Goody bags for the homeless.

[Nihil Obstat]

I am not sure what sort of fantasy world you live in, but I sure know I would have more fun if I could just kind of make up stuff and pretend other people said it.

[CrossCuT]

I am not sure what sort of fantasy world you live in, but I sure know I would have more fun if I could just kind of make up stuff and pretend other people said it.

 

it is a fairly widely accepted hypothesis in economics that there is a certain natural rate of homelessness. There simply always will be some amount of homeless people, in spite of any programs or services directed towards addressing it.

if we approach it as "ending homelessness", we are probably not directing our energies efficiently
 

I cut out the fluff and unemployment comparison as it was superfluous. This does not detract at all from the intended meaning of your statement.

 

 

I caught you and you have nothing to say so youre evading my posts by hiding behind good ol' "You dont get me" line as if youre a pre teen who cant express his emotions correctly. I guess I am sorry that my hope for a better world bores you so much.

 

 

Your argument is flawed. Lifting people out of poverty is never a wasted effort. I would agree that it is a waste trying to do it in a Capitalistic society which is my point. Being unable to think outside of the confines of Capitalism is a mistake.

 

Edited October 13, 2015 by CrossCuT

[Nihil Obstat]

 

 

Your argument is flawed. Lifting people out of poverty is never a wasted effort.

Not remotely what I said.

[Maggyie]

Nihil said making "ending poverty" your goal is naive. I assume he would agree "alleviating poverty" or "limiting poverty" or "fighting poverty" are more realistic goals. 

[superblue]

what i would advocate with the goody bags, is not to do it just seasonly and to perhaps consider only doing the bag drops  at homeless shelters, places like St. Vincet De Pauls / local food not bombs, etc etc... it becomes a lot more productive, because one gets to interact with said homeless shelter and the poor. In a safer environment , and it helps the city in general on lots of levels.

 

An don't forget women and children shelters / groups, that can always use baby products etc...

Or consider donating equipment to homeless shelters, like washers and dryers ( doesn't have to be brand new  used is just as good ) coffee makers, toasters, refrigerators.  

 

Bags that i use to distribute at the shelter i volunteered at, were mainly food bags, canned meats, a piece of fruit, two slices of bread , napkin an a spork an a cheap juice drink.

k bye

[CrossCuT]

Nihil said making "ending poverty" your goal is naive. I assume he would agree "alleviating poverty" or "limiting poverty" or "fighting poverty" are more realistic goals. 

Well then I understood him perfectly well. I believe ending poverty is not naive when one considers reality. Reality: There are enough resources to feed, house, and cloth every single human on earth. So why are there still homeless people? Politics. 

[NadaTeTurbe]

what i would advocate with the goody bags, is not to do it just seasonly and to perhaps consider only doing the bag drops  at homeless shelters, places like St. Vincet De Pauls / local food not bombs, etc etc... it becomes a lot more productive, because one gets to interact with said homeless shelter and the poor. In a safer environment , and it helps the city in general on lots of levels.

 

An don't forget women and children shelters / groups, that can always use baby products etc...

Or consider donating equipment to homeless shelters, like washers and dryers ( doesn't have to be brand new  used is just as good ) coffee makers, toasters, refrigerators.  

 

Great advices. +1 for the Saint Vincent de Paul  Don't hesitate to join your local Society of St Vincent de Paul, they're always looking for volunteers on the winter. 

[Maggyie]

Well then I understood him perfectly well. I believe ending poverty is not naive when one considers reality. Reality: There are enough resources to feed, house, and cloth every single human on earth. So why are there still homeless people? Politics. 

unfortunately politics plays a big role. But also unfortunately it's more complex than that. You should get to know some homeless people and ask them if they would accept a warm, safe, free place to stay with nutritious meals and access to healthcare including clean needles. Some will jump at the chance, others will tell you to get lost. You will probably be shocked by the people who say no. 

Of course we should make it so that a robust safety net makes homelessness unnecessary. That doesn't mean it will ever go away. That's a belief that privileged white people who are unfamiliar with the realities of the street tend to have. 

[Anomaly]

Jesus said in the bible that we would always have the poor.  

Jesus was a whiny quitter, privileged, and appreciated a good oil anointment because it helped olive oil dealers stay profitable. 

 

I I like the idea, plus adding the coffee cerificate like CathM suggested. 

Edited October 14, 2015 by Anomaly

[CrossCuT]

unfortunately politics plays a big role. But also unfortunately it's more complex than that. You should get to know some homeless people and ask them if they would accept a warm, safe, free place to stay with nutritious meals and access to healthcare including clean needles. Some will jump at the chance, others will tell you to get lost. You will probably be shocked by the people who say no. 

Of course we should make it so that a robust safety net makes homelessness unnecessary. That doesn't mean it will ever go away. That's a belief that privileged white people who are unfamiliar with the realities of the street tend to have. 

I truly hope someday that all homeless people WILL get the opportunity to say no if they want to. Right now, thats not the case.

[MIKolbe]

So who's all in for doing Goody Bags?

[Anomaly]

If dUSt chooses to do so, I'll send him a Starbucks card he can buy individual coffees with. 

[superblue]

very true Maggyie a lot of people find it hard to believe that some homeless people are content with being homeless, but it is also a problem with again SOME homeless that abuse the kindness of others and take advantage of help an there by taking away from another  homeless person who is in more need for something that is be it what ever. At least what i have seen as well in my interactions.

Though I suspect poverty / homelessness in America is far different from that across the globe,  as is with pollution , and almost every subject in existence .

[dominicansoul]

I know a few homeless people who like being homeless, so, I guess as long as there are people like them around, there will always be homeless people...

 

One of them likes to stand outside our place of employment on pay day.  Everybody gives him a hand out cos he's a staple here.  He told me he had $20,000 in the bank.  I told him he needs to be careful and not tell people that just for his own safety.  I guess that beats having to wake up early, paying a mortgage, bills, etc.  For some people they enjoy it, believe it or not...and that's fine with me. But me, I'll take being a part of the rat race anyday...besides, camping out chafes my bum something terrible...I wouldn't be able to survive out there...

OH that reminds me, maybe for the goody bags, you should also include a tube of Desitin or Aquaphor

[Era Might]

I know a few homeless people who like being homeless, so, I guess as long as there are people like them around, there will always be homeless people...

 

One of them likes to stand outside our place of employment on pay day.  Everybody gives him a hand out cos he's a staple here.  He told me he had $20,000 in the bank.  I told him he needs to be careful and not tell people that just for his own safety.  I guess that beats having to wake up early, paying a mortgage, bills, etc.  For some people they enjoy it, believe it or not...and that's fine with me. But me, I'll take being a part of the rat race anyday...besides, camping out chafes my bum something terrible...I wouldn't be able to survive out there...

OH that reminds me, maybe for the goody bags, you should also include a tube of Desitin or Aquaphor

I doubt anyone really "likes" being homeless...which is a form of alienation, since it's part of human nature to build dwellings, live in communities, etc. But, definitely there are people who find the alienation of being homeless preferable to the alienation they experience in an alternative mainstream society. I read a good book a while back, can't remember the name of the author, but it was about community and the mentally disabled (similar to L'Arche) in Europe, and the effects of institutionalization. It talked about a program designed to move the mentally disabled into their own "housing," let them live a "normal" life with a job, apartment, etc. And once they got there, they were just like everyone else, alienated, alone, the only thing they could say was that they were now "normal," whatever it was worth. I'd doubt the $20,000 claim, but I could also see it happening...to have money or even a job is not the same as having a "home" and "community" where one actually "lives"...that was kind of the point in the book I read, to have a "home" doesn't necessarily mean you aren't homeless. I find it interesting how gang members will refer to each other as "homeboys"..meaning, the gang is a home, real or imagined.

If I am not mistaken, it is a fairly widely accepted hypothesis in economics that there is a certain natural rate of homelessness, much like the natural rate of unemployment. There simply always will be some amount of homeless people, in spite of any programs or services directed towards addressing it.
Does not mean we do not try to help them as we are able. Just that if we approach it as "ending homelessness", we are probably not directing our energies efficiently, because it is at some point a flawed premise.
Likewise we cannot "end unemployment" in the long run. That is just fundamentally not something that can happen. We can reduce it and minimize it, but over the long run the natural rate of unemployment will be relatively steady.

May be "good economics" but bad human nature. I hate the word "unemployed" (as if a human being could be unemployed, with nothing to do). To be "unemployed" for an economist means not to be a "productive" member of the economy. A stay-at-home-mother in this instance is "unemployed"...though nobody thinks she has nothing to do, but as far as the economists are concerned, she's useless (literally useless, meaning not productive, not contributing to the economy). I don't think either homelessness or unemployment can ever be "natural"...what a monstrous thing, to be without a home and without something to do in life. What reason is there to be human or to live? "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head." Even foxes and birds aren't homeless...they seem to be more human than we are.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Era Might