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Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Some of you may recall that a while back, in this thread...
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=123058
I got into a disagreement with a few posters about homelessness and how just giving a homeless person food or money was a bad idea.
To recap my position from that thread, I feel that giving a homeless person food or money only helps them survive for that day or to enable a lifestyle that is to their, and society's, ultimate detriment. Further, I said that it is instead better to donate to a homeless shelter. By giving one person food/money for a day, I am helping one person for one day. By donating to a shelter, I am helping the community to get people off the streets and into "real" lives.
Several people disagreed with me, for various reasons that I am not going to recap. You can read the thread if you're interested.
As part of that thread, I said I was going to explore homelessness a little more by taking the following steps...
1-Volunteer at a local homeless shelter for one day
2-Buy some food from a grocery store, sort it into 10 small bags, and give it away
3-Speak with a homeless person and ask them about their life and the lives of other homeless people they know
4-Offer work to a homeless person...I will ask as many homeless people as it takes to help me do some work. I rent a storage space in an area that is loaded with homeless people. I need to clean it out. I will start asking homeless people I see with signs if they're willing to work. I'll pay minimum wage for about two hours of work and see who/what I get.
I wanted to let you all know that I've done steps 2, 3, and 4. I started step 1 today...the orientation for volunteers at the homeless shelter was this morning, so I haven't actually volunteered there yet, but I'm finally able to do so and am planning my first volunteer day for next weekend.
As I said, I've completed the other steps, actually doing more than I said I'd do in step 3.
I will wait to report my feedback until my volunteer day is done, but so far, based on what I saw in steps 2, 3, and 4, my feelings on this subject have not changed.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Did any of them agree to work?
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
That's really awesome, and caring.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Madcap
Did any of them agree to work?
Well....since Madcap asked, what the hell...I'll do my recap even before the volunteer day....
Step 1-Volunteer at a homeless shelter for a day
I haven't actually done this yet, but I did go through the orientation, which took about 90 minutes. They had me and about 40 other volunteers at the shelter this morning, where they sort of told us about what the shleter does, etc. Then they took us on a tour of the place.
This shelter does the following-
provides a place to live for families with children. Each family gets a dorm-like room and can stay there for up to 18 months. The typical time in the shelter is about a year. They do not provide beds to non-families.
Provides meals to ANYBODY that comes in and says they are homeless. They also provide free groceries from an on-premise food bank to those who want to take it out.
Provides child care and k-5 schooling for the children of any homeless person who comes in.
Provides mental health counseling to ANY person who comes in seeking it. Further, the shelter reaches out to those on the streets and encourages them to come in for counseling/mental health assistance.
Provides job-seeking help in the form of a)how to find a job b) how to dress c)how to interview d) how to put together an application or resume e)how to behave on the job f) etc
This place was really nice. Very dignified, etc. I felt horribly seeing the little kids there...some of them were very cute and I just felt horribly that they had to grow up like this. The shelter itself though...nice...and the food they served...as good as anything you'd find in, say, a Morrison's Cafeteria. And they had plenty of it. No hunger necessary if you just find your way to this place.
I spoke with three of the people that were staying there, all women (I was told that 95% of the people that come in there are women....very few "intact" families). One was there because she got kicked out of her sister's apartment because her kids were fighting with the sister's kids, and the women kept losing jobs and couldn't pay rent to the sister. I asked about the father of her two kids and she said she didn't know where he was.
The second woman had one kid, a girl. She said she was there because she moved to Florida expecting to live with her grandmother...then the grandmother died and she didn't have anyplace to go. I asked about the father, she said he lives in Texas and doesn't really make much attempt to see the daughter.
The third one (with two boys) said her own mother kicked her out because, as she put it, "I'm a loser." She admitted that she was "a little wild" (would drink a lot, did drugs, partied, etc) but wanted to change her life. I asked about the father, and she said he was involved in the boys' lives but never paid support.
I am looking forward to volunteering. I think I will try to work in their "employment lab" ...the part that trains people on how to get jobs, etc.
Next post will detail step 2
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
that shelter sounds badass! Is it super crowded?
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Wow, I am impressed with Mr.Hyde today!
That's pretty cool...
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Step 2-Buy some food from a grocery store, sort it into 10 bags, and give it away
Step 4-Offer work to a homeless person
I combined these into one step to make it easier to do.
This was actually the first thing I did, back in August. I wish I had taken notes, because I'm going on near-month old memory, but here's a recap of that day...
I bought some paper lunch bags, 10 apples, 10 bottles of juice, 10 pre-made sandwiches (these were hard to find...I had to go to 7-11...they were the kind in those triangle-shaped little containers), and ten cookies. I then put them all into their bags and set out.
My plan was to drive around and give them out to the beggars at the stoplights and such. Rather than try to go one-by-one over each encounter, I'll give a general overview and then give highlights.
I managed to give away all ten bags, with only two refusals (in other words, I tried to give bags to 12 people, and ten accepted). The two refusals-one was a guy that had a sign that said "Broke Hungry Veteran Please help" or something like that (going on memory). The other guy was just walking between cars and holding out a paper cup. Neither was mean or anything, but they just looked at my bag and then would walk on. It took me about 4 hours to give them all away (I did other things between attempts).
I gave away 5 to people just from my car window. Most people were grateful. In fact, 7 of the total ten seemed genuinely grateful. The other three were sort of matter-of-fact about getting my bag.
The other 5 I gave away were people I approached on the street in downtown Tampa. This took a while...this was also where I began my attempt at getting people to work for me.
None of the 5 downtowners that I gave bags to wanted to work....so I headed out of downtown and back to some major intersections to ask the "corner beggars." I got to 4-5 more homeless guys and no takers.
Some had excuses..."I have a bad back and can't lift things" "I can't go that far away from here" (my storage space was about a mile from that guy) and a few basically said no thanks. One guy out and out admitted that he could make more money begging than he could with what I was going to pay him.
FYI....I only approached people for work that appeared to be mentally "all there" and that had some sort of sign that indicated they wanted help. I didn't want some psycho to kill me, so that limited my options a bit.
So I asked about 9-10 guys to work for me and no takers. I didn't encounter any women on the street.
Step 3 next...
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Right on Mr. Hyde! You are doing such a good and positive thing. You've motivated me again to go out and make a positive change in someones life.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Step 3-talk to a homeless person and ask them about their lives and the lives of other homeless people
As I said above, I talked to three women at the shelter
On the street, I talked to two of the guys about their lives. I gave both of them lunch bags and offered them work, but then asked them more about themselves.
The first guy was living on the street in downtown Tampa. He had a bike that he carried all his stuff on. He was what I would call classic homeless. In the 1930s, he'd be known as a hobo. He said he usually spends winter in Florida and summer in Philly, but he "got stuck" in Fla this year and is staying here now. He was white, of average height, thin, tanned like leather skin, big ass beard, 48 years old (?...or close...I should have taken notes), had been in the army at some point, had also done time for various things, had worked construction for bits and pieces, but most of the last 8-10 years had been living on the streets. He said he had a drinking problem and his family had given him up. I gave him a few bucks for his time. This was the guy who said he could make more money begging than working for me.
The second guy was a corner beggar who was living in the woods near the intersection with some other homeless people. He said they had managed to get a tarp and put it up to keep the rain off. He didn't want to talk much (this was the guy who said where I wanted him to work was too far away), so I couldn't get much out of him. He wouldn't tell me his age but he did say that he liked to drink beer and "I hate fuckin jobs...I ain't cut out for that shit."
I'll report on the rest of Step 1 next week and then recap how my feelings on this subject have changed.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TheSexKitten
that shelter sounds badass! Is it super crowded?
There was an open room there that they showed us, but also said there was a 3 month wait to get a room. It was not super-crowded. In fact, I had to sort of search out the homeless women I spoke to after the orientation.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Wow impressive and interesting. There are a ton of homeless people over here on the east side of the state as well. I've always wondered about them so it's interesting to read what you have discovered!
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Wow! Interesting!!! I can't wait to hear the results.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
I think it's really great that you're doing this. Pontificating online is easy, but it's unusual to see someone put so much effort into really getting a firsthand education on the subject. Kudos. And that shelter sounds great.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
I just looked back over my recaps, and remembered that I didn't give the two guys I spoke with at the street corners lunch bags...I was out of them at that point...but I gave the second guy a few dollars, maybe 3-4, for talking with me.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
OK The end of my research...
I finally did a volunteer day at the homeless shelter in Tampa. I get derailed by various things that have really turned my world upside down over the last 6-8 months...mostly good things (REALLY good things), but some that were rough as well...anyway, on to the final report...
I did a day of volunteering a few weeks ago at the homeless shelter. I volunteered in their job center, an office where homeless people (well, actually, they'll help anyone that wants it) can get help finding a job. I spent the good part of a Friday in there. Got there at about 9 am. It was me and another volunteer. Here's a timeline of the day...all times approximate....
9am-1030am-Sorting through donated clothes to find things appropriate for a job interview. Interesting....there was underwear with holes in it...there was a woolen scarf (this is Florida)...but mostly good stuff. The stuff goes out to a dry cleaner that donates their time for the shelter. They keep a closet full of this stuff for people to wear (and keep) when looking for jobs. This time was also sprinkled with some phone calls that the other person, a woman in her 50s, handled (she'd worked there before).
1030-1130ish-Our first "client"- A woman who had moved in to the shelter two weeks ago. HS dropout, about 20 with a son. No real skills or anything and had had 3-4 jobs before in things like convenience stores, etc. She was a mess....no social skills, poor communication skills, etc...dressed like a slob...basically white trash...but she seemed nice enough even if she was kind of ragged. The two of us made up a list of things she needed to do to get ready to look for work...trim her nails, the woman scheduled her to get her hair done...basically get her appearance looking good. I helped her put together a rudimentary resume. We were trying to encourage her to go to a local trade school or something but she said she hated school...oh well. Then we got a list of jobs for her that the shelter has available. and told her to look through them and come back in a few days once she has the "appearance" thing down.
12 pm-130 pm-Cold calling partners of the shelter checking on available jobs for a jobs board the shelter keeps.
130-200-Second "Client"-A guy who was a repeat visitor came in. The woman mostly dealt with him but I listened in. This guy had worked mostly construction but had hurt himself and couldn't work anymore. He had been on disability but it ran out (?). Was looking for anything but kept coming up no luck. I suggested that he and I do a mock interview and see if that was the problem...
whoa...
this guy, as soon as, in my role as mock interviewer, I asked him if he had a problem with being told what to do...he got all confrontational...."I don't answer to NO man and especially no woman!" And went on in that vein for a while. Had to calm him down...
I think I see the problem here. I let the woman handle him from there because she had more experience than I did...
I had to leave while she was with him....
That was my day, basically.
End of research project report coming soon.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Give a man a fish and he eats for the day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for the rest of his life.
Build a man a fire and he is warm for the night. Set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
It sounds like you mostly encountered systemic homeless people. They couldn't function in society and didn't really want to either. There are a lot of homeless people that never make it into the system. They have jobs and couch surf or live in cars or RVs. Those types avoid the system designed to help them due to the systemic homeless presence.
My mom's church allows homeless families to live in their basement. They house about 30 people year round. They are newly homeless having been put out due to medical bankruptcies or foreclosure or something like that. They were all formerly what would have been called middle class people prior to becoming homeless.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Paris
It sounds like you mostly encountered systemic homeless people. They couldn't function in society and didn't really want to either. There are a lot of homeless people that never make it into the system. They have jobs and couch surf or live in cars or RVs. Those types avoid the system designed to help them due to the systemic homeless presence.
My mom's church allows homeless families to live in their basement. They house about 30 people year round. They are newly homeless having been put out due to medical bankruptcies or foreclosure or something like that. They were all formerly what would have been called middle class people prior to becoming homeless.
I also spoke with some guys on the streets last year...wrote some of those encounters up earlier in the thread.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
At the risk of sounding like a cold hearted bitch, but homeless people are usually homeless for a reason. The government and do-gooders would like it to be simply because they don't have a home which allows for a nice easy solution. Unfortunately the causes of homelessness is much more complex than income, jobs, housing availability or affordability.
Just like Alcoholics aren't alcoholics just because they like alcohol. Here in Australia we have a problem with teen binge drinking, naturally the government thinks the solution is to increase the price of pre-mixed alcohol. Not suprisingly teens are now just drinking it straight from the cheaper non-mixed bottles! Simple solutions don't work on complex problems!
But good for you on actually finding out about problems at the coalface than regurgitating other peoples crap.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
OK here is my report...
I took this project on after a heated thread last year that accused me of being insensitive to the plight of the homeless. The thread in question was about giving food and money to homeless people. I said that doing so was bad...it only made the problem worse, as it enables those homeless who get such handouts to keep living on the street and to keep addictive habits, etc. I said that instead, one should take that money and donate it to homeless shelters, where the homeless can get help in a structured setting. Several people took severe issue with that stand.
Now, having taken all the steps in my research project, I believe the following...
1-My stand on the main, original question has not changed. In fact, I'd say my experiences strengthened that stand. The people that I gave food to on the street were able to eat for that day (except the two that refused it)...but did that help them not become homeless? The ones I offered work to refused, all of them. Why? They obviously don't want to work....they're happy eking out an existence on the streets. Now, that's fine, as long as they're not fouling up public works or dragging down property values....but it also doesn't mean I'm going to just give them money for which I worked hard...and they did nothing but beg.
2-Donating to homeless shelters IS the best thing to do. This shelter at which I volunteered was FANTASTIC. The give hope, dignity, and purpose to people who are at the end of their rope. They help people to get back in to society, they provide immediate shelter, and they do it all in a dignified manner. Between my experiences with the street homeless and my experience at the shelter, I am now more firmly convinced that giving food/money to homeless street people is a detriment to society, while giving money/food/time to shelters is a help to society.
OK, I've said my piece on this, and had an interesting time also. I'll be volunteering more at the shelter this summer.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Oh, I'd like to add one more thing...an apology. Looking back on this, I originally said I was going to have all of this done within a month of my original post...and it took me almost 8 months. Life has a way of getting in the way of goals sometimes...
By the way, one other contention in the other thread was that not everyone can go to shelters to get help, and/or that they can be unsafe. I've only had experience with two shelters, and the first was over 20 years ago, but this one that I worked was so safe that I'd live there myself. It was a great atmosphere and I never got any impression that anyone had anything to worry about WRT to personal or property safety.
Anyway...hope this thread has helped shed some light on this subject.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
As an afterthought - as this might shed some light on some of your experiences. Only about ten percent of the homeless are actually out of work individuals down on their luck. The rest are mentally ill individuals that REALLY need to be institutionalised - because their insurance, cash or family has run out on them.
So, the institutions being the money making whores that they are literally just dump these people out into the street.
Most ( note I said most ) of the homeless could be happy healthy individuals with managed care, drugs and therapy. But, until there's some sort of money set aside for this we will continue to have homeless mentally ill people.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
I think this is awesome. I want to give out lunch bags now!
If any of you are familiar with Las Vegas, you know Main St near downtown. There are blocks and blocks of homeless people in tents, it looks like a little mini city in and of itself. I live on the north side of the city, and sometimes drive down that street on my way to work for a reality check when I bitch I'm not making as much as I should be. It really breaks my heart.
I am totally going to do it. Thanks for the inspiration, Mr Hyde.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
I hope it's ok to toot my own horn one more time....
I've been volunteering off and on at the shelter I described above...a lot more off than on, honestly...but I got an email tonight that one of the guys that I "counseled" got a job. I wasn't the only one that helped this guy but I was the first and sort of his primary contact. He got a job with a company that cleans out foreclosed homes and will start work next week.
Kind of cool. Definitely balances out having to fire someone, at least a little.
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Re: Mr Hyde's Homeless Research Project
Definitely more than balances, I'd say. You laid off someone who is now and has been fully capable of getting a job, and he lost it for a reason. This person you helped felt like they had no other choice but to be homeless for a long time, it seems. Now they're back out there and contributing. :) Looks like you are making a difference. :)