The homeless

[disfunkybob]

Here is West Palm Beach you see destitute people at many of the interstate exits with signs asking for money and the occasional shopping cart person around town. Poorer neighborhoods are hit harder and many just leave the area.

I remember this girl who couldn't even of be 18 with a kid and a car filled with what looked like everything she could fit sitting in the grocery parking lot. I saw her asking other people for money and remember thinking about how "everyone has a sob story" and "it's her fault she's in her current situation" and other things many people think when they see the homeless. But in the end I'm a softy and gave her some juice and bread I had just bought in lieu of cash (I don't carry around cash anymore).

Also, there is an infamous bridge in Miami where a community of homeless sex offenders gather. The city has tried to disperse them and even so far as giving them their own housing. For the most part they have declined.

 

[TheScarecrow]

We execute, on sight.
Joking.
There's some people that beg on the street or sell the Big Issue, but I havn't seen anyone living in cardboard boxes here though.

 

[Beffudled Sheep]

I've only noticed a few homeless in my general area (Jersey City, New Jersey).
These homeless aren't annoying though so I always give them some food, cash, alcohol, or water. I even managed to get one a job. He stayed with me for awhile and then got himself a cheap apartment. Nice guy.

 

[EnzoHonda]

I hanging out in southern Ontario currently, and although I wouldn't say the homeless population is huge, it's unpleasant. Part of that stems from the fact that I was outside, downtown all the time and saw the same homeless guys, all the time. There are some who have serious problems. I'm cool with them. But there are some who are just perverted assholes.

 

[GoldenCondor]

As a background to the topic, I come from an upstate New York town, one relatively untouched by the recession. However, I just got to a college town outside Denver, Colorado for a vacation, and having never been long in a town hit hard by the crisis (I visit Manhattan all the time but that doesn't count as much), I'm surprised at the sheer density of the homeless population.

Thus I wish to ask the rest of the users here, how is the economy in your town or city? Do you have few to rampant homeless populations, and how do you handle them?

\

You go to Boulder!
Right?
And yeah, there are a lot of homeless people in Denver.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

There doesn't seem to be a homeless problem where I live, which is in Northwest Arkansas.

 

[manaman]

I have a house in a small town in WA that actually has a diverse population. Loads of poor small town folk, and loads of rich living on the waterfront folk. Bill Gates used to have a house a couple miles out of town - just to give you an idea of how rich I was talking. There are no homeless I know about, mostly cause the town is to friggen small, and the middle class there all work in the shipyard. The homeless move on to the larger towns.

Now Tacoma where I live has a large number of homeless people. In fact there are several people sleeping in a half burned down house down the ally. Yes I live in the ghetto. Yes these people are selling drugs out of the house. I saw a driveby shooting the other night. Nobody was hit but there was gun fire from both sides, I think it was to stop people from narcing - cops raided a another drug house down the road a few weeks ago. Nobody was there when the cops showed up. I also couldn't get my truck out of the ally one morning. Three armed men invaded the afore mentioned half burned drug house. I love Tacoma. I cannot wait to get some more money saved, square with the goverment and get back into my house. Complicated, but I actually make more renting this shitty house in Tacoma, and renting out the house and stabling horses with the land and barns. I rent this place for $350 a month I rent out the house for $1200 a month, I currently have 8 horses stabled there and the price varies based on whatever I told them at the time but for some I make as much as $500 a month. I pay the son of the people renting the place to muck the stalls, and the people themselves have to provide their own food, and take the animals along trails or to the round pens themselves for exercise - or pay the kid to feed their horses everyday. That kid makes out like a bandit. Some people just have to much money.

So yeah if I move back out there I lose around $4,000 a month that I rather need right now. Taxes are a killer.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

I live in North Quito, Ecuador (South America). It's always had a rampant population of homeless, so not much has changed.

 

[XJ-0461]

Very few homeless people where I live. In my whole life, I've seen maybe a dozen homeless folk.

 

[Flishiz]

As a background to the topic, I come from an upstate New York town, one relatively untouched by the recession. However, I just got to a college town outside Denver, Colorado for a vacation, and having never been long in a town hit hard by the crisis (I visit Manhattan all the time but that doesn't count as much), I'm surprised at the sheer density of the homeless population.

Thus I wish to ask the rest of the users here, how is the economy in your town or city? Do you have few to rampant homeless populations, and how do you handle them?

Are you referring to Golden, Ft. Collins or Greeley? I can't imagine you would be talking about Boulder.

I live in a southern suburb of Denver, and things seem pretty stable here. A few more homes for sale, but overall, not so much homelessness. And when I venture into downtown Denver, I'm not seeing it there either. I'm curious where you were at. I used to live in Ft. Collins, and it would be a damn shame if that town died so quickly (although it's possible, since HP has been laying a lot of people off).

Actually yeah, it is Boulder, and if you don't believe me, take a drive down and try to walk 20 feet down Pearl St without seeing one. Hard to be outside without getting shaken down for change.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

Brandon, Florida. South of Tampa. I think we get the bleed-off of the homeless population from Tampa. We're a constantly expanding town, which kinda sucks, considering whoever planned out the roads never conceived more than five families living here. Traffic is a nightmare.

We've got panhandlers (not necessarily homeless) on every interstate exit to our town, and they're on pretty much every street corner that leads to and from S.R. 60.

It's pretty bad. I'll occasionally give them a $20 if they look sufficiently haggard, but I'm awfully wary of the ones walking around with new backpacks and hats. I don't buy the act. I don't care how many times your sign says "God Bless", if you're blowing money on new clothing, food is apparently not an issue for you, and you don't need my money.

 

[Odude]

I live in south Orange County in California. We don't have any visible homeless here, but maybe that's because we ship all our homeless to Los Angeles. It's sounds horrid, but it's true.

I live in L.A

AKA Homeless Hovel. The situation is shitty.

Ya... sorry.

 

[Captain Bobbossa]

I am homeless

 

[El Poncho]

My town doesn't have alot of homeless people I hardly see any. Probably because everybody knows everybody.

 

[similar.squirrel]

No. It's a reasonably small Irish town. So we have alcoholics instead.
A merry little gang passing out occasionally and cluttering up the riverside. They're benign, though. Don't bother you.

 

[monster at a party]

I live in Ottawa. You can't walk 10 feet without seeing like 5 homeless people.
It makes me really sad.

 

[stone0042]

same as op, upstate NY. Ive seen no effect at all of the recession, other than people talking about it all the time. Pretty annoying, actually

 

[Deadpoolsbrain]

I hate the homless...ness problem... Actually in my city we only have no more than 10-15.

 

[Shycte]

So is Houston. You can't walk two steps without tripping over someone shouting "CHAAAAANGE?! YA GOT CHAAAAAAANGE?! Oh, come on. Help a guy out. CHANGE!". Fortunately, I live in a rich suburb outside of it.

Omg, so you've met That Guy With The Glasses! Now give me mah cookie for the refrence.

On topic, I live in a pretty small town. No homeless guys here.

 

[PartyMonkey]

I live in a small place called colne in england and there are quite a few homeless I see them on my way to college all the time...But it isn't as bad as the town over which is a host to homeless apocolypse I walk past them all the time it is like 50% people with homes and 50% tramps and there is nothing anyone can do about it.