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I Used to Be Homeless

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Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#51

Post by nroets »

CompelTechnic wrote: post #26
nroets wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently toured for 5 months in the US on my bicycle. My average cost was $30 per day. That included sightseeing, an airline ticket every month and a bus ticket every month. I used Warm Showers and wild camping, so I rarely paid for housing. $7.25 per hour is enough to live on. You just need to work enough hours, do long commutes and be very, very disciplined in all your purchases.

Question for you: at most national/state parks, there are available campsites that cost in the range of $5-$20 per night. These are advertised on their usual websites. These are sites for car camping. However, the couple times I've called, I've asked about primitive camping (aka hike into the woods and camp at the primitive sites), and it turns out that this is free. But the primitive campsites aren't ever discussed…

Many state parks in California has a special area for cyclists and hikers at a special rate ($5 - $10) and no reservation is needed. 1 night only in each park.

AFAIK, primitive camping for a night or two in a National Forest is free. Just be far enough away from roads and water sources. And many national parks have national forests near them.

Also check out freecampsites.net

I did camp on private property a few times without permission and only got discovered once: It was at a church and the pastor gave me free breakfast.

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#52

Post by cujo »

closeparen wrote: post #32
athenot wrote: post #4

> People often ask me what they can do to help the homeless and I always say, "Just look around you!" When someone has so little, it doesn't take much to help. You can start by not judging the homeless. This indeed where it all starts. There are so many voices telling us that these people aren't human, but deep down these rationalizations are just trying to cover the uncomfortable emotion we feel when we see a fellow…

This may work when the concentration is low. I’d estimate 15-20 homeless people on the daily walk between my front door in SOMA and the Muni Metro. Often in relatively dense tent encampments. I’d feel pretty weird giving to one and not the others on the same block. Especially since it’s probably the same people day in and day out. It’d take some serious preparation before going out the door to pack enough for everyon…

I understand what you're saying, but you're literally saying you feeling awkward is more important than someone having food that day.

Sure, it's not the most efficient or probably effective, but giving a little bit does make a difference.

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#53

Post by codydh »

megaman8 wrote: post #48

To live in, In SF. your choices are a 1.5 million dollar condo or a 50$ dollar tent. Seriously people, we need to allow for more choices than that. I'm sure builders and entrepreneurs would line up around the block to build solutions that are cheaper and more cost effective, but you first have to make it legal (get rid of the mountains of regulations and zoning headaches that make this problem so insurmountable), wit…

The cost of your "regulation free zone" will likely be measured in human lives. Does that seem like an acceptable risk?

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#54

Post by jvagner »

megaman8 wrote: post #48

To live in, In SF. your choices are a 1.5 million dollar condo or a 50$ dollar tent. Seriously people, we need to allow for more choices than that. I'm sure builders and entrepreneurs would line up around the block to build solutions that are cheaper and more cost effective, but you first have to make it legal (get rid of the mountains of regulations and zoning headaches that make this problem so insurmountable), wit…

I lived in a $3000/mo condo that was a 45 minute BART ride away. By myself. Without stock options.

There are ways to live in the bay, but I'm looking forward to SF trying new ways to content with the street life problems there. Ultimately, it was definitely a discouraging element of life in the city.

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#55

Post by stevenwoo »

yters wrote: post #8
josh_p wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by "high minimum wage"? Federal minimum wage in the United States is still $7.25 which is not enough for someone to live on, especially in a high cost of living area. I don't understand. https://www.minimum-wage.org/federal

Well, I'll venture into non-pc territory here, but for some reason immigrants do not seem to have the same homelessness problem, and undocumented workers can work for much less than Americans.

When you write immigrants do you mean undocumented immigrants? It's confusing because your next clause is about undocumented workers so we the reader are left unclear.

My personal experience just from San Jose is there are a lot of immigrant homeless from southeast Asia, Mexico, and central America, it just depends on what neighborhood one visits.

Also, people who actually interviewed homeless, found something different from your speculation (I am assuming you didn't actually talk to a lot of homeless people), this story is just Los Angeles but there were a lot of other news stories and it's obviously an issue because the federal government made undocumented immigrants not eligible for federal aid in 1996.

https://www.scpr.org/news/2016/07/14/62582/immigrants-a-larg...

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#56

Post by rootusrootus »

perfmode wrote: post #47
dumbfoundded wrote: post #37

In San Francisco, nearly $40K is spent per homeless person. How much money do we need to spend and how should we spend it?

does it not dawn on you that perhaps this is the wrong way to think about solving the problem?

I think it's great to hear this number, as long as it's accurate. A lot of regular folks probably think we spend very little on homeless people, so they think anything we do to help will be a net cost and more taxes. Getting people aware that we spend money either way is very helpful because then you can make arguments about how to save money. If we spend 40K right now, then how much can we save if we spend $10K a year instead in free housing. I.e. what SLC did.

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#57

Post by wjossey »

ravenstine wrote: post #38

> Homeless people are not going to kill you I understand a lot of the insight this person has provided us about homelessness, but I beg to differ on this point, and I'm sure it's location dependent. I currently live in Santa Monica, and the vast majority of the homeless here clearly either have substance abuse problems or mental illness(I'm sure it's often both at once). I've had countless instances where a homeless…

Your comment and mine are currently next to one another in this thread. Having just come from SaMo I can attest to your experience. Your insight that homelessness in LA almost has its own definition is spot on. It might be part of why the conversation on this topic is so complicated.

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#58

Post by gtCameron »

codydh wrote: post #53
megaman8 wrote: post #48

To live in, In SF. your choices are a 1.5 million dollar condo or a 50$ dollar tent. Seriously people, we need to allow for more choices than that. I'm sure builders and entrepreneurs would line up around the block to build solutions that are cheaper and more cost effective, but you first have to make it legal (get rid of the mountains of regulations and zoning headaches that make this problem so insurmountable), wit…

The cost of your "regulation free zone" will likely be measured in human lives. Does that seem like an acceptable risk?

The cost of the current homeless situation can also be measured in human lives

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#59

Post by diablerouge »

megaman8 wrote: post #48

To live in, In SF. your choices are a 1.5 million dollar condo or a 50$ dollar tent. Seriously people, we need to allow for more choices than that. I'm sure builders and entrepreneurs would line up around the block to build solutions that are cheaper and more cost effective, but you first have to make it legal (get rid of the mountains of regulations and zoning headaches that make this problem so insurmountable), wit…

I think you're underestimating the real estate market. A significant reason new developments cost so much is that the land they are built upon costs so much.

For example, in Portland Oregon, where I live, most new developments are being built on expensive real estate in central areas. As a result the apartments built there, even if they aren't particularly nice, end up going for high amounts. This is due to non-physical assets, like location and proximity to public transportation.

Your solution would give free reign to developers to cut costs and still rent the housing out for exorbitant amounts because the housing market in SF is already so ridiculous. It would take a lot more than 1 square mile to significantly affect the market.

Re: I Used to Be Homeless

#60

Post by ArchTypical »

ryanmercer wrote: post #22

>You can start by not judging the homeless. Instead of flying out the gate accusing people of judging homeless, consider this: Not everywhere is like San Francisco where you have actual homeless people living in tent/tarp hovels on sidewalks in busy neighborhoods, come to downtown Indy and many of the 'homeless' people you find randomly around are absolutely not homeless and simply know they can make much easier mone…

Another problem is the conflation of homelessness with heroine users. Forget the professional homeless (which my fiancee's parents have been at times). The problem is we treat both as "homeless" when they are very different animals. Social programs tend to elevate and help those who can be and it doesn't look like a dent is made because, statistically, the remaining homeless are either deranged (renting to newly rehabilitated homeless has wrecked properties I managed) or drug users.

>You can start by not judging the homeless.

It's not a complex topic, but the judgement is based on information and the existing information speaks volumes.

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