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Homeless alone

homelessalone.blogspot.com

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Re: Homeless alone

#151

Post by refurb »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #86
refurb wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? No. You go on welfare. And get free healthcare through Medicaid. As much as people outside the US like to think it's some sort of heartless society, the US has a substantial safety net setup.

> As much as people outside the US like to think it's some sort of heartless society, the US has a substantial safety net setup. This is not true whatsoever.

Then please explain the 50% of the federal budget that goes to our social safety net. That's not substantial to you?

Re: Homeless alone

#152

Post by maxerickson »

tssva wrote: post #83
refurb wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? No. You go on welfare. And get free healthcare through Medicaid. As much as people outside the US like to think it's some sort of heartless society, the US has a substantial safety net setup.

Getting on welfare and Medicaid is not as simple as you seem to think nor is it quick. Also if you are a male without any kids in most states you are out of luck.

In states with Medicaid expansion, men with no children do qualify for Medicaid.

Re: Homeless alone

#153

Post by [deleted] »

maxerickson wrote: post #152
tssva wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting on welfare and Medicaid is not as simple as you seem to think nor is it quick. Also if you are a male without any kids in most states you are out of luck.

In states with Medicaid expansion, men with no children do qualify for Medicaid.

[deleted]

Re: Homeless alone

#154

Post by sedachv »

aeorgnoieang wrote: post #29
toomuchtodo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can tell you without a doubt that there is no natural system in place for homeless to get out of that rut What would such a system look like? EDIT: Totally serious question. To build something, you must first architect it.

I'd start by legalizing every form of 'marginal' housing, e.g. boarding houses, micro-apartments. I have no idea where to start if one accepts the current political, legal, and cultural environment as-is. Assuming you did just accept the status quo as a given, I can better appreciate why the idea of 'just giving homeless people housing' is so enticing. [And there is evidence that it works well. I'm skeptical about th…

> I'd start by legalizing every form of 'marginal' housing, e.g. boarding houses, micro-apartments.

This. Outlawing "flophouses" throughout the United States exacerbated homelessness, made it much harder for people on the margins to improve their material circumstances, and grossly distorted the housing and rental market by removing the lower end: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flophouse#Cage_hotels_in_the_U...

Re: Homeless alone

#155

Post by PavlovsCat »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #21
lowglow wrote: post #2

I recently sold everything I owned and started living out of my converted dodge caravan while I was prototyping what I wanted to build next. With an eye on my burn rate, I lived as cheaply as possible. I can tell you without a doubt that there is no natural system in place for homeless to get out of that rut, and it looks and feels dehumanizing. I wasn't completely broke but I couldn't keep affording rent as expensiv…

I'm not trying to be rude when asking this but why would you choose to become homeless to prototype a business/product?? I've seen this come up several times on HN over the last few years and every time it blows my mind, especially when the person then goes on to talk about how difficult life is. I'm guessing you're in tech as you're on HN - why not keep your day job and work on your business from 7pm-3am every night…

For me, the heart of the comment is this

> The social stigma associated with the word alone is hard for people to get beyond [..] I have been harassed by cops, you feel extremely transient and embarrassed just to be alive at times. [..] After this entire experience my heart breaks every time I see a fellow human having to resort to sleeping in the cold, wet, outdoors with no shelter and nothing but some cardboard and discarded newspapers to cover up with. [.. ] In the end it has helped me understand that we must all care more for one another, no matter what.

which you might also call an attempt to give a small voice to the voiceless.

How many comments are essentially glossing over that, the ratio between posts responding to the gist of this comment to those that don't, is incredible, and to describe the main point you're all mostly ignoring as

> especially when the person then goes on to talk about how difficult life is.

is beyond tone deaf. The comment is not at all about life being oh so hard for OP, ultimately. It's not about "the industry" either, nor is the original article.

The things described in this comment, the article, and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11646078 ought to be enough to give a person PTSD after a while. Part of that is simply caused by social stigma, which is something everybody is complicit in and nobody can directly be blamed for. And when cops have power trips and abuse the defenseless -- not saying they do that all the time, but when they do -- any remotely decent society would come down on them like furies. Not just some of them, every last person. None such societies exist as of now, instead we numb ourselves to being numb to it, and that is the major problem I see. "The industry" is but a speck of dust in that river, and the hellish ocean it leads to.

Re: Homeless alone

#156

Post by toomuchtodo »

refurb wrote: post #151
toomuchtodo wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As much as people outside the US like to think it's some sort of heartless society, the US has a substantial safety net setup. This is not true whatsoever.

Then please explain the 50% of the federal budget that goes to our social safety net. That's not substantial to you?

Medicare and Social Security, that you're only entitled to after you're above 62-67. (Depending on birth date)

Anyone not elderly is SOL.

Re: Homeless alone

#157

Post by adrianpike »

mindslight wrote: post #77
chiph wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would need to own the land, or arrange a lease with the owner. Otherwise you're trespassing and that can result in arrest or being shot. I'm not saying that you can't do this (there are people living in remote portions of national parks), but there can be severe downsides. Like ending up like Christopher McCandless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless

Living in a US national park (on land you don't own) would be illegal. Rangers also seem hyper-paranoid about remote areas being used for drug cultivation. I believe national forests have a technical time limit on how long you can stay there. Maybe BLM land?

It's 16 days per campsite, and your sites have to be 5 miles apart. So every two weeks you pack up, move a few miles, and set camp back up again.

Re: Homeless alone

#158

Post by toomuchtodo »

refurb wrote: post #150
infinite8s wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, in Germany you have universal health care, while in California (or anywhere else in the US) you will be uninsured (you can still be treated in the ER of any hospital, but that's not going to help in preventative situations).

Uh.... no. Read my original post. Medicaid is available to low income individuals. In fact, it was expanded (in most states) up to ~175% of the federal poverty level. You can get it even when you have a job!

Have you tried to get Medicaid in a state? Because I have for a family member (Indiana). There's a waitlist, and even on it, your monthly out of pocket costs are very high (the person in question had zero income, and was still required to cough up $400-$1000 for prescriptions and copays, with no income!).

Re: Homeless alone

#159

Post by dragonwriter »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #158
refurb wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh.... no. Read my original post. Medicaid is available to low income individuals. In fact, it was expanded (in most states) up to ~175% of the federal poverty level. You can get it even when you have a job!

Have you tried to get Medicaid in a state? Because I have for a family member (Indiana). There's a waitlist, and even on it, your monthly out of pocket costs are very high (the person in question had zero income , and was still required to cough up $400-$1000 for prescriptions and copays, with no income!).

Note that this varies from state to state considerably. So, in some states, the experience may be very different. (Especially as to the monthly out of pocket once you qualify.)

Re: Homeless alone

#160

Post by joeevans1000 »

It's a bit stunning to some of the philosophical waxing in here, ruminations and curiosity about what bad choices were made. The guy had a stroke, which he states. It's so stunning that this isn't enough explanation for some, who wonder if he didn't save enough. Our culture is so far gone that a stroke isn't enough explanation for homelessness. To hell with needing reasons... he shouldn't have to provide them. I think the urge for reasons are just ways to determine in our minds we couldn't one day be in his shoes and/or remove the idea that perhaps we should help.
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