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OT: As my wife and I left this small shopping center in Morganton today we had to stop at a traffic

lol it works in just about anywhere its been yet people just dont want to do it because SoCiAlisM

Researchers: " Hey this really works"

People who wont click on a study: "It wont work because of stuff"


 
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Good contribution there potsie





NYC has nearly 100,000 homeless people. To account for spouses and children, let's be generous and reduce the number to 50,000 homeless family units. Where do you propose coming up with 50,000 homes?
 
NYC has nearly 100,000 homeless people. To account for spouses and children, let's be generous and reduce the number to 50,000 homeless family units. Where do you propose coming up with 50,000 homes?
Homeless people will not flock to NYC if there are adequate housing in other places. Do you believe all those people were born in NYC?

Why cant they be provided housing in surrounding areas? Do you think the majority of homeless will not relocate for offered homes?

Also you dont need homes for the model, apartment complexes also work.

There are alot of answers to that, I came up with those in like ten seconds
 
California might be bad. Never been there. But I have been to New Orleans numerous times. Terrible with the panhandlers and thieves. Won’t go back.
 
I've been nice to a couple of needy people in my community and you know what it gets you? A constant hand sticking out for you to fill with cash, or give a ride, etc. One guy, an alcoholic who I've never known to be employed came to my door recently. I was already in bed. Actually, he fell in my yard and my daughter told me. By the time I got clothes on he was up. He was wearing a hospital gown, pants and a jacket. He said he had walked to the store to get beer but they were closed. I didn't say anything. Then he asked me to drive him to a store to get beer. I said no. Then he asked me if I had some beer he could have. I told him leave and don't come back. Sad thing is I'll see him again one day during the middle of the day and he'll be sober and polite. He's not homeless or mentally impaired. He's just got his hand out for whatever people will give him. He has come to my door trying to sell me some crap I don't want or need to raise money for alcohol. It's the worst thing about living in town. The police cracked down on panhandling, but before that they used to come to our door regularly. Most you could tell had drug issues. It got to where I would go inside if I saw someone I recognized as a bum heading my way.
 
you all should see California now. It's atrocious. Homeless camps everywhere- tents, tarps, cars, ancient RVs. They live all over and walk around at night looking for things to steal and checking all the car doors. As many have said- most are addicted and mentally ill. There are plenty of do-good programs to help them but many just like the lifestyle. The public is at a breaking point with this stuff. People absolutely hate it. The Gov may get recalled over the "bum explosion", the Covid missteps, the fires, the unemployment debacle, businesses leaving (HP was a big physiological blow), lack of illegal immigration enforcement. Been a bad 10 years in the golden state!

Don't even get me started in San Francisco- was a jewel 20 years ago- now a shithole.

Sad!
I stayed in San Francisco a year and a half ago, visiting family in Napa Valley. It's a crying shame that things are that bad there. Homeless were digging through trash recepticals for food scraps in front of staff and patrons. Wear boots or thick soled shoes for protection from dirty hypodermic needles in the streets, especially if you have any notion of hitting tenderloin.
 
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I've worked in human services programs for 35 years and know this population far better than you my friend. For 16 of those years I worked for Vocational Rehabilitation ( my masters from USC is in Rehab Counseling ) which mission is to provide services for people with disabilities that make them employable and then to place them on the job. Panhandlers were often my clients as most have some type of diagnosed disability. For 19 years I worked for DHM and provided mental heath services for the same populations. I know the world of paranoid schizophrenia which makes individuals turn to homelessness. I interned at the SC State Hospital during grad school. I also worked a second job with DMH transitioning adults from the hospital back into the community. Unfortunately we lost many of those to the streets.

Easy street money means a quick fix in the alley way for those suffering from addiction. One thing I learned early on is you can't help those that aren't willing to help themselves nor can you rehabilitate people against their will. In all my years with this population I've met very few homeless people who were just down on their luck.

Any mental heath professional will tell you that enabling is counter therapeutic.
Just because you worked in the area doesnt mean you know the real deal....MY FRIEND. There are alot of people that work in different industries and jobs that truly dont have a clue. Heck, how many politicians have a clue about the people they are supposed to serve? You may have been around them but doesnt mean you "knew" them. Its about relationships, not job. The government doesnt handle things properly because they dont quite get what is going on. I never said "throw money at them" at all. It has nothing to do with that because it does perpetuate the cycle. It is about relationships and knowing people that helps them. Heck, a person asked my wife if she was afraid to get Covid by being around so many downtown and they not wearing masks. She responded the way one of them did to someone by saying that no one gets close enough to them for them to even get Covid.
Now yes I know they can get it still, but the context of that is people dont really get to know them to know all of their problems. Again, working human services does not solve problems because I have seen those types of jobs that miss the point so severely that people get hurt real bad. Look at DSS for one. I saw first hand several children being abused and neglected by someone who DSS placed them with. Myself and a few others quickly got those children out of that home and got that lady away from taking children in anymore.
How often did you take your spare time to go out and meet them where they were, to fully understand them and their issues?
I appreciate your efforts in your 35 year career and I am sure you did make a difference to some but part of the problem is that far to many have fallen through the cracks and are forgotten about. The issue is bigger than just that service and what it can and does do. There is not the ability to truly give anyone or anything the time to help.
 
Rudy Giuliani got them off the streets when he was mayor of NYC. They were given shelter, beds, food, and help in finding jobs, etc.
 
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True story.
Since I am in Med Sales I travel a lot. Since I am old and fat for exercise I walk 3 to 5 miles.
I am in Winston Salem , the hotel is at a mall and my first sales Call is at 1:00 pm and I am getting my walk in around at 11:00.
I see 3 people get out of a new Camry. The 2 walk to one exit and the 3rd a different exit. An hour later I leave the hotel and go out of one exit.
The man is holding a sign “Father of 3, laid off, need help to make mortgage”. For some reason I “ u turn” back into mall and go to the other exit and man.
He is holding the exact same sign!!!!

I was waiting for the red light and I couldn’t help it. I rolled down the window and yelled “ they are towing your Camry”

he got some work in that day as he took off at a full sprint

A couple years ago cops arrested a couple of panhandlers at one of the I-95 exits in the town where I work after they got in a fight with another panhandler over turf. Turns out two of them where a husband and wife team out of Effingham County.
Thank goodness they were here to put a roof on my house. They can't draw welfare and must work which means they're tax payers not tax burdens.


Yep. I got nothing but respect for people who risk everything to come here to work hard. Look at most of the manual labor jobs around this part of Georgia and I'd say 80 percent of the actual physical work is done by Hispanics.

When the other poster said low skill labor I thought he was referring to high school graduates who eked by with C averages and can't get in college, or went to college but didn't learn anything, have no vocation and were spoiled by momma and daddy and suddenly find they can't support themselves.
 
And another true story.
I am on the west side of Raliegh getting my fat man walking shoes and noticed a man, woman and two kids pan handling.
A week later on my side of Raliegh I see the same group. As I pass by I notice the man leaving the others and going to a nearby van. I pull in nearby and watch. He opens the back of the van and he has a 2x2x2 safe in the van. He opens it and it is stuffed with cash. Cured me from giving away money.
 
light to get on the main highway. And right at the traffic light there was this poor homeless man sitting between the traffic light and a Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant holding a sign that read "Homeless God Bless". And right beside the KFC there was a sign that read "Now Hiring". It just seemed strange to me that the homeless man didn't take advantage of the hiring opportunity. Although, granted he may have had mental problems and wasn't able to work. Plus, he looked very dirty and would have had to gotten cleaned up and gotten a clean change of clothes in order to be hired.

But it just seems to me there are a lot of opportunities in the work place even now for those that truly want to work. Maybe I should have stopped and talked to him to see if there was anything I could do to help him get in a better place. But this has always worked for me, help yourself, work hard and things will workout well for you most of the time. But, as I said maybe he wasn't able to help himself. Poor man.


Yesterday I saw an old man limping as he walked down the street in my direction. As he got closer I noticed he had only one shoe. As we approached each other I asked if he had lost a shoe. He replied..."NO ..found one!"
 
I wondered these things sometimes myself before. However, my wife has been doing some work with the Homeless in downtown Columbia for several months now on the side. She talks with several of them and tries to see what they really need. A couple of the biggest issues with them getting a job doesnt always deal with not having the drive, etc. It involves things out of their hands. Just about every place they want to apply, they need a phone number as a contact and they dont have that. They also need to list a residency and they dont have that either. They can only stay in certain places for a small length of time and use that as a residence but it is not long term. If they dont have a phone or residence, most places wont talk with them about a job. They would not be able to contact them about how application went, if they go the job, how do they get them if they need to "call" them in? There is a whole lot that affects this.
Dont get me wrong, she has seen SEVERAL that are all about handouts and as I told her, they are like the seagulls in Finding Nemo, they look at things and say "Mine, mine, mine" and almost fight for things just to get them whether they need them or not. However, there are alot more that do not have the resources needed to get a job. Also, with the library not open to people coming in, they can not get on a computer to fill out applications or get help to fill them out. I think it is important to think about when you see someone wanting help, it is not because they dont want to earn it, it is because they dont have the resources needed to get it.
Excellent post. Sometimes, we forget how Covid has just gummed up the works with everything. Most applications are now online only. The subject in OP could have walked into the KFC to speak with the manager about a job and they probably would have referred him to their website. With no computer and no phone, so much for that.
 
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In the 1960's and early 70's homelessness was not nearly so common. A major reason for that is the change in our commitment laws which means we no longer need state hospitals as those would be patients are now on the streets. It's perfectly legal to be mentally ill as long as a person is not a danger to self or others and that means DMH must program for them within the community. Before the commitment laws changed a physician or judge could admit or order people into long term treatment. When I started my work on Bull Street in 1969 there were thousands of patients that were committed there. It was like a small city with a commissary and even a morgue. Now these hospitals are all but empty as the law states that people with mental illness must receive treatment in the least restrictive environment.
 
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A few comments:
- I've went and fed/ handed out basic items to homeless multiple times. It is a bottomless pit.
- There are places with soup kitchens and even sleep over facilities. There is some help if they want it, depending on the location.
- some of them have jobs, but still live on the street because they can't afford a house. This is even worse due to the CV. There are a lot of people now living out of their cars.

-the ones with the folding cardboard signs near intersections seem to be part of some kind of business. I saw one that had a smartphone.
- Similar situation: same spot, same sign, but different person on a different day. 🙂 Or maybe they had a shift change? Someone was dropping these people off and then picking them up later. The folding cardboard sign is the tip off.
 
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I usually give a dollar. On Christmas if I pass one near a store, I'll stop and grab a bottle of Mad dog to give and wish a merry Xmas.
 
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I usually give a dollar. On Christmas if I pass one near a store, I'll stop and grab a bottle of Mad dog to give and wish a merry Xmas.
I don’t drink and had friends leave a bunch of beers at my house, dropped it off to a handful of transients and they lost it
 
Well... Let’s say he went into KFC and they ignored his smell and clothes and gave him a job. Federal minimum wage is $7.25/ hour. If they hired him FT- and let’s say he ROCKED the interview so they hired him on at a whopping $8!! 😃

8x40= $320/ week. Effective federal tax rate would be a large portion in the 10% bracket currently, remaining $6k or so of their WHOPPING $16,000 per year income would be taxed at 12%, with SC state taxes at like... 7% max (YES, he makes enough to get to the max rate)- as all tax brackets I believe it is tiered so let’s call his effective tax rate in SC 5%- allowing this guy to keep a whopping 84% of his pittance of an income...

In most months his total net income (BEFORE SSI or any other deductions) is $1075.

IOW- after SSI and any other deductions from his check he likely takes home well under $1,000 per month.

The average rent in SC for a one bedroom- $764. Good luck finding something anywhere close to that outside of slums like Allendale or Abbeville... I can assure you it is virtually
Impossible to find anything under $1,000 anywhere close to Columbia or any other city of any size!

What exactly does a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant do for this homeless man? It gives him the oh so favorable option of deciding between paying rent or eating.

Slightly OT- People opposing an increase to minimum wage are just flat ignorant. It has been at this level since around the time I graduated HS I believe- I am 42 years old!!!
 
Not a homeless situation but at least 5 years ago I was at the bank with my son to close out his account.we had to wait so I took a seat in the lobby, overhearing a conversation between a guy and teller .he was trying to cash a work/personal check that some woman gave him for doing a job.they wouldn’t cash it and told him he had to go to Lexington branch (we was in the Batesburg branch)he told the teller that he didn’t have the gas to go that far.he tried his hardest to get it cashed but they wouldn’t.as he was walking by me,I gave him $5.00 so he could go.not long after I went to pay my light bill at the office and was told that someone had paid it for me.i dont know if it was just a coincidence or just me getting blessed.I try and help when I can if it looks legit.I have never gave money to people on street corners tho.
 
Well... Let’s say he went into KFC and they ignored his smell and clothes and gave him a job. Federal minimum wage is $7.25/ hour. If they hired him FT- and let’s say he ROCKED the interview so they hired him on at a whopping $8!! 😃

8x40= $320/ week. Effective federal tax rate would be a large portion in the 10% bracket currently, remaining $6k or so of their WHOPPING $16,000 per year income would be taxed at 12%, with SC state taxes at like... 7% max (YES, he makes enough to get to the max rate)- as all tax brackets I believe it is tiered so let’s call his effective tax rate in SC 5%- allowing this guy to keep a whopping 84% of his pittance of an income...

In most months his total net income (BEFORE SSI or any other deductions) is $1075.

IOW- after SSI and any other deductions from his check he likely takes home well under $1,000 per month.

The average rent in SC for a one bedroom- $764. Good luck finding something anywhere close to that outside of slums like Allendale or Abbeville... I can assure you it is virtually
Impossible to find anything under $1,000 anywhere close to Columbia or any other city of any size!

What exactly does a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant do for this homeless man? It gives him the oh so favorable option of deciding between paying rent or eating.

Slightly OT- People opposing an increase to minimum wage are just flat ignorant. It has been at this level since around the time I graduated HS I believe- I am 42 years old!!!

Here is a good tool. He'd bring home more than $1000, but not much more.

https://www.adp.com/resources/tools/calculators/salary-paycheck-calculator.aspx
 
you all should see California now. It's atrocious. Homeless camps everywhere- tents, tarps, cars, ancient RVs. They live all over and walk around at night looking for things to steal and checking all the car doors. As many have said- most are addicted and mentally ill. There are plenty of do-good programs to help them but many just like the lifestyle. The public is at a breaking point with this stuff. People absolutely hate it. The Gov may get recalled over the "bum explosion", the Covid missteps, the fires, the unemployment debacle, businesses leaving (HP was a big physiological blow), lack of illegal immigration enforcement. Been a bad 10 years in the golden state!

Don't even get me started in San Francisco- was a jewel 20 years ago- now a shithole.

Sad!
There are a lot of working “homeless” in California that can’t afford housing on their jobs. A lot of billion dollar companies out there paying barely above minimum wage. If you can’t make it in SC on that you sure aren’t going to in California.
 
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Well... Let’s say he went into KFC and they ignored his smell and clothes and gave him a job. Federal minimum wage is $7.25/ hour. If they hired him FT- and let’s say he ROCKED the interview so they hired him on at a whopping $8!! 😃

8x40= $320/ week. Effective federal tax rate would be a large portion in the 10% bracket currently, remaining $6k or so of their WHOPPING $16,000 per year income would be taxed at 12%, with SC state taxes at like... 7% max (YES, he makes enough to get to the max rate)- as all tax brackets I believe it is tiered so let’s call his effective tax rate in SC 5%- allowing this guy to keep a whopping 84% of his pittance of an income...

In most months his total net income (BEFORE SSI or any other deductions) is $1075.

IOW- after SSI and any other deductions from his check he likely takes home well under $1,000 per month.

The average rent in SC for a one bedroom- $764. Good luck finding something anywhere close to that outside of slums like Allendale or Abbeville... I can assure you it is virtually
Impossible to find anything under $1,000 anywhere close to Columbia or any other city of any size!

What exactly does a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant do for this homeless man? It gives him the oh so favorable option of deciding between paying rent or eating.

Slightly OT- People opposing an increase to minimum wage are just flat ignorant. It has been at this level since around the time I graduated HS I believe- I am 42 years old!!!
Abbeville is anything but a slum dipshit. The downtown is historic and beautiful but your ass is probably too busy writing damn books on a forum to even acknowledge it.
 
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I was in Seattle before Covid-19 hit and they had cleaned up a lot of the homeless camps off I-5..but they (the homeless) have taken over the parks in Tacoma and Seattle....

It's my favorite place in the USA...when i used to visit in the 80-90's during my college and early working years, it was paradise to me...not so much anymore...I'm still thinking of retiring to Tacoma but maybe for only 4-5 months a year...and buy a place maybe in Florida for the rest of the time...which has it's set of problems with homelessness...
 
If we could get the mentally ill homeless in Columbia to take their psychotropic medication half our problems would be solved. Many of them are known to SCDMH and their cases and hospitizations are well documented. People suffering from paranoid schizophrenia are mistrustful of others and resist helpful interventions. They make their "impaired but conscious decision" to live on the streets even though they may have a home or family support system to return to. They will take handouts but getting the severe ones to cooperate and follow a treatment plan is all but impossible. I'm sure some of you have family members who suffer from a bipolar disorder. If so you know the terrible mood swings that lead to severe depression often followed by manic behavior. With meds these behaviors are usually controlled but the problems escalate when they stop those meds thinking they aren't needed anymore. In a controlled environment mental health workers can monitor clients as they take their meds but you can't do with homeless street people. Next time you give a handout to a homeless person with mental illness you are probably helping him to live on the streets and avoid treatment that your tax money supports.
 
Well I’ve got news for you, folks. You actually DID donate to the homeless through the 1.9 trillion package because the Earned Income Credit is going up, among others. The poorest Americans are getting a 20% salary increase while you get jack.
 
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Just because you worked in the area doesnt mean you know the real deal....MY FRIEND. There are alot of people that work in different industries and jobs that truly dont have a clue. Heck, how many politicians have a clue about the people they are supposed to serve? You may have been around them but doesnt mean you "knew" them. Its about relationships, not job. The government doesnt handle things properly because they dont quite get what is going on. I never said "throw money at them" at all. It has nothing to do with that because it does perpetuate the cycle. It is about relationships and knowing people that helps them. Heck, a person asked my wife if she was afraid to get Covid by being around so many downtown and they not wearing masks. She responded the way one of them did to someone by saying that no one gets close enough to them for them to even get Covid.
Now yes I know they can get it still, but the context of that is people dont really get to know them to know all of their problems. Again, working human services does not solve problems because I have seen those types of jobs that miss the point so severely that people get hurt real bad. Look at DSS for one. I saw first hand several children being abused and neglected by someone who DSS placed them with. Myself and a few others quickly got those children out of that home and got that lady away from taking children in anymore.
How often did you take your spare time to go out and meet them where they were, to fully understand them and their issues?
I appreciate your efforts in your 35 year career and I am sure you did make a difference to some but part of the problem is that far to many have fallen through the cracks and are forgotten about. The issue is bigger than just that service and what it can and does do. There is not the ability to truly give anyone or anything the time to help.

With our current homeless population good intentions may be honorable but aren't the answer.
 
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Well I’ve got news for you, folks. You actually DID donate to the homeless through the 1.9 trillion package because the Earned Income Credit is going up, among others. The poorest Americans are getting a 20% salary increase while you get jack.
Were you equally as concerned when the top 1% got a permanent tax break while you got a deferment?
 
And the old proverb says "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"
Thats no proverb I follow. I follow the greatest teacher of all time that says "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". If you were down on your luck or in need, would you like someone to just act like you dont matter and walk on by and scoff at you? No I doubt it.
 
Well I’ve got news for you, folks. You actually DID donate to the homeless through the 1.9 trillion package because the Earned Income Credit is going up, among others. The poorest Americans are getting a 20% salary increase while you get jack.
Good the poor deserve more money because they are literally in poverty
 
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You would be surprised how much mental/behavioral issues are helped solved by having a stable residency. Will it solve it all, no. But you cannot possibly plan to address mental/behavioral issues without a stable residency

Not as much as you think. The majority had stable residency when they began having the mental/behavioral issues. That was how they lost their homes/apartments to begin with.
 
Well I’ve got news for you, folks. You actually DID donate to the homeless through the 1.9 trillion package because the Earned Income Credit is going up, among others. The poorest Americans are getting a 20% salary increase while you get jack.

Seems like a good start. Thanks for sharing!
 
I think he did read it as did I. I think you are partially right but not completely. If you have not been around them first hand, then you cant fully assume things are as easy as you say. They live in an entirely different world that very few of us can understand or are willing to even try to. Lets not paint them all with a broad brush and say they have every chance and resource possible. They dont. They may be seen with a phone but they also may be robbed later that night and lose it. Then what? Trust me when I say it is not as easy as you say. I know from my wife working with them every single week. She gives of her time trying to help them in these regards and it is very, very hard to do. It is not a simple fix.
Heads up and a sincere Thank You to your wife!! Look, any of you can criticize these individuals in question in regards to the subject of the initial post of this thread. But I will say this, until you have dealt with them extensively first hand, for you to judge them is, IMHO, wrong.

Matthew 7:1-3
King James Version
7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?



Slaughter this post if you will, but as I stated, how can you know until you know for certain??

Peace
 
Wow, this thread is something else. I guess this is what happens when they stop letting schools put the Ten Commandments on the walls?

I saw some quick blurb somewhere that stuck with me recently. To paraphrase: whether or not I give money to those that are begging speaks to my character, what they do with it speaks to theirs.
 
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And I repeat never give to the homeless unless you know their circumstances. Instead give to those non profits that serve them. Oliver Gospel Mission is one of those and has served the homeless for 127 years.
 
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