The Nasty Side of Homelessness

In my first article I told about how some of the people in homeless shelters were nice and very helpful. But today, I am going to look at the other side. The nasty side. This will be the final of a two part series. I had planned to have this released quite a while ago, but several hospitalizations have derailed my efforts.

Several weeks ago I did an article on being homeless. I showed some of the nicer people and how they helped those of us experiencing homelessness for the first time. Today’s article will be a mixture of the two.

One shelter does a bed lottery every month. The first time I applied, I was denied but got it on the supplemental lottery draw. But because of my legal issues, I was told I couldn’t stay there and I was banned, permanently.

Now I am at another shelter that doesn’t turn away anyone. They have a lottery drawing every day for their permanent shelter. You have a bed there for as long you need it. The only rule is you have to be back by 8pm and in your bed by 830pm for bed check. How do you get a bed? They have raffle tickets, you fill out your name and birthday and put it in a hat. But you need to be careful, people will actually go to the extreme of removing your ticket from the hat to increase their odds. If you aren’t called you can be put on a wait list. I did that and the next day I was told I had received a bed.

Rude staff workers. Yes have them and have to deal with them. They will stand there and cuss you out because they are having a bad day. But you can’t say anything back because they have the authority to remove you. You also have staff workers who will steal your property including your government checks.

You see them on the street corners holding signs

When you see the sign that says they will work for food, most of the time they’ve already eaten at a local day shelter. When a person is holding a sign saying homeless most of the time they have spent the night in a local night shelter. If they say their social security checks and been stolen that too is a lie because they either don’t receive a check or they have to pay court cost. They have also been holding that same sign all over town for numerous months. Most of the homeless are receiving government assistance. These people have been followed by news reporters before. They have gone to a hotel to their rooms, then hopped into a BMW that they own and drove away. Just be careful before you donate.

Most of the homeless use drugs

Whenever I go to the restroom, they are making drug deals in there. At night when I get up to go to the restroom, they are smoking their meth in the bathroom. They have been caught and thrown out when the temperatures were well below zero. The shelters have access to rehab programs for these addicts but they refuse to go. These programs are free for the addict.

Most shelters have access to affordable housing

The shelter I am at brings people in so the homeless can sign up for section eight housing. The city also has programs to where they will pay the deposit, first and last months rent, utility deposit and application fee. In my case what I bring home from the federal government for disability isn’t enough to pay my rent, lights, cell phone and court fees. Some places gives bus passes for free so people can use the bus.

Rude people

You have many of the homeless who will tell you to go fuck your self in a quick minute. They are quick tempered and ready to fight for any reason. They don’t give a damn. They will smoke their marijuana right beside you even if you ask them to leave. People are quick to fight you just for looking in their direction. The worse time is at night when people are drunk, then they are tossed for seventy-two hours.

Mentally Ill

Since the Regan administration cut funding for mental health there has been an increase in homelessness of the mentally ill. They have no where to go. You see people talking to themselves, out loud. You see people trying to convince others they aren’t crazy. Most of the homeless mentally ill should be in a facility where their needs are met medically.

Most of the homeless receives benefits

They receive food stamps and Medicaid/Medicare, whichever one it is. But they sell their food stamps to buy crack cocaine instead of groceries. Hence you see them begging for money. They also receive a disability check, but every day I hear does anyone have two cigarettes for sale? A dollar for two cigarettes. People will steal from retailers and try to sell their ill gotten gain.

Some of the homeless are convicts

That is the truest statement I can come to terms with. Some of them are registered sex offenders who for no other reason than their registration status no one will rent to them. There are many who receives a disability from the government but in my case, what I make isn’t enough to cover the rent, lights, phone and court cost as well as my classes, which run around five hundred dollars a month. I would say about fifty percent of the homeless population are registered sex offenders. Also a good majority of them are also gay.

Conclusion

This concludes my mini series on homelessness. I hope you have enjoyed this article. If you enjoyed this article please feel free to leave a tip, if you so desire.