War war war

I am all for people doing these things but in all honesty I find it hard to understand how people living in relatively affluent nations end up in the state of having to search through garbage for food and while part of me thinks it is great to see good people helping out another part of me thinks why don't these people do something to improve their own lot.
 
MontyB said:
in all honesty I find it hard to understand how people living in relatively affluent nations end up in the state of having to search through garbage for food
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My guess is that it's fairly easy to end up in that situation.

You lose your job and home, your marriage breaks down, you perhaps become depressed etc. You have no money and no access to any. The authorities aren't interested. You're too ashamed/embarrassed to seek help?
 
Well, having been there, I think I can kinda answer that.

In some instances it's a matter of not having enough food. In others they are homeless, and in a large number of cases mental illness keeps them homeless. In the US (I cannot answer for the UK) getting mental health counseling & treatment can be done, and most usually it is expensive. People point at that as a reason for needing a healthcare bill, but fail to understand that what they are looking at is a possible cure 10-20 years down the road for a problem that is here and now.

Along with mental illness are the amplifiers- alcoholism and drug addiction. Until they get the help they need, many will stay living on the streets and perhaps even die there.

In some instances mental illness is not the cause, instead the lack of affordable housing. I was in that fix for a bit. I was lucky, I own a travel trailer and I could park in a number of places. But that still doesn't take the sting out of being homeless. Just a little bit better off than others. I had the money to rent, but could not find anyone to rent to me. So I finally bought myself a home (with thanks to God and the USDA) for half of what a rental 1/4 the size in a far worse neighborhood would cost.

I dunno if that answers your question, but it's a start.
 
-- Dusty said:
Well, having been there, I think I can kinda answer that.

In some instances it's a matter of not having enough food. In others they are homeless, and in a large number of cases mental illness keeps them homeless. In the US (I cannot answer for the UK) getting mental health counseling & treatment can be done, and most usually it is expensive. People point at that as a reason for needing a healthcare bill, but fail to understand that what they are looking at is a possible cure 10-20 years down the road for a problem that is here and now.

Along with mental illness are the amplifiers- alcoholism and drug addiction. Until they get the help they need, many will stay living on the streets and perhaps even die there.

In some instances mental illness is not the cause, instead the lack of affordable housing. I was in that fix for a bit. I was lucky, I own a travel trailer and I could park in a number of places. But that still doesn't take the sting out of being homeless. Just a little bit better off than others. I had the money to rent, but could not find anyone to rent to me. So I finally bought myself a home (with thanks to God and the USDA) for half of what a rental 1/4 the size in a far worse neighborhood would cost.

I dunno if that answers your question, but it's a start.
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Good for you Dusty.:bravo:
 
-- Dusty said:
Well, having been there, I think I can kinda answer that.

In some instances it's a matter of not having enough food. In others they are homeless, and in a large number of cases mental illness keeps them homeless. In the US (I cannot answer for the UK) getting mental health counseling & treatment can be done, and most usually it is expensive. People point at that as a reason for needing a healthcare bill, but fail to understand that what they are looking at is a possible cure 10-20 years down the road for a problem that is here and now.

Along with mental illness are the amplifiers- alcoholism and drug addiction. Until they get the help they need, many will stay living on the streets and perhaps even die there.

In some instances mental illness is not the cause, instead the lack of affordable housing. I was in that fix for a bit. I was lucky, I own a travel trailer and I could park in a number of places. But that still doesn't take the sting out of being homeless. Just a little bit better off than others. I had the money to rent, but could not find anyone to rent to me. So I finally bought myself a home (with thanks to God and the USDA) for half of what a rental 1/4 the size in a far worse neighborhood would cost.

I dunno if that answers your question, but it's a start.
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I have to admit I have never really looked into the mental illness side of things with regard to this issue.
As an aside you mentioned not finding anyone to rent to you which reminded me of an incident we had in the US where a friend lived in a trailer park but wanted to use our address on job applications because he claimed it gave him a better chance at a managerial job, is there anything in this or was he just pulling our chain?
 
It's very possible. Some people don't like others because of race or religion. And some are so desperate for a reason to hate someone that they will say it's because of housing. If he could prove it he could sue them for a Fair Housing Act violation.
 
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