The Homeless A Special Class

[TheMastersNemesis]

Nothing makes me more furious than when I hear someone say that the homeless prefer it that way or it is their fault.

I spent 6 years supervising a county employee running a "day labor program" and 4 years running it myself. We did a lottery at 7 am in the morning M-F to establish a list. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my entire career at DOL second to my six years working with welfare clients.

The barriers facing the homeless are astronomical. Anecdotally we had experts from Yonkers, NY come to the shelter at a meeting one day. If you are a totally normal and mentally healthy individual and become homeless, if you stay homeless more than six months you become "mentally ill" with homelessness syndrome. As a counselor you have to treat that as well as dealing with all the other barriers that homeless people face.

I left the shelter in 1995 and retired in 1998. If I go to Boulder, Colorado today I will bet that I can find a number of people I worked with today who are still homeless.

I just ran into a developmentally disabled fellow who is now in his 50's who is still on the streets of Boulder. Colorado. His name is Jerry. I could not send him on many jobs when I was an employment specialist because he simply could not do them. Yet I would see him in Denver on Colfax and Colorado selling flowers.

He has survived homeless for I do not know how long. And I am sure I will run into him again. And when I see him I wlll buy a little newspaper he sells on the mall. He is the neatest person. He is simply amazing in his ability to live homeless.

I also had a number of homeless guys I worked with die on the street. I knew them personally. No one should have to live like these people. I also had a lot of veterans who were homeless at the shelter. At one time 50% of the population were veterans.

To lighten things up I remember being told a story about a previous counselor which was true who sent a fellow out to mow a lawn.
About an hour later the employer called Cliff and said that he needed to send a replacement. Cliff asked what was wrong was not the guy doing the job. The employer replied, "Well he has been mowing the lawn for about 30 minutes but he HAS NOT STARTED THE POWER MOWER YET!."

I found that person and talked to him. He said he was a little bit stoned that day after he left the shelter.

[GopperStopper2680]

1. DU Rec

Thank you for posting this. I think it's very important.

[Egalitarian Thug]

2. One of our greatest shames. n/t

[99th_Monkey]

3. Actually some homeless people are homeless by choice

and are quite self-sufficient in their own way. I know this because I worked in Portland to
establish one of the nation's first city-sanctioned "tent city" called Dignity Village. One of
the coolest things about the village is that it provides a safe place for people who for whatever
reason, are homeless, including people who have just written off our so-called "civilization"
lock stock and barrel; and choose to simply not participate in it as much as possible.

I don't know the % that fall in this category, but I know that such people exist. I see this
as not insulting at all, in fact I have great admiration for homeless people who have made
that kind of choice, with dignity and integrity.