Are people even aware most of them are just one job-loss away from being homeless? One illness? And then, society will throw you away, and hate you just as much.
But it seems the hatred also, or especially comes from those, that arent much better off. That doesnt make any sense.
These people themselves have not much money, and its not just right wingers, its also many liberals that despise homeless, because they think all of them are drug addicts.
But most homeless are not drug addicts that dont want any help, or are totally homeless, they may be couchsurfing, living in shelters, other institutions, and they simply no where else to go.
And anyone can get in that situation. Yet those people think all homeless are just too lazy to get a job, even though there are many people working full time not being able to afford an apartment.
They may not be literally sleeping on the streets, however, they might be living in their cars, constantly couchsurfing, in shelters, or other temporary housing.
Isnt that the much bigger outrage, that you can work hard, and still be able to not afford an apartment?
Yet those people that can barely afford one look down on those that cant, why? Am i justified to be angry? Also there many people that are too disabled to work, and get too little money to afford an apartment.
Im one of them. And were constantly called lazy, useless, whatever, by people who dont have much more, who are deep in debt, but can barely afford a car and an apartment, and think theyre so much better off, why?
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Penmywise – duck authority
I disagree. Some if not the majority of homeless people do NOT want help. They are constantly seeking their next high and want to live off of panhandling. I no longer give out money to homeless people. I offer a hot meal and if they don’t want that, then they can kick rocks.
I’ve seen countless homeless go off and steal people’s things. I’m not claiming all are druggies but it shows when they have the fent bent going or are dirty and smell. I’m tired of seeing homeless just camping and making the cities look terrible. They need to help themselves if they don’t want to receive help.
You can’t change my mind that some of these people don’t want the help, and if they don’t want it then we as paying citizen should be allowed to dislike them for making cities look ugly and trashy.
I don’t think “people” hate the homeless, just wary of them.
Former homeless guy here.
Most of them are drug addicts.
I’m not justifying the hatred but most people’s experiences with homeless people are the problematic ones who are violent and aggressive and the ones using or trying to use. For example the only experiences I have had with unhoused people (outside of volunteering, I’m talking every day experiences) are the ones who have broken into my apartment and stolen thousands of dollars worth of my property, the ones who smashed my vehicle windows to steal more property, the ones who have tried following me home saying obscenities or trying to scare me, the ones harassing me for drugs or money. Unfortunately the people who aren’t problematic aren’t the people that the general public are engaging with. It can skew people’s perspective when all they see/experience is the negative and it really sucks that the minority of people overshadow the majority. I also genuinely don’t think the vast majority of the general public think they’re better off, they’re just sick of dealing with shitty people, unhoused or not.
I think the hatred is a two prong thing. I think they genuinely think they are better than them and that they all did it to themselves or that they choose to live that way and I think to some degree, it’s fear based. The fear that they are one bad decision away from being homeless themselves, whether it’s a decision they make directly or one someone else makes that has a direct impact on them.
Depends on your country. Where im from you really have to TRY to be on the street. Even immigrants with no work get a place to stay, food, sanitary products and school supplies. Baby supplies too and naturally health care, therapy and addiction therapy. even education for adults is free. All they have to do is go to job interviews and a weekly language course. if they don’t: several warnings. nothing else. This is indefinitely unless you are a foreigner, then you might get kicked out of the country after several years of leeching without work.
Homeless people here are usually:
A: people who put their head in the sand and instead of using readily available help they deny their issues until they are evicted and horribly in debt.
B. choosing beggars who won’t settle for a smaller place until they can find something better priced. They turn down possible homes because they aren’t perfect until time runs out and they have to couch surf
C. people who cannot live in places because they keep destroying furniture/enter drugs into safe spaces/are repeatedly violent
A and B will usually be rehomed within days and get back on their feet. we don’t allow families in the street. nor kid. nor seniors. But C needs to realize that they need and want help first and stop hurting the people and places that help them.
when i was battling addiction & on the streets, i couldnt believe how differently people treated me. they would talk trash in front of you, as if you dont know english. i never once asked a stranger for money, or acted a fool, yet the absolute disdain on their faces made me realize that the public has very little empathy. these are the same folks who post fundraisers on their facebook, but will avoid a frail woman with scraggly hair & a backpack at all costs ..
Perhaps more methadone facilities, easier access to suboxone, free (good) rehabs, cleaner and more shelters, and jobs for them would be a big help.
I think giving them garbage picking jobs that pay something like $5-10 per bag of garbage and recyclables, would make a huge difference for the environment and motivate the homeless to work and do shit for the community instead of being a filthy eye sore contributing to the destruction of our towns and cities.
Then the taxes taken from the money they make from cleaning up the streets can go to building them housing and other shit that would benefit them.
Our country has the money resources to make this shit happen, but it’s not being done.
This is a rough draft of what could be done, there’d need to be some tweaks to it I’m sure, but in general I think it would make a huge difference and be effective if done correctly.
I have worked with people who are homeless for years and I can tell from the responses to your post that most people are basing their views on their experience with invidual street homelessness. There is a lot of poor mental health and substance use amongst certain homeless populations and they tend to be the most visible. I have worked with individuals and families and I have a lot of rage towards people who hate them.
The stories I hear are horrible. Most people on drugs and/or have mental illnesses did not start that way. It was a descent into it, and the experience of homelessness alone can drive people to horrible behavoirs.
Most do want help and those who say they don’t have been discouraged so much that they just gave up.
I’ve met people were were fine until their car went out and they could not pay their bills because they could not get to work. Now they and their children are evicted. I know someone who had a serious medical emergency and ended up evicted because they could not work. I just met with a woman today who is fleeing a situation of domestic violence.
I could spend a lot of time writing my thoughts on this, but let me tell you this. There is a level of hell going on in your city and you don’t know it. People are going through unspeakable things and you don’t know it. You assume negative things about them, but you could be one bad month from slipping into a domino affect that lands you in the same situation. And the way our economic and governmental systems work hold people down and make getting out so much more difficult
I’m sorry you’re dealing with homelessness. Your current situation is not your final destination.
I see you and want you to know you matter. I try to help homeless people when I can. I have been on the cusp of homelessness a few times in my life.
I don’t consider myself better than homeless people. I know I’ve had a few more strokes of luck in my life than they have.
Also, I think there’s a difference between a homeless person and a homeless drug addict and I’m not placing judgment on addicts but I can’t help them and often times, they don’t want help. They want to live free of rules and stay high.
By attempting to help a homeless drug addict on the street, I put myself in danger, so I don’t try to help them (I work in downtown Seattle).
I believe in you and every other homeless person out there. I hope you can find resources and support to help you achieve your goals. Never give up.
People convince themselves that its the fault of the homeless because it helps them feel safe, as if it wouldn’t happen to them becasue they would never do x, y, z) (People judge sexual assault victims similarly for similar reasons)
Even those homeless that are drug addicts.. they are people, and they are suffering.
We have an enormous addiction problem in this country and it doesn’t discriminate, the difference between homeless and addicted and housed and addicted is a support system and a place to land.
Yeah I don’t hate the person down on their luck. I hate the drug addict that attacks my kids while I’m walking downtown. I’m not going to apologize or attempt to empathize. They are a public danger, full stop.
Most homeless people are addicts and/or have mental health problems. You can’t ignore that.
In my experience, poor people are actually more likely to give food or money to homeless people because they can see themselves in that position or can relate more to the day-to-day financial struggle. Wealthier people, if they give at all, are more likely to donate to programs designed to help homeless folks with shelter, drug and alcohol counseling.
What bothers me is the people standing on roads with signs begging for money. First, there are lots of available jobs. Second, we see them in nice cars at the end of their shift. And third, there should be a special place in hell for people who have their kids or pets with them on hot days.
Some homeless people do get a bit…annoying to me tbh.
Society in Australia has gone down the chute. So much hate, agro and judgement
You’re right about this:
>But most homeless are not drug addicts that dont want any help, or are totally homeless, they may be couchsurfing, living in shelters, other institutions, and they simply no where else to go.
The vast majority of people who are homeless are only temporarily homeless, usually finding housing within a year or so.
But those aren’t the homeless that people complain about. They complain about vagrants with obvious mental health and drug issues who are threatening and antisocial in public. This isn’t just a theoretical danger – there have been multiple instances in my city, NYC, of people being attacked, sometimes killed, by such people.
There is a real difference between people who end up temporarily homeless because of financial hardship and those who are too dysfunctional to be turned loose on the street. Based on what I’ve been told by people who work with these populations, the latter make up a very small proportion of the homeless – likely in the single-digit percentages – but create almost all the problems people attribute to homelessness.
Obviously, the solution isn’t to brutalize those who can’t help themselves. But if our local governments can’t get their acts together and open institutions or at least supportive housing, public anger over them will only continue to grow.
For me, my experiences with the homeless have been violent and terrible. I moved away from where I’d lived for a decade because of their aggression. Doing drugs openly, setting up camps that closed off my favorite hiking trail because they were littered with drug addicts and fights, homeless men exposing themselves, street harassment, you name it. Just like you have your lived experience, I have mine, and I stand by it.
Anger and hatred are driven by fear. Most people who hate the homeless are afraid they’ll also fall through the cracks of society, or they’re afraid of the threat posed by a mentally ill person with nothing to lose.