What does it take to become homeless?  Sure drugs and alcohol are big factors, but how close could you be in being homeless?

You are a single parent, the other parent of your child left or has died and didn’t have any life insurance.  Your family of three was already living paycheck to paycheck, not having a chance to save, not having a chance to get ahead.

You are home with your 2 month old child taking care of her while your partner is out making the money for the family.  Their is no support because both of your parents and his are deceased and you both are in your early 20’s.

Your husband that was working two jobs, one was maintenance at a marina and the other was delivering pizzas.  He was just done making deliveries that night and on the way home when a guy came up and car jacked you at the stop light in front of the grocery store and left a big gash in your face and stole your wallet that had your money order for your rent that is due tomorrow.  You called your delivery job and told them what had happened, they apologized but said they couldn’t use you if you didn’t have a car.

Now you have 1 part time job 23 miles away at the marina that you work 4 hours a day 5 days a week.  You have to take 3 buses to get their which takes 1 hour and 50 minutes one way.

Now you have to call your land lord and tell him what happened and he is not all to happy.  You have been consistently late with your rent and I cannot do that any more.  The tax on the property has gone up and I need the money.  You have to come up with it in 3 days or you have to get out.  The two parents don’t know what to do, they sit their bewildered and the baby starts crying and her stress level is now increasing and starts yelling at the husband.  His stress level is through the roof and has to go for a walk to cool down.

He is walking through his neighborhood to the local corner store when gang members start shooting at each other and then he fell down.  He couldn’t figure out why.  He felt a warm sensation on the front of him, he put his hand down their and brought it back up and it was full of blood.  He was shot right in the chest.  He heard all the sirens coming near but they never made it over to him.  He tried yelling but his lung actually collapsed and he can’t make enough sound for any body to hear him.  Now it’s hurting, he can’t sit up, he has passed out in the grass next to the sidewalk in a shadow cast down by the streetlight next to the bush.

Four or five minutes have passed now and people are coming out of their house to see all the commotion down the street and he was spotted and called 911.  The 911 operator said the ambulance was already dispatched and should already be their, the caller said know their is another person down the street that has been shot.

All of a sudden she sees 2 police cars come swarming in, they get out of the car and starts yelling everybody get back.  Who called this in, the caller steps forward.  One of the police officers call in and request an ambulance but time the ambulance gets their he has died and bled out.

It wasn’t until 11am the next day the police find out who he was and where he lived and knocked on the door.  She answered the door and saw a yellow enveloped tapped to her door that had the words “3 day notice, Pay or Quit” and the police officer told that her husband has died.  They asked her if she had anybody that they could call, she said no, I don’t have any family and we just moved here just a couple of months ago.

The police officers said they had to leave with a word of condolences.

She didn’t know what she could do.  It’s Saturday morning and now only has 2 days to get out of their apartment and only has $78 in the bank.  She sit’s their just staring at the 3 day notice and her baby is crying again, she hasn’t feed the baby yet this morning.  She goes to the cupboard and gets 1 of only 4 jars of baby food out of the cupboard and feeds her child.

Monday comes and she goes to the county welfare office to see if she can get some help.  She sits their for 4 hours filling out paperwork and waiting to be seen by the worker.  The case worker tells her, it will take about 3 weeks to file this paperwork and get a decision.  She tells her that she has to be out of the house by tomorrow, the case worker sighs and said their isn’t any thing I can do. their is a woman’s shelter down 6 blocks.  If you will not be in your house, you will have to contact us with a mailing address.

The widow leaves crying with her baby in her arms.  She goes down to the shelter and waits in the hall for about 20-30 minutes waiting to talk to someone.  A lady piers out the door and ask what do you want?  She tells the story of what has happened.  She said their is nothing she can do, it is a first come first serve basis.  You have to wait in line by 5pm and if we have a bed then you can come in, if not you will have to try again tomorrow.

She goes home a broken woman, she has a baby buggy and a wagon.  All she could load on to the wagon was two garbage bags full of her and her childs clothing.

Tuesday has come with some freezing rain in November.  She knows she will have to leave, her landlord is one of these slum lords and will force her out.  She put the two bags next to the door but she has run out of diapers and has to go to the store that is about 11 blocks away.  She left about 11am and didn’t get back until 1:45 pm.

She came back and found most of her stuff in the hallway and the locks were changed.  She sat in front of the door crying for about an hour.  She got the buggy and wagon and put two bags in the waggon and now had to walk about 45 blocks to the shelter.  She has $65 dollars left now and has to make the money last for 3 weeks, she can’t afford to take an Uber or the bus.

It took her 2 1/4 hours to walk all that way which made it 5pm and their was a line a block and half long, their had to be about 150 people their.  The doors opened and was slowly people going in and only 10 minutes have gone by and the line is still a block long.  A man came out and said that’s it folks, all the beds are filled.  You can try again tomorrow.  She started tearing up, she didn’t know what to do.  She walked over to the park and sat their for 2 hours.

A police officer walked up and said mam the park is closed, it’s after dark now you will have to leave.  I don’t have anywhere to go, I was evicted and the shelter is full. I am sorry said the officer you can’t stay here, if you do I will have to arrest you and then child services will come and take your child.

She is totally devastated that know one is helping.  She walks out of the park pushing her buggy and pulling her wagon.  She walks through down town to the bridge to see if their is a place she can stay dry and care for her child. 

 

Sometimes it’s just bad circumstances that has happened.  If you can help please help.  We are one of the top richest countries on the planet and we are unable to help people who really need some help.

 

                         

Homelessness

In 2005, an estimated 100 million (1 in 65) people worldwide were homeless

Most countries provide a variety of services to assist homeless people. These services often provide food, shelter (beds) and clothing and may be organized and run by community organizations (often with the help of volunteers) or by government departments or agencies. These programs may be supported by the government, charities, churches and individual donors. Many cities also have street newspapers, which are publications designed to provide employment opportunity to homeless people. While some homeless have jobs, some must seek other methods to make a living. Begging or panhandling is one option, but is becoming increasingly illegal in many cities. People who are homeless may have additional conditions, such as physical or mental health issues or substance addiction; these issues make resolving homelessness a challenging policy issue.

The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 was a predisposing factor in setting the stage for homelessness in the United States.^[32] Long term psychiatric patients were released from state hospitals into SROs and supposed to be sent to community mental health centers for treatment and follow-up. It never quite worked out properly, the community mental health centers mostly did not materialize, and this population largely was found living in the streets soon thereafter with no sustainable support system.

In 2002, research showed that children and families were the largest growing segment of the homeless population in the United States,^[36][37] and this has presented new challenges, especially in services, to agencies. Some trends involving the plight of homeless people have provoked some thought, reflection and debate. One such phenomenon is paid physical advertising, colloquially known as “sandwich board men“.

Victimization by violent crimes[edit]

The homeless are often the victims of violent crime. A 2007 study found that the rate of violent crimes against the homeless in the United States is increasing.^[80][81] In the United States in 2013 there were 109 reported attacks on homeless people, an increase of 24 per cent on the previous year, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Eighteen of those attacked died as a result. In July 2014 three boys 15, 16 and 18, were arrested and charged with beating to death two homeless men with bricks and a metal pole in Albuquerque.

Health care[edit]

Health care for homeless people is a major public health challenge.^[135] Homeless people are more likely to suffer injuries and medical problems from their lifestyle on the street, which includes poor nutrition,^[136] exposure to the severe elements of weather, and a higher exposure to violence (robberies, beatings, and so on). Yet at the same time, they have little access to public medical services or clinics,^[137] in part because they often lack identification or registration for public health care services. There are significant challenges in treating homeless people who have psychiatric disorders because clinical appointments may not be kept, their continuing whereabouts are unknown, their medicines may not be taken as prescribed and monitored, medical and psychiatric histories are not accurate, and for other reasons. Because many homeless people have mental illnesses, this has presented a crisis in care.

A report commissioned by homeless charity Crisis in 2011 found that on average homeless people in the UK have a life expectancy of 47 years, 30 years younger than the rest of the population.

The story above is not a real story, however all the pictures and the homeless information are real.