What Helps The Homeless

I hate the shelter system and have never used it. I once started the intake process at one when there was an incoming snow storm. Ultimately, we just asked for a change of clothes for each of us and a shower for me. Then we left and went to seek a sheltered spot to camp, which we successfully found and spent the night perfectly comfortable -- far more comfortable than if we had been in the shelter, where the discomfort may have been more about social crap and other people controlling us than about physical comfort. But, I don't know. I am not convinced we would have been physically comfortable in the shelter either, with all the limitations they expected us to abide by. However, we have had kind strangers put us up in a hotel a few times when I was ill or the weather was bad or whatever. In my experience, this is a far more civilized means to help homeless people than the shelter system. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect the shelter system to go away any time soon. But...

One of the things that has made my life bearable is people stopping their cars to give me free used clothing in cold, wet weather. They either were giving me and my sons something warmer than what we were wearing because it was cold or they were just giving us warm, dry clothes because it had rained and we were soaked and it was cold. Changing in to clean, dry clothes is potentially life-saving for a homeless person in cold weather. I specify used clothing because one woman pretty obviously had bought us new jackets, socks and other stuff. Well, I don't have any means to wash my clothes and I don't have a place to hang things up and put them away. I don't have separate sleep clothes. I sleep in my street clothes and, in fact, I need a jacket much more at night to stay warm enough to sleep deeply than I do during the day. During the day, if I am outside, I am usually walking somewhere. If it is above 40 degrees and the wind is not too bitter, I am in little danger of dy...

A high percentage of people on the street have serious medical or mental health issues. This often fuels addictions and then the general public concludes that homeless people are all alcoholics, addicts and crazy people and it either is basically their fault or there isn't much that can really be done because we don't know how to cure insanity. In short, it gets dismissed as a personal problem, not a symptom of a systemic problem. But, homelessness is on the rise nationwide. So, it really doesn't make sense to act like homelessness is merely caused by individuals being irresponsible or unfortunate. This is clearly a systemic problem. In the 1950s, new homes were around 1200 sq. ft. and housed an average of about 3.5 people. These days, new homes are around 2500 sq. ft. and house around 2.5 people. They also have more amenities, such as appliances. Meanwhile, homelessness is on the rise and the availability of affordable housing has been shrinking for decades. Additional...