A valid argument maybe, but we were on a pub crawl at the time. In all honesty, what exactly did my friend think I was going to spend the money on?

if you dislike me for being homeless,i dont care and dont want to hear about it.anyone genuinely curious to learn what ive learned on the streets for the purposes of exposing fraud and helping real needy people,i will be more then happy to help.

i find it funny how everything spins.there are hundreds of these college kids and rich offspring that walk onto the streets and “infiltrate homelessness”.first off,why not just walk up and ask a homeless person?a real homeless person is going to give you answers.you can spot them from the junkies and the con artists,its simple really.junkies and cons are after one thing,your cash,so they are going to make up stories to get it,and the story will just grow and grow until you walk away in hopes that time will equal more money.

i would say 80% of beggars are addicted to narcotics or alcohol,but leave the real figures to people paid to figure them.but they area scam,and to punish real needy people for it,is it worth it to you?.should i kick my housecat because i see a lion on tv eat a cute little gazelle?not very christian.

you know there are good honest homeless people out there,i know,as i am one of them.i do not drink,i do not do drugs,and i do not talk to invisible friends or hack up strangers because i suffer from some mental handicap.i am simply homeless due to circomstance.

yes,there is food out there for the asking.but honestly,
wouldnt you rather go order your food at mcdonalds then stand in line with all the crazy and addicted people stinking up the isle and contemplating how to steal your stuff.well,maybe thats just me,but i dont use food lines or homeless shelters because they are desease ridden,and quite frankly for the real homeless people like me dangerous.plus i have a dog which prevents any real hands on services,but thats ok.
i am a traveler.i hitchike around and only make stops to put money in my pocket.i use the cardboard sign method known as “signing”.i use the money for food and the occasional motel room for a shower and night off when my sweat pores scream for mercy.
am i lazy,you try to be homeless for a few days and accomplish just the basic things you would in a normal day at your house on the street and with no resources and then ask.i would gladly work,but i have a discinigrating left kneecap and most employers take one look at it and pass me by for the mexican with the hangover.my wallet was stolen last february which keeps me from any real job i could get.
but im sure im just another no good lazy turd from across the street,and thats ok.i wonder how our pioneers,your ancesters,wouldve done in america without begging for assistance.lol.
god bless,lighten up guys.

A couple days ago, as I was leaving a grocery store I saw a homeless man. I hesitated but couldn’t just walk away so I reached for my wallet but couldn’t find it, and I realized I must have left it in the store. I rushed back inside and – believe it or not – there was already somebody looking through it and taking out my cash and credit card. I yelled out, and he made some lame excuse and gave it to me. If I hadn’t decided to give the homeless man some money, I wouldn’t have noticed that I’d lost my wallet until it was too late. I’m not a very religious person, but I like to think it was a sign from some sort of higher being that giving to the homeless is a good thing.

Feel free to disagree, but I better start carrying smaller bills!

If they dont have any transport their choices are very limited for job opportunities ( which most have no transportation) which reduces their chances for employment even further.

The deck is stacked against the homeless and laws are unethically and immorally applied indirectly to make being homeless a crime.Afterall we dont want people to see how much society or a particular city has failed nor do we want non-taxable citizens in our cities.How dare they not pay their tribute to the government so that we may use the money for abortions and wars.

Shelters are also designed to keep homeless off the streets so the hours require individuals to be in by a certain time which may range from 7 to 10 pm and often require its residents to vacate during the day.This also drastically reduces what employment one may gain.No night shifts and limited hours for 2nd shifters.That is again if you can even get into a shelter.

People seem to view the homeless as a scourge or plague but the real problems in society emanate in much greater numbers among the homed and the well to do.

Pretending to know what it is like to be truly homeless after a weekend experiment, is like claiming to be a heart surgeon after reading a few cardio facts out of a medical textbook.

There are a wide variety of reasons people become homeless and it generally involves the state or government screwing up and failing to provide for it’s citizens.

Homeless people come from all backgrounds and have a wide variety of reasons for being homeless.

Some reasons being:

* Mental Illness
* Physical Disabilities or Illnesses
* Sudden Loss of Employment
* Being thrown out by parents or significant other
* Being exploited by the financial sector (large portion of recent increases in homelessness)
* Unethical Landlords
* Minimum wage just doesnt cut it these days either so even when a job and hard work some people still cant pay their bills
* Huge medical bills from illness
* Natural Events such as earthquake, floods, tornadoes etc
* A general series of unfortunate events that can happen to anyone

Theres a long list of reasons people end up homeless and most of them do not involve alcohol and drugs.Many people also only pick up their habits long after they have been on the streets and do so to try and numb the pain.

People mistakenly assume that everyone follows the rules in realm of society and that if we fall ill or become disabled that the appropriate agencies will be there to fix things and this just isnt the case.Many people who end up disabled for a variety of reasons and cannot work at all either are unable to get benefits due to the extreme cost of doctor’s appointments which end up being paid out of pocket to prove it satisfactorily and often times a lawyer is needed to fight for benefits.I’ve personally known a couple cases where people were disabled due to heart failure and it took 2 to 4 years to get due benefits.Do you think that debtors will wait four years to be paid? No, of course not. What happens? You end up homeless. If you cant pay for bills and housing you end up homeless.

Very few people become homeless due to bad habits like drugs or alcohol and represents a tiny portion of the true homeless population.

In regards to attempting to make it seem like homeless people contribute to crime and that we should eradicate this problem, far more crimes are committed by wealthy or middle class individuals than homeless. As to why many have repeated arrests, if I were to give you a choice between laying down and dying in the streets or committing a crime to survive, what would you choose? I dont know anyone who would choose to lay down and die in the streets.Some people just have serious mental issues as well. But the homeless are no more mental than anyone else.Police and service men/women routinely are involved in horrendous crimes sometimes over the entire course of their careers. Does this mean we should seek to eradicate those who service this country? Of course not.

So many people seem to think it is so easy to get benefits or assistance when in fact there are no benefits for many demographics.Especially white males over age 19.

Also for many homeless it is very difficult to obtain records to apply in the first place and all benefits require a permanent residence generally.

Shelters are also another issue.Shelter staff are often asinine or criminal and treat many homeless as their personal toys or emotional punching bags.There are many cases of sexual harassment or assault on homeless by staff and even other homeless.The shelters tend to be filled with vile people on both sides of things and your personal possessions will be stolen quite quickly, since the shelter cant be bothered with locker or personal storage that can be secured.Shelters also cater mostly to women or women and children with men being last in line unless they have their entire family with them on the streets.Single white males over 19 have the worst deal when it comes to homelessness.

Generally when people make such broad generalizations against homelessness it is because they have little to no experience with homeless people or being homeless personally and tend to come from middle or upper class families who have spoiled them incessantly.At least this has been my experience.

The issue runs deeper than the homeless.The main issue is that society and government has failed to take care of it’s citizens as it was designed to do.The issue is capitalist greed and classist divisions.I guarantee that those who are anti-homeless and being completely ignorant today will be singing a different tune when they end up on the other side of the fence and with how the economy is being run into the ground this could be anyone tomorrow.One in ten people nationally are currently unable to gain employment including many college graduates.No employment eventually = homeless in most cases.