Outcast by the social safety net. Homeless and 86'ed by the shelters.
Hey there Steemians!
Homeless life is difficult for people who have lost their mobility and/or mental faculties. For the disabled and mentally ill, homelessness can be a death sentence. People who are especially challenged are often the most difficult to help, and as a result they end up exiled from social service providers. There are untouchables who are exiled even from the homeless community.
This harsh reality is a facet of every homeless shelter or service center I have visited.
There are people who are either so far gone mentally, or so beat down emotionally that they get 86’d from the places of safety. There are relatively few places a homeless person can go to for safety and quiet. Once the service centers exile the most at-risk individuals they end up even further distanced from any help. These are the people who end up talking with me.There are people like me who live in this homeless reality with relative grace. I seem to have my ship together in this lifestyle. As a result those who are quickly sinking reach out to me for support. I do my best to help, but honestly asking me for a leg up is like asking a drowned man to loan you a life jacket. When I am underwater I can’t really offer much safety.
This reality is pretty constant for me. People see me as having my life together because their lives are that much more challenging. It’s hard to tell people I can’t help. But that is the reality. I do what I can to help people to navigate their smartphones, or to job hunt on Craigslist. I do what I can to listen to their troubles, and I attempt to render support.
There are so many people in the world with more to offer than me. I hardly have two pennies to rub together. But I will give one of those two cents to someone else if it can somehow help them to better their position in this world. I just wonder why I am the safety net for the people who have been exiled. What bothers me is that people who have far more to offer, better options and real resources to support those who have been written off by the establishment choose to turn a blind eye.
I can’t understand a system which exiles those who are most in need. It just doesn’t make sense to turn away the people who genuinely cannot manage their own lives. There is an 86 list at the shelters and soup kitchens. The people who have been exiled and removed from services dramatically suffer the loss of these resources. Bear in mind that soup kitchens and shelters are the last refuge for the homeless. These are the places you end up at when food stamps and HUD are no longer an option.
This level of social outcast is addressed mainly by law enforcement. Sadly, law enforcement doesn’t offer the structure and support that is genuinely needed by the people who have been outcast by the establishment’s social services. These outcasts end up being murdered by police in some cases. The cops and judges know that jail time won’t help. The state lacks beds in mental health facilities. Doctors and nurses operate inside of guidelines which dictate the manner in which they must respond to the needs of these social outcasts. Aside from threatening them with police action, hospitals keep private security on site to remove people from the facility who they “cannot help”.
People in the USA who are outcast by mainstream social services are still worthy of human dignity.
We need to address this aspect of society in the USA. No one should fall through the cracks in our country. We are all in a position to effect positive change in the lives of those who are most at risk. If I, as a homeless activist, can reach a hand down to the “untouchable” class of the homeless community, then anyone can.In the homeless advocacy and assistance industry workers suffer from what is known as compassion fatigue. When you are rendering services to people who are down and out there comes a point where you begin to question whether that person is worthy of your help. This compassion fatigue is causing our nation to slip further towards a situation where homeless executions are happening. In fact the Portland Police Bureau was investigated by the Department of Justice because they had killed so many people with mental disabilities an investigation was triggered.
It is difficult to help people who are not doing well. Helping people who are suffering with disabilities or mental maladies requires special training, even therapists who are specialized in helping people with these challenges have a hard time helping people who have reached this lowest tier of the socioeconomic ladder. So what can I do? How can a homeless person with no training help someone who is suffering exile from service providers?
One of the main things I do to help people who are being neglected by the rest of society is to listen.
People have difficulties, people experience challenges and they have no one to share the burden with. They want someone who will listen and understand. They need to be acknowledged. Isn’t that is what everyone needs really?
I understand that society is a system rigged to further uplift those who are currently on top. With the Trump tax scam it’s more clear than before that we are living in an oligarchy. The wealthy class of people reap the vast majority of all income in the USA and the world. We the citizens by and large are suffering through poverty, many are one paycheck away from homelessness. The people in the USA are stuck in a situation where the government is catering to the elites and absolutely crushing the poor.
States and counties are imposing work requirements to receive aid, reasonable requirements in a healthy economy. In the economy of modern day USA these work prerequisites are in essence a termination of services notice. Not because there are no jobs, or because the requirements are too high. It’s simply a matter of reflecting on the people who are in need of these services. Once you see clearly who is being supported the idea of pushing them out of the social safety net becomes unthinkable. At least for people who have some conscience.
I know it’s difficult to see the homeless people in your reality.
It’s hard to give attention to those who are suffering when you are living a life of comfort. This is going to become a real necessity in the USA as Trump continues to prop up our failing kleptocracy. The economy is quickly increasing the distance between the haves and the have nots. The number of homeless will continue to grow as gentrification places housing out of the reach of the poor.People on the bottom rung of society in the USA are being criminalized for their very existence. Offering food or shelter to the poor is being criminalized, and the incarceration industry is growing off of the suffering of the poor. Meanwhile those homeless who are too broken to navigate the social services labyrinth are outcast by both mainstream society and street culture. The lost are not unfound, they are uncared for.
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Sad reality a dilemma around the world. I often see people sleeping on the streets everytime I go to work. I cannot believe that people get murdered on the streets instead of helping to get back to society. Where is humanity? You have a good heart and the world needs more people like you. I feel you when you mentioned about the life jacket and there is only so much you could do in your own way. I see people and even kids sleeping on the streets and it breaks my heart everyday.
Then you answer it by saying you listen, and to be able to listen you need to be on their "level" not you have to be homeless or mentally ill , just you need to remove your ego and have no influence other than what they are saying, if you do this people tend to become more aware which in itself can help them. Obviously that is a bit sentimental for lack of a better word but I think it is true, from there they still need actual help much a person can't provide but listening and making them feel more aware you will also maybe find that they are not just trying to take advantage anymore and will not request help you can't provide. A person who feels shut out will demand ludicrous things, a person who feels understood will relate.
I do not care to speak about government as though it will make any difference since it does not , it is an entity and not individuals such as thinking that if more governement employees were to try and be better etc , this will not make a difference to the entity or will be too slow. A parasite needs to be eradicated , and the only way we can have individuals in law enforcement , health services etc take responsibility for their communities is by removing their attachment to the parasite as a whole.
Best of wishes to you and those who rely on your support no matter how small it is, you get to live with yourself and they might just give themselves a leg up because of you. That is all you can hope for.
It's hard feeling powerless to help. You are totally right though, listening does help. People who live outside don't have people to talk with about their issues. They are outcasts.
So when someone does genuinely listen with a good heart it really makes a difference. It's not much of an offering. but it' all I have.
I also totally agree, government doesn't really create solutions, they create tax burdens. Solutions come from individuals. I like to say that money on it's own can accomplish nothing. It takes people to make things happen. Many people require money to do things, but the things I do for people on the streets I do out of caring, not in the interest of profit.
The phrase "Interest of Profit" should not exist. But utopia is not a phrase we can yet comprehend so instead we have that.
Money can't accomplish anything alone, which might be better than money that does harm. Problem with any and all of it is the fact that there is a person behind the actions and effects , and we have built our entire society around turning a blind eye to those above us when they do anything other than "good" .
Haha mainly why I care not to speak on the topic of gov etc is because for me I will have them all shot, and I will implement managing humans deemed not fit and not just that I will back controlling growth.
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I remember when they were arresting people for feeding homeless in florida. The government and laws are way out of line - it doesnt seem constitutional or human.
Screw the system - just help in whatever way you can.. that's what I do in my own life at least. I just recently became a "normal" person, living in an apartment but my family and I were homeless for the last year and we are just one of thousands of people/families that have been swept aside by the system.
I commend you for giving them an ear to listen, you're 100% right that is what they need and it's the best we can do. Not a fake yeah, I hear ya type of listen either, but a real understanding. We met so many people along out homeless journey, some much worse off than us. Those suffering from disabilities and metal illness are definitely one of the largest communities that really suffer because if they don't have a strong family to support them they will eventually end up trying to live off of government services and housing but they are so overrun - I don't know about your state but here in MA the waitlists are YEARS.. and emergency aid is nearly impossible to get - they have some "family" services which are BS and non-existent unless you're a single mother but there is some tiny hope if you have children.. if you're on your own you are screwed because once they shelters are full they tell you to beat it. Sometimes it's safer outside than in a shelter anyways..
Oh jeez I've rambled on.. I'm sorry! But I really liked your post and what you're saying here. Sorry for your situation but I'm glad to see you're trying to make the best of it.
It's shocking that in the USA we see such discriminatory laws. The poor are the new untouchable class in the USA, people in poverty can be discriminated against and it's generally acceptable to discriminate against the poor.
Of all the protected classes in the USA, the poor are not among them. We have these signs all over town describing how we place love over hate, the signs describe all of the groups of people who are acceptable, poor people don't make the list.
Poverty is a death sentence for many in the USA, poverty means you cannot get decent health or dental care. Poverty means you cannot access education, and you can not access your elected officials.
It's a two tiered system in the USA, the ultra-wealthy and everyone else.