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Living on the street
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<blockquote data-quote="BusynMember" data-source="post: 620626" data-attributes="member: 1550"><p>When people once told me that some choose homelessness, inwardly I thought they were just arrogant rich people who don't believe you can get down on your luck and actually loose everything. I have since learned that most who are homeless are there because of their chosen lifestyle, unwillingness to follow the rules of shelters or public housing, and have burned all their bridges with relatives and friends where they continued their illegal activities when offered places to stay.</p><p></p><p>I worked for two years in a church that gave the homeless a warm place to sleep at night in an affluent area in Illinois. I had no idea there were even a lot of homeless people there, but they sure knew how to find us. Everyone got a home cooked meal by church ladies (very yummy), a mattress and blankets, caring volunteers to talk to all night, and a bagged lunch the next morning. I did feel horrible for a few people who were trying hard to get off the streets. One was an elderly couple. She had horrible epilepsy and could not work due to all her seizures. This couple worked with us, our social social workers and Housing and was on the list to get a place to stay. They were willing to follow any rules and did not use drugs. A few were so incredibly mentally ill that they couldn't follow any rules, BUT...we also were willing to drive them for treatment and some would go to appointments with us sporadically, even getting rides, then refuse to take the medications they were given (for free). They did not get better. Most of the seriously psychotic people either ended up in mental institutions on and off or disappeared quickly. Most were not suffering from that degree of mental illness.</p><p></p><p>You couldn't really get much of the truth out of most of them. But they did tend to sometimes have moments where they were upset and would get up and talk to us and we all heard disjointed stories that sounded very similar. They used drugs. They couldn't/wouldn't stop. They'd been kicked out of various family and friends places. Shelters wouldn't let them in because they came in high or refused to stay put all night. In short, they are the rebels who think that no rules apply to them and the streets have a certain appeal to them because they are truly society's misfits. And there is nothing anyone can do to help them. The services were there. Most of them plain did not want to have any rules to follow. Quite a few admitted "I can't follow rules" or "I don't like rules" or "I keep getting busted. I know I should quit, but I (don't) (can't) (won't)."</p><p></p><p>We always gave them a train voucher so they could get to the next church that would provide them with a home cooked meal and a place to sleep the following night. The churches took turns. Most of them knew the schedule and asked for the vouchers and bagged lunch before they left. They had to be out by 7am. I have no idea where they hung out because in our upscale town, you just didn't see them. They must have had their places. I do know a lot of them went to the library to warm up. Some used to pay to spend a day at the Y to shower. They had money. They were probably dealing drugs, selling hot/stolen items or panhandling. They had a strong bond with one another and did not seem unhappy. Often they stayed up at night playing board games, watching movies and laughing, and they had no problem picking out the warm socks, underwear, coats and other clothing we kept there for them to take as needed.</p><p></p><p>I had to work there though to believe that anyone would choose to be homeless. Now I know better. There IS help there for anyone who wants to work his/her way out of a bad situation, BUT you have no choice but you follow the rules along the way. Our difficult children simply don't want any rules. They also, many of them, mentally ill people who won't go for help and drug addicts who won't kick the habit. But, it's all the same. They make the choice to refuse to get better or do better and live on the streets.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BusynMember, post: 620626, member: 1550"] When people once told me that some choose homelessness, inwardly I thought they were just arrogant rich people who don't believe you can get down on your luck and actually loose everything. I have since learned that most who are homeless are there because of their chosen lifestyle, unwillingness to follow the rules of shelters or public housing, and have burned all their bridges with relatives and friends where they continued their illegal activities when offered places to stay. I worked for two years in a church that gave the homeless a warm place to sleep at night in an affluent area in Illinois. I had no idea there were even a lot of homeless people there, but they sure knew how to find us. Everyone got a home cooked meal by church ladies (very yummy), a mattress and blankets, caring volunteers to talk to all night, and a bagged lunch the next morning. I did feel horrible for a few people who were trying hard to get off the streets. One was an elderly couple. She had horrible epilepsy and could not work due to all her seizures. This couple worked with us, our social social workers and Housing and was on the list to get a place to stay. They were willing to follow any rules and did not use drugs. A few were so incredibly mentally ill that they couldn't follow any rules, BUT...we also were willing to drive them for treatment and some would go to appointments with us sporadically, even getting rides, then refuse to take the medications they were given (for free). They did not get better. Most of the seriously psychotic people either ended up in mental institutions on and off or disappeared quickly. Most were not suffering from that degree of mental illness. You couldn't really get much of the truth out of most of them. But they did tend to sometimes have moments where they were upset and would get up and talk to us and we all heard disjointed stories that sounded very similar. They used drugs. They couldn't/wouldn't stop. They'd been kicked out of various family and friends places. Shelters wouldn't let them in because they came in high or refused to stay put all night. In short, they are the rebels who think that no rules apply to them and the streets have a certain appeal to them because they are truly society's misfits. And there is nothing anyone can do to help them. The services were there. Most of them plain did not want to have any rules to follow. Quite a few admitted "I can't follow rules" or "I don't like rules" or "I keep getting busted. I know I should quit, but I (don't) (can't) (won't)." We always gave them a train voucher so they could get to the next church that would provide them with a home cooked meal and a place to sleep the following night. The churches took turns. Most of them knew the schedule and asked for the vouchers and bagged lunch before they left. They had to be out by 7am. I have no idea where they hung out because in our upscale town, you just didn't see them. They must have had their places. I do know a lot of them went to the library to warm up. Some used to pay to spend a day at the Y to shower. They had money. They were probably dealing drugs, selling hot/stolen items or panhandling. They had a strong bond with one another and did not seem unhappy. Often they stayed up at night playing board games, watching movies and laughing, and they had no problem picking out the warm socks, underwear, coats and other clothing we kept there for them to take as needed. I had to work there though to believe that anyone would choose to be homeless. Now I know better. There IS help there for anyone who wants to work his/her way out of a bad situation, BUT you have no choice but you follow the rules along the way. Our difficult children simply don't want any rules. They also, many of them, mentally ill people who won't go for help and drug addicts who won't kick the habit. But, it's all the same. They make the choice to refuse to get better or do better and live on the streets. [/QUOTE]
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