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Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

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Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#81

Post by rmc »

coldtea wrote: post #68
raverbashing wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the same time, there are a lot of employees suing companies "just because", so the feeling has some justification.

Only in places like the modern US, where suing is a kind of hobby, and you can be sued for anything. In other places (and in the US in the past) neither the companies expect to be sued and take pre-emptive measures, nor the employees sue "just because". At least not any significant numbers.

Really? But the right wing in the UK keep insisting it's because of all that red tape from Brussels and the EU? How can the USA, being free from the yoke of Eurocrats, have such similar problems???

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#82

Post by imgabe »

Are there charities set up that could help with something like this? I mean it would literally take less than $5k to get this guy set up. A couple suits of decent clothes, a security deposit and first months rent for an apartment, a bus ticket to wherever his job is.

That is a bargain for removing a homeless person from the system. Local governments and shelters should be jumping at the chance to do it.

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#83

Post by trasc »

raverbashing wrote: post #43
kiba wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're too old. You have a criminal background. You're too overeducated. We think you'll sue. You're too young. It seemed that companies are loathed to take risk on employee. At the same time, lot of environments contained toxic working conditions, so it's not clear if their choice of employees matter much. But people must find a job to keep themselves afloat or depend on someone having a job. It didn't matter if you…

At the same time, there are a lot of employees suing companies "just because", so the feeling has some justification.

I do not understand this comment. Can you point at an example of this?

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#84

Post by dgoldstein0 »

rmc wrote: post #81
coldtea wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only in places like the modern US, where suing is a kind of hobby, and you can be sued for anything. In other places (and in the US in the past) neither the companies expect to be sued and take pre-emptive measures, nor the employees sue "just because". At least not any significant numbers.

Really? But the right wing in the UK keep insisting it's because of all that red tape from Brussels and the EU? How can the USA, being free from the yoke of Eurocrats, have such similar problems???

Just because we are American doesn't mean we don't know how to make our own red tape.

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#85

Post by buro9 »

RyJones wrote: post #80
buro9 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully escaped? I've spoken openly of my 30 months sleeping rough on the streets of the UK. I may have "escaped" homelessness, but the mental scars accumulated whilst on the street do still haunt me. I feel it, the sense of worthlessness, the self-doubt. There's a feeling that I shouldn't be alive let alone here in this workplace or surrounded by good people, a feeling that I don't quite belong. One can put a roof ove…

I haven't lived in my car since 92 or so and I still notice nice places to park where the police won't bug me.

I still notice ways into building sites, where I know the site office will be unlocked and there will be a small electric heater and a kettle.

A safe place, providing I get out around 5am.

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#86

Post by kriro »

crimsonalucard wrote: post #2

Why don't wrongfully convicted people Sue for damages and use the lawsuit to get there records purged? I sure there is a reason why people don't in general I'm just not clear what exactly this reason is. Anyone in the know care to elucidate me?

He probably got an offer along the lines of "your record is cleared if you waive all rights to sue us over this".

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#88

Post by DanBC »

buro9 wrote: post #73
exhomeless wrote: post #59

I was homeless for about a year and a half. The first 6 months were spent sleeping on the streets, and when possible, in a shelter - but realistically, in the area where I was, most shelters were not really a safe place to be, and the few that were filled up early. The remaining time, I crashed at a drug dealers house and helped sell in return. I didn't have much more than the belongings that fit in a mid-sized duffl…

Fully escaped? I've spoken openly of my 30 months sleeping rough on the streets of the UK. I may have "escaped" homelessness, but the mental scars accumulated whilst on the street do still haunt me. I feel it, the sense of worthlessness, the self-doubt. There's a feeling that I shouldn't be alive let alone here in this workplace or surrounded by good people, a feeling that I don't quite belong. One can put a roof ove…

May I ask: What would have helped? And what would help now?

Homeless people and people who are vulnerably housed in the UK have pretty lousy treatment from "services", a lot of which is provided by faith and voluntary groups.

There are huge amounts of stigma, and a lot of misunderstanding of alcoholism and drug use and mental illness.

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#89

Post by jschwartzi »

imgabe wrote: post #82

Are there charities set up that could help with something like this? I mean it would literally take less than $5k to get this guy set up. A couple suits of decent clothes, a security deposit and first months rent for an apartment, a bus ticket to wherever his job is. That is a bargain for removing a homeless person from the system. Local governments and shelters should be jumping at the chance to do it.

It's not just that. It sounds like he gets the offer, but it's contingent on his background check clearing.

If that's all he needs though, where's the Kickstarter?

Re: Being homeless a struggle, even with a $100k job offer

#90

Post by Bahamut »

exhomeless wrote: post #59

I was homeless for about a year and a half. The first 6 months were spent sleeping on the streets, and when possible, in a shelter - but realistically, in the area where I was, most shelters were not really a safe place to be, and the few that were filled up early. The remaining time, I crashed at a drug dealers house and helped sell in return. I didn't have much more than the belongings that fit in a mid-sized duffl…

I too have a somewhat similar, but not quite same story myself - I spent 2 years homeless, but I had a roof above my head from various friends throughout that time. I was still poor though - nothing homed that in more than being so poor that one week, I ate oatmeal almost exclusively for a week. I had sold most of my material possessions as well, excepting my clothes and desktop/laptop & monitor.

Somehow I mustered up the will to continue job searching throughout that whole time, even putting up with a really crappy situation at one point where I had to sleep in the same room as a former friend who would masturbate loudly at night, thinking I was asleep (but the noise would be what would wake me up).

Job searching alone did not prove fruitful in my case - after 2 years, I pivoted into teaching myself programming, and entered the web development profession a half year later with a modest ~$50k salary for my first job. Slightly more than 3 years later, I am now at a $160k salary with a career that shines brightly with substantial open source software work.

Fear of being caught blindsided & not prepared propels me to continue to work hard and develop my career. The last thing I want is to regress into that situation again.

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