A large percentage of them might be lazy bums but there are a number of these people who are homeless not because they chose to but because they were forced into it. A story I read earlier about a soldier who refused to shoot civilians, was court-martialed for failing to follow orders then "blacklisted" so he never could get a job. He ended up on the street poor and homeless for refusing to murder innocent civilians. Next time you see a homeless man or woman, don't think you are in any way superior to them. Before you hear their story, don't E-V-E-R judge them.
That is one scary story Rainman, I don't even understand how he can be blacklisted, that seems illegal because everyone has the right to work, it's part of the constitution. Does that guy managed to get a job now that his story is public?
Many homeless people are mentally ill, but certainly not all of them. I don't judge them. I actually contribute to a local charity aimed at getting homeless people off the streets and helping them.
Most likely that story is complete BS. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I highly doubt he has been "blacklisted" in some secret system to keep him unemployed. Yes ofc he can't apply for some jobs due to having a dishonorable discharge but that's a different story. I still think that life is what we make of it. If you are on the streets then you really did something wrong at some point, because the other 99% managed to get their ass into a house but you didn't.
Don't know what to think of the story if I must be honest. Actually he told his story to one person who then shared it with someone else. As stories go, they get more embellished as they are passed along. @ JR EWING, kudos to you for doing something for the homeless. I doubt he'll get a job. It's one of those stories you tell someone and he tells someone else. A friend of theirs who is a blogger hears the story and it ends up on the net. Finding that homeless man would be somewhat hard?
I hate how most people just assume the homeless are drug addicts or lazy. That can happen to anyone. Victims of circumstance can be anyone.
I think everyone should donate because homelessness really happens everywhere, and people don't seem to get that.
Call me inane or whatever, but I actually do talk to homeless people, and except four of them who admitted they used to be alcoholics and lost everything they had due to their vice, but I talked to someone who told me that he was in the streets as a result of his unwilling of hurting someone else. I didn't quite understand what he meant by it, and I know he wasn't in any way mentally ill since we talked about a lot of things which ranged from existentialism to how the Universe was created. Yeah, I know... I can get into a lot of random conversation with people I don't even know, but that's just my way of being, too talkative, haha. Anyway... I don't judge them whatsoever, I'm actually willing to hear them out and offer them some money while we're at it.
It's always fun talking to people that you've never met before. A lot of homeless people I have met are really cool. There are some that are addicts, crazy, or just ill altogether, but there are a lot of them who are just awesome people who have had crappy things happen to them.
I'm starting to notice I reply to you a lot. It's better to send your money to a functional charity than to go handing it out to the first homeless person you meet. The people who desperately need it are the people most unwilling to panhandle or beg strangers for change, and shelters and charities know that and have systems set up for handling their care. If you don't have the cash to drop, you could always volunteer. If all you do is help in a soup kitchen stirring the pot or washing dishes, then you're doing more good than you ever would giving a homeless man enough change to buy a hamburger.
