Other night this Bum said he would tell me a joke for a buck. I said alright, let's hear it. He gave me the option of a "G' rated or "R" rated joke. I chose the "G" rated joke. Can't remember how it went, but it was silly and funny, so I gave the guy a dollar. Hey....at least he entertained me and he probably needed that dollar more than I did.

You can pinpoint the entire epidemy of slavery to the salvation army, or homeless shelters in general.

some lowlifes find their way into all professions and undertakings
but I dont see that as reason to turn a blind eye to the truly needy when we are able to help them in any way.

"As a homeless person, I do not want someone to feed me. I do not want someone to house me. I do not want a blanket, and I will not work for food! You have to ask me what it is I need if you want to have an effect. As a homeless person, I am not even trying to find a way out of homelessness. It is too simple to say that I was going just fine until someone took my shelter away, and now I am in chaos. If only someone would give me back my shelter the chaos would abate. Nonsense. I'm not in chaos. I have a definable set of problems and giving me shelter won't solve them. It is only a tiny piece. Furthermore, I don't want a cure for my life. Most people who write to me who are homeless chose homelessness. Homelessness was their answer to another problem, a foreclosed home, a lost job, a catastrophic disease which left them bankrupt and disabled, an abusive family, a lack. Alas, this is the hardest thing to explain. Homelessness was a positive step toward solving other problems.

...

I've thought a long time about what would be useful to the homeless. We need public toilets. Not filthy portapotties, but proper restrooms that are private and clean. We need safe places to sleep. Capsule hotels, which are found in Tokyo and some other places in the world, would be most excellent. The rooms should be very cheap, and I mean five bucks is too much. They should be subsidized, and there should be twice as many as there is a demand for them. They should be extremely secure, and you should be allowed to stay for as long as you want. We need showers. Safe, secure, single occupancy showers. Those are answers that would help people."

http://guide2homelessness.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-solve-homelessness.html - edited so that anybody can visit this writer's website if you're interested.

This man is far more educated than I, and I truly admire his efforts. The first step towards helping the homeless is ending ignorance, intolerance, and stigma, and beginning an actual dialogue and discourse where it is possible to disagree without allowing those disagreements to disband innovative programs and projects due to bureaucratic obsessions.

That's all I'm going to say on the topic. I've been homeless, by choice and without choice, and it seems like this topic always devolves into arguments. It never seems like it becomes something elevated into an actual conversation.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bash my soapbox to pieces with a stolen sledgehammer.

"As a homeless person, I do not want someone to feed me. I do not want someone to house me. I do not want a blanket, and I will not work for food! You have to ask me what it is I need if you want to have an effect. As a homeless person, I am not even trying to find a way out of homelessness. It is too simple to say that I was going just fine until someone took my shelter away, and now I am in chaos. If only someone would give me back my shelter the chaos would abate. Nonsense. I'm not in chaos. I have a definable set of problems and giving me shelter won't solve them. It is only a tiny piece. Furthermore, I don't want a cure for my life. Most people who write to me who are homeless chose homelessness. Homelessness was their answer to another problem, a foreclosed home, a lost job, a catastrophic disease which left them bankrupt and disabled, an abusive family, a lack. Alas, this is the hardest thing to explain. Homelessness was a positive step toward solving other problems.

...

I've thought a long time about what would be useful to the homeless. We need public toilets. Not filthy portapotties, but proper restrooms that are private and clean. We need safe places to sleep. Capsule hotels, which are found in Tokyo and some other places in the world, would be most excellent. The rooms should be very cheap, and I mean five bucks is too much. They should be subsidized, and there should be twice as many as there is a demand for them. They should be extremely secure, and you should be allowed to stay for as long as you want. We need showers. Safe, secure, single occupancy showers. Those are answers that would help people."

http://guide2homelessness.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-solve-homelessness.html - edited so that anybody can visit this writer's website if you're interested.

This man is far more educated than I, and I truly admire his efforts. The first step towards helping the homeless is ending ignorance, intolerance, and stigma, and beginning an actual dialogue and discourse where it is possible to disagree without allowing those disagreements to disband innovative programs and projects due to bureaucratic obsessions.

That's all I'm going to say on the topic. I've been homeless, by choice and without choice, and it seems like this topic always devolves into arguments. It never seems like it becomes something elevated into an actual conversation.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bash my soapbox to pieces with a stolen sledgehammer.

a lot of homeless people have some sort of mental illness going on.
you're a complete dick if you think they're all just lazy bums.
they need help.

Oh good, somebody who actually knows something about homelessness rather than just wanting to rant.

Silly me to think a post called "What to do about homelessness" would have some ideas on how to help people who are homeless.

We should send all those bums to mexico till they earn something in their lives, there they can make and smoke their "420"
Ive had enough of these people ruining the lives of everyone, then taking them into their shelters...
Its almost as though salvation army, intentionally makes their prisoners victims, so they can lose their homes, get raped, get depressed, hooked on drugs, and forced to pay all their money to drugs, which little people know, most likely come from the people in control of the salvation army.

Maybe you dont know but i used to be homeless, and I sat and watched as criminals climbed the hierarchy of the salvation army,
took loyal soldiers, brainwashed them, robbed them and ruined their lives.

Ever think of that collection jar you seen at the mall to donate to salvation army? That money is used for crime and I have proof, every homeless at the salvation army gets 4 dollars per day, and this never changes. I say give them what the government says they deserve, or else NOTHING.

Dont allow criminals to work in a placelike this they are pulling us under and want to make us their slaves...

The only slavery still in existence - if it still exists - is far from North America.

As for theft taking place inside the men's dormitory of an emergency shelter, the thieves are the ones guilty of wrong-doing.

If you want to complain about a lack of security in an emergency shelter, then so be it.

Did it ever occur to you that an emergency shelter may lack the financial resources needed to provide the kind of security that you insist on?

The Salvation Army is a non-profit private party, not a government program. It depends on the financial generosity of others in order to survive financially.

If you want to sleep outside because you don't trust emergency shelters, then so be it. Keep in mind that if you do sleep outside, you could still be robbed.

Do you despise yourself just as much as you despise the rest of mankind?