent on charity.  There is not enough places.  Well not
where i live.  They are first come first served basis, and just because you get in somewhere one night it is not guaranteed for the next night
as you get booted out in the day and the whole process starts again.  It must be very humiliating.  

They don't take dogs either.

['andersom']

I think the problem here is that you can't get any 'benefit's' unless you have an address,  you can't get a place off the housing
unless you claim benefits? ? ?  Well you can apply for properties but only if you have an address  

It's bizarre really.

There are shelters, B&B's too, but mostly they are underfunded or completely dependent on charity.  There is not enough places.  Well not
where i live.  They are first come first served basis, and just because you get in somewhere one night it is not guaranteed for the next night
as you get booted out in the day and the whole process starts again.  It must be very humiliating.  

They don't take dogs either.

Here you can get benefits, if you can get a substitute address. Salvation Army can give that in many cities. Once you get that, you can get benefits. Less than someone with a house, because you will not have the costs for having a house. But, you can get a minimum income.
Those who are that alienated from society that they can't do that, they go without money indeed. And then paying for a shelter for the night will be no option either.

[bodie]

I think the problem here is that you can't get any 'benefit's' unless you have an address,  you can't get a place off the housing
unless you claim benefits? ? ?  Well you can apply for properties but only if you have an address  

It's bizarre really.

There are shelters, B&B's too, but mostly they are underfunded or completely dependent on charity.  There is not enough places.  Well not
where i live.  They are first come first served basis, and just because you get in somewhere one night it is not guaranteed for the next night
as you get booted out in the day and the whole process starts again.  It must be very humiliating.  

They don't take dogs either.

Here you can get benefits, if you can get a substitute address. Salvation Army can give that in many cities. Once you get that, you can get benefits. Less than someone with a house, because you will not have the costs for having a house. But, you can get a minimum income.
Those who are that alienated from society that they can't do that, they go without money indeed. And then paying for a shelter for the night will be no option either.

That sounds much better than here.  I think there is also some difficulty with 16-18 year olds here,  i don't know exactly, but i believe the govt stopped issuing benefit
to that age unless they in further education.  imagine the hardship faced by kids who are 'in care'  as  in a 'children's home',  - when they hit 16 they are no longer in 'care'
but unless they get a job asap they are pretty much fucked

[Squidusa]

I tend to give them money if I have it.

It's more for my own sake as I'd feel bad if I didn't 

[Adam]

I would rather live on the streets with my dog than in a shelter where I'd have to abandon her to get in

[DukeNukem]

I've never really encountered any hobos, even though I have had a few people at the bus station asking me for change or to use my cell phone... NO!