Homelessness, begging, and what to do about it

#104
#104
Vol8188 said:
You can only help those who want it. Panhandlers are not seeking help. They’re seeking drug money.
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A sizable portion of panhandlers are professionals at it. I spent 18 months working in Austin, Texas where the panhandlers are well established and literally masters of their trade. It was estimated the average income was around $60K annually...tax free of course unless they actually did file income tax returns on all the cash contributions. They were good at it. They would swap locations around so you would only see certain ones at a location for a few days, then see them at another intersection the following week, etc.

One of the guys I worked with told a story of one panhandler who he had given money too and then one afternoon sometime later, while entering his apartment, saw the same guy entering the apartment next him. Turned out the fellow was driving a fairly nice car (do not remember what make/model my friend said it was).

I know it sounds mean, but if you want to have some fun, try to hire one that has a looking for work sign. HA! Not happening. Try buying some food for those with "Hungry" signs. I have had a few of them actually get angry!

It pisses me off there are a lot of scammers in their ranks and that hurts those who genuinely could use help. My advice? Work through your local charities and donate to them. They are at it full time, know the real people in need and are best positioned to help. I belong to Rotary and we do a lot through direct donations, other fund raising and working service hours with a number of these groups.
 
#105
#105
I don't understand the increase of homeless, I don't think you can blame everything on mental illness.
 
#108
#108
Lots of mixed emotions for me. Some make it a small business though and that is infuriating. I’m fine with shelters being established, but they can’t be allowed to be drug dens. Screw Ukraine wish we’d address our own problems here
 
#109
#109
LittleVol said:
Food, bed, and REHAB, and career path options if they want that.
But honestly the working and being able to migrate and have a place to work, eat, sleep remedy many of the issues I believe.

For the mentally ill, it would also help keep them busy at low risk. You would also need security to watch them (jobs).
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So basically the poor farms of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with rehab? That may work for those who can reintegrate but for the seriously mentally ill we'd need separate asylums where they can live until they're cured or they pass.
 
#110
#110
TNVOLNAVY said:
The more you provide for the homeless the more show up. Like every other leftist solution, it never solves the issue and actually makes it worse which is what they want. A permanent citizenry completely reliant on gubmint cheese.
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Would love to hear your solutions.
 
#111
#111
Vol8188 said:
I feel you wasted a lot of your time in this response. The Reagan point is important because it’s a common myth. Similar to the myth that Americans were better off in decade x than today.

And no, I don’t believe a government sponsored farming program will make any significant impact on the number of homeless on the streets. We all know how that ended up for Lenny (hope I didn’t ruin the book for you).
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Just keep them away from the puppies and the foreman's wife.
 
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#112
#112
How to GUARANTEE a quick solution to homelessness….require every member of Congress, every Cabinet Secretary and political appointee in the Executive branch, every Hollywood star, every woke social media influencer, every cable news network personality, and every college administrator or instructor to host at least four homeless persons in their own home until the problem is solved. It would be in RECORD TIME 😂
 
#113
#113
TNVOLNAVY said:
The more you provide for the homeless the more show up. Like every other leftist solution, it never solves the issue and actually makes it worse which is what they want. A permanent citizenry completely reliant on gubmint cheese.
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Man I would love a brick of government cheese right now
 
#116
#116
DonjoVol said:
I think Walmart might be paying more than $12 an hour. Some manufacturing jobs in this area are at $20 an hour or more now. Some restaurants are at $15 an hour or more now. There are restaurant, retail, and manufacturing jobs now paying more than some office jobs. Which is great.
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15 dollars per hour as a career job is great?
 
#118
#118
LittleVol said:
Oh you mean like working out in nature?? :rolleyes:.
Perhaps, work them hard and have incentives for them to elevate their life?

So why did you laugh at my recommendation to only GENERICALLY offer the same thing?
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Farming isnt as easy ad you want it to be. Yeah some would respond well to some type of group farm or co-OP situation. But I guarentee most would need a couple years of training to really be able to support themselves. If it takes. I wont hazard a guess at the success rates but you need some pretty serious plan B, C, and D outside of asylums.

And for the record that's not me talking down the homeless, that's me talking up farming as a lifestyle.

The biggest thing it requires is consistency, doing things every day, rain or shine, hot or cold, sick or injured, tired, hungry. It is a lifestyle, not a job.

The other issue is purely logistics. A good chunk of the good farmland is already taken by existing farms. More and more gets lost with development every year. Finding locations with land capable of supporting larger group farms isnt easy.

I dont think there is even one thing that could be done to fix the issue. Or even one thing that would make a big impact. I think a lot of the change would have to come from society. Removing some laws, stop meddling in peoples lives, less welfare and taxes, accepting wide spread use of "Wards of the State". Look at our meds, specifically the ones treating mental illness. They dont fix the issue, they just treat it, and sometimes not well, or as well as the person is consistent in taking it. I think any move the government tries to make will just be treating the symptom and not the disease.
 
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#119
#119
lukeneyland said:
Lots of mixed emotions for me. Some make it a small business though and that is infuriating. I’m fine with shelters being established, but they can’t be allowed to be drug dens. Screw Ukraine wish we’d address our own problems here
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A lot of homeless shelters don’t allow drugs/ alcohol or even smoking. Many have a curfew where you have to be in for the night by 5-7pm.
 
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#120
#120
DancingOutlaw said:
A lot of homeless shelters don’t allow drugs/ alcohol or even smoking. Many have a curfew where you have to be in for the night by 5-7pm.
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KARM only lets in certain types of homeless people and only for 8 hrs. There are literally 65% of Knoxville’s homeless population that isn’t even allowed to be on their property
 
#121
#121
GroverCleveland said:
Not as many panhandlers are homeless as you think.
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I have a friend who is a part of this culture. He calls himself a traveler. He likes hop trains, hitchhike, and panhandler his way across the country. He's been to most of the 50 states and has some great stories (some fun, some terrifying) to tell. Sometimes he'd do it in a car (he used the term "rubber tramp" for that), but I think he preferred hoping trains and living in a tent.

He's a good dude but even he falls into the addict category (DT tremors) of panhandlers.

So yes, there's the cultural free living vagabond element, there's the mental illness element, and there's the drug addict element. But there's a lot of overlap in those 3 categories. I would imagine most everyone living on the streets falls into at least two of those categories.
 
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#122
#122
Rickyvol77 said:
KARM only lets in certain types of homeless people and only for 8 hrs. There are literally 65% of Knoxville’s homeless population that isn’t even allowed to be on their property
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For what reason? I'm not familiar with their terms.
 
#123
#123
Vol8188 said:
For what reason? I'm not familiar with their terms.
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No history of violence. No medical needs or communicable diseases or bugs. No people with history of criminal behavior especially there. No one without a proper state ID. No one with too many personal items.
 
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#124
#124
NEO said:
15 dollars per hour as a career job is great?
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In BB years (Before Biden), you could at least actually survive in most of the country at $15 per hour if you were healthy and single and didn’t have a smoking or drinking (or other substance) habit to support. Now though with this inflation….OUCH
 
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