My state newspaper has two articles on "Myths About Homelessness" that I would like to share.

[GreenPartyVoter]

Part 1: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/04/01/health/myths-about-homelessness/

Part 2: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/04/08/health/myths-about-the-homeless-part-2/


Some very good facts in there, including a few I was unaware of. Definitely worth taking the time to read or to send along to anyone who needs to be made aware of this subject.

[lunasun]

1. I will be volunteering tomorrow night at a family homeless shelter in my town

Just another group that is stereotyped to the max.........the family shelters are no sadder than the single men shelters it is all such a state this country should not have with our wealth and education

[bobbolink]

2. Myth 8: It’s cheaper to let people remain homeless rather

Myth 8: It’s cheaper to let people remain homeless rather than spend money on housing.
Data from the state of Maine that shows we receive significant cost savings when we house individuals. A study completed in 2009 titled “ A Review of Costs Associated with the Second Year of Permanent Supportive Housing for Formerly Homeless Adults with Disabilities” studied both urban and rural Maine. They found after individuals were housed, there was 50 percent reduction in service costs during the second year of housing placement. Also found as a result of housing was a 46 percent reduction in health care costs, a 49 percent reduction in emergency room costs, an 87 percent reduction in costs for incarceration, and a 53 percent reduction in ambulance transportation. Rural Maine also had significant cost savings. There was a 37 percent cost savings in service costs, a 54 percent reduction in mental health costs, a 15 percent reduction in emergency room costs, and a 91 percent reduction in incarceration costs. For rural Maine this was a $2,751 per person cost avoidance.

An Illinois study in 2009 tracked 177 individuals two years before and two years after they moved into supportive housing. They found that once they are in supportive homes, the cost of public services incurred by residents — such as inpatient mental-health care, nursing homes, and criminal justice — decreased by 39 percent. This change in the use of public services yielded a total overall cost savings of more than $850,000, yielding an average savings of $2,400 per year for each resident.

[Ken Burch]

6. Two songs, written decades apart in different musical idioms by a father AND a daughter

Are, to me, two of the best descriptions of what it's really like.

The first is by Ewan MacColl, the great Scottish folksinger, playwright and life-long revolutionary. He was writing about the "Travellers"(the Roma, formerly "Gypsy" people who travelled the length and breadth of Britain living a nomadic lifestyle, and driven from town-to-town by local bigots and bourgeois types, but it applies to anyone in the homeless world: )

Moving-On Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eJiZutTZMk
(This performance of the song has slightly different lyrics from the one's I'll quote below, and it's introduced by one of Ewan's sons at a concert in tribute to Ewan in the Nineties):

Born in the middle of the afternoon
On a horse-drawn on the old A-5
The big twelve-wheeler shook me bed
The policemen came and the little one said
"Would you mind being born in someplace ELSE?
Oh you better get born in someplace ELSE!"
So move along, get along, move along get along
Go...move...shift!

Born in the tattie-lifting time
In an old bow-tent near a tattie-field
The fairmer said "you're work's all done
It's time that you were moving on
Oh you better get born in someplace ELSE!"
So move along....

Born on a common in a building site
Where the ground is rutted with the trailer wheels
The local people said to me
"You're lowering the price of property.
Would you mind being born in someplace ELSE?"
So move along...

Winter's sky was hung with stars
And one shown brighter than the rest.
The wise men came, so stern and strict
to bring the orders to evict
"Oh, you better get born in somewhere ELSE!"
So move along..

Wagon, tent or trailer born
Last month, last year or in far off days
Born here or a million miles away
There's always men near by to say
"Oh you better get born in someplace ELSE!"
So move along...

----
The second song was written by Ewan's daughter Kirsty, a pop singer(killed years before her time in December, 2000)who dealt with modern homelessness, poverty, and class in her song "Walking Down Madison"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Iibcz2lE0

Walking down Madison - I swear I never had a gun
No I never shot no-one - I was only having fun
Walking down Madison - swear I never had a gun
I was philosophizing some
Checking out the bums

See you give 'em your nickels, your pennies and dimes
But you can't give 'em hope in these mercenary times, oh no
And you feel real guilty about the coat on your back
And the sandwich you had, oh no

From an uptown apartment to a knife on the A train
It's not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
It's not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep in the park
Oh no it's not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if you'd like to

Walking down Madison - I swear I never had a gun
No I never shot no-one - wouldn't do it just for fun
Walking down Madison - trying to keep my head screwed on
I was philosophizing some
Checking out the nuns

When you get to the corner don't look at those freaks
Keep your head down low and stay quick on your feet, oh yeah
The beaming boy from Harlem with the airforce coat
The ones who died
The ones who tried
The ones that sit and gloat

From an uptown apartment to a knife on the A train
It's not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
It's not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep on the church steps
It's not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if you'd like to

Within every city and town there's a Madison
Frozen lives for whom nothing's happening
Hungry children is a mother's dilemma
Dumpster diving to feed her baby Emma
So you walk on by like it doesn't affect you
The held out hand that you pay no respect to
Nickels and dimes won't even buy your guilt
Another wino dead burnt to death in his quilt
It's a cardboard city, newspaper metrapolis
The system can't cope or keep on top of this
The outhorities come as you're not for display
Do they solve the problem no they move him away
They're in a vicious circle of no fixed abode
The social won't pay 'em the money they're owed
When you got no money you can't pay rent
Hypothermia kills 'cos the system is bentFrom an uptown apartment to a knife an the A train
It's not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
It's not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep in the park
It's not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if you'd like to

From an uptown apartment to a knife an the A train
It's not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
It's not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep on the church steps
It's not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if you'd like to

In the subway sits a vacous man
His grip on life is a bent tin can
It's a holy shrine where he burns his light
It makes things easy and removes his plight
For an hour or two but he can't escape
They're all penned in with government tape
There are good samaritans who bring them soup
The sally army with their bibles and boots
You can see yourselves it's not too far
One short trip you don't know who they are
Till the night comes then it all comes back
Like the smell of patchoulli and the armies of rats
It's a shame to be human it's a human shame
It seems we've forgotten we're one and the same
One and the same
One and the same
No it's not too far
No it's not too far
We're one and the same

[bobbolink]

8. WOW... those are powerful!

I don't suppose you know any contact for either of those.....?

thanks so much for posting these! :yourock:

[Ken Burch]

12. You're welcome

Ewan and Kirsty are both long-dead(he died in 1989, she in 2000). Ewan's wife(and Kirsty's stepmother)Peggy Seeger, lives on and still performs actively.

[white_wolf]

3. Homelessness could be eliminated next week if the powers that be wanted it done.

However, it is more beneficial for them to have a labor pool of desperate people to work for the worst wages possible with no benefits, and you can't get much more desperate than being homeless. It allows them to keep wages down and keep those who do have jobs in their "proper place." It really pisses me off.

[bobbolink]

9. I fully agreee.... except that its not THEM, it is US. If we make a lot of racket about it, and

were determined so that they couldn't ignore us...

Gays managed to get a lot of what they wanted from this administration.

We could too, if we were just willing to go that distance.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Thank you for sharing those articles!

They are excellent.

More people need to be aware of the enormous problems that face the homeless, and those trying to help them.

Recommended.

[bobbolink]

20. Thanks, Peggy! A quote just for you.. "The Gift of the Poor"

The Gift of the Poor
The people with the best sense of what is essential to a community, of what gives and maintains its spirit, are often doing very humble, manual tasks. It is often the poorest person - the one who has a handicap or who is ill or old - who is the most prophetic. People who carry responsibility must be close to them and know what they think, because it is often they who are free enough to see with the greatest clarity the needs, beauty and pain of the community.
- Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, p. 262

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. Thank you, my dear bobbolink!

That is a great quote...

[bobbolink]

22. Jean Vanier is a very wise man, and he is my hero because he truly understand poverty.

I subscribe to his daily emails, and often it is just what I need to get the day off to a great start!

:pals:

[pinto]

5. Kick

:kick:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. And let's not forget the youth who become homeless because

they run away from horrible abuse or because their worthless parents throw them out because 1) they're gay, 2) it costs money to feed and clothe them, 3) Mom's boyfriend/Dad's girlfriend says "It's me or the kid" and the parent chooses the boy/girlfriend.

[bobbolink]

10. And they end up in "survival sex" because life on the street is brutal.

:cry:

Thanks, Lydia.... this is so important... why is it ignored?

I don't know about your state, but in all of Colorado, there are only TWO youth shelters... one in Denver, and one in Colorado Springs.

AND, they can only stay two weeks!

:cry: :nuke:

Why are we allowing this?

[Riftaxe]

13. Because everyone talks about the middle class

No one talks about the lower class...the lower class tends to get lumped into such sweet euphemism as "working class" which tells you enough about the person who posts such trite to make you gag.

Until those in poverty can afford 35k dinners with the party elites, both the lower and middle class are irrelevant.

Those we vote for have short term memories and when we deliver both houses and the executive branch, they will piss all over us(2008 - 2010).

On edit: yes, President Obama keeping with inflation has now broken records, it now costs 35k per plate to even get a social word in his ear. Perhaps this is in keeping with his broken promise on lobbyists in the white house, how can anyone compete with such bank rolls?

[RKP5637]

15. We can compete by all working together, but the propaganda / MSM divides people. It's

part of the plan to divide and conquer the masses so we are not a threat despite the fact we have voting power to put in or kick out anyone we want. That is, as long as our votes get counted properly, questionable in my mind.

[bobbolink]

19. Are you saying that people like Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, etc are swayed

by propaganda and the corporate media?

I keep saying that THOSE are the people constantly talking about the middleclass who are the ones really hurting us (poor people).

I understand that it is painful to look at our OWN media, and our OWN party, and look at reality.

But blaming the corporate media and RWers when WE are the ones doing this is not only NOT fooling poor people.... it is a cheap attempt to avoid responsibility.

It is finally time to look at our own selves.

[RKP5637]

24. It's across the board. I can't even count the times on one hand I've heard

people, any, in MSM talk about Americans (as in including the lowerclass.) It generally focuses only on the middleclass. A whole segment of this society is left out, and that segment is growing. Talking only about the middleclass is a cop out. I'm sure he has, but I can't recall one time I've heard Obama talk about the lowerclass of America. All I hear is middleclass, middleclass.

[bobbolink]

25. Then I guess you are saying that Rachel and Thom and Schultz are MSM, and I suspect

they would argue with that.

And, if in all they rail about the corporate media, they are hoodwinked that easily and that thoroughly, then they aren't as smart as they and we want to believe.

I don't think its that at all... I think they just plain don't give a shit for anyone beyond their own sphere.

[RKP5637]

26. Do you think many Americans today give a shit for anyone beyond their own sphere? I

don't! I think many go around with blinders on.

[bobbolink]

27. Then I guess its totally hopeless, as many poor people here have been saying, and just give up and

cede the planet to the rest of you.

[RKP5637]

28. I don't think it's hopeless, but I've always felt humans, for the most part, only

learn by direct experience. In this plutocracy we live in today it's a tough uphill battle. I also don't think unbridled capitalism brings the best out in people. The premise of the system is not all can win, the game is win/lose, and IMO that does not promote a healthy society. You also can't keep the system fair by having corporations masquerade as people, and the wealthy pay minimal taxes. The system is greatly rigged against "we the people." In short, it's a ridiculous system today.

[bobbolink]

29. No, that is only the selfish affluent middleclass that is like that. It is NOT "human nature", or

it would be across the board, and it is NOT.

I get that you would like to dismiss it, but that is NOT reality.

And, I refuse to accept what is NOT necessary.

I, for instance, have never been in a car wreck (knock wood), but I can certainly understand how traumatic it would be, and the lingering effects of the PTSD from it.

So, dismiss all you like... I'm not buying.

[RKP5637]

30. Why are you striking out at me? n/t

[bobbolink]

31. Nobody is "striking out at you". You said it is all people, and I definitely disagree.

And, I refuse to accept that as a copout for people who don't give a damn.

[RKP5637]

32. That clears it up! "I refuse to accept that as a copout for people who don't give a damn."

Truthfully, I was missing that distinction you were making!

[bobbolink]

33. Good! I said that many different ways, but I am finding that people get very defensive about this.

In everyway I can, I am trying to create some understanding here. Just like whites finally understood what it was to be black when they saw peaceful black protestors attacked with hoses and dogs, *I* am trying to paint a picture of what it is like to be destitute and IGNORED.

And that right there, is just how diabolical this whole thing has become. Middleclass people can SEE physical abuse, and most will be moved by it, but being IGNORED *cannot* be seen! THAT is what I am trying to get all of you to grasp.

I have suggested this before, and I am going to beg you.. please listen to or read Elie Wiesel's speech, The Perils Of Indifference, which he delivered in the Clinton White House. I think he does a good job of describing the violence of ignoring people.

He posits that the opposite of love is NOT hate; the opposite of love is indifference....separation.

I ask you to listen to the first part of his speech. In this opening, he talks about the anger of the US soldiers when they saw and freed the Jews at Buchenwald. As he describes it, the prisoners were so beaten down that they felt nothing. The anger of the soldiers was important... it told them they were PEOPLE... it told them they had value and worth. The ANGER of the soldiers freed the people to once again feel like human beings!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_RwGmYHyJ0&NR=1

That is what WE need from all of you now... we need to hear your anger, your rage, that we are homeless refugees in our own country... that we are left hungry and malnourished in our own country.

Listen as he describes what Indifference does... because that is the harm that we are experiencing right now, and all the explanations, all the rationalizations don't change that harm one bit. It only exacerbates it!

Then, I ask you to read what I quoted earlier in this thread... this is the value that we have, the gift we bring to the middleclass, if only you would recognize it and value it. Don't include us because we are desperate..... include us because we bring something important to this battle!

The Gift of the Poor
The people with the best sense of what is essential to a community, of what gives and maintains its spirit, are often doing very humble, manual tasks. It is often the poorest person - the one who has a handicap or who is ill or old - who is the most prophetic. People who carry responsibility must be close to them and know what they think, because it is often they who are free enough to see with the greatest clarity the needs, beauty and pain of the community.
- Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, p. 262

[RKP5637]

34. "The Perils of Indifference" is extremely powerful! Why do you think

people in powerful and highly monied positions in the US often gloss over making the country whole and inclusive of all. Frankly, it seems to be vogue now to crap on many in society. What do you think is causing this? It seems more prevalent to me now than over the past decades. Is it completely fueled by compulsive greed?

[bobbolink]

35. I'm really not worried about the rich people right now.

What concerns me is getting middleclass people to step back from their indifference, and recognize and include us.

[bobbolink]

18. And "progressives" here now are saying it is "goood strategery" to omit poor people.

The way politics works.... in exchange for votes, you address what people need.

So, you cut out poor people, and lose their votes.

THEN, of course, when the elections are lost, the BLAME will be on poor people.

Isn't it neat how that works????

[Ken Burch]

11. Thanks for the truth

I'm thinking Governor LePage probably WON'T read this. He probably thinks that everyone can just find a millionaire to help them, like he freakishly did as a young man. LePage fits Jennifer Anniston's comment about Brad Pitt...he was clearly born "without the 'empathy chip'".

[RKP5637]

14. This is excellent! I will never understand why many Americans just don't get it that

they and their families could easily be homeless too. It's not that far away for many people. A job falls apart, illness, an accident ... many people could become homeless, yet these stupid myths persist. Thanks for posting this!!!

[crickets]

16. Excellent articles.

Thanks for posting sources with such solid, thought-provoking data. K&R

[maryf]

17. K&R

thanks so much for posting this, I'll be sharing!

[Forkboy]

23. K&R

[in_cog_ni_to]

36. K & R. How THIS can exist and be allowed and be accepted in this country, is beyond me and

is SHAMEFUL! As a Nation, we should be hanging our heads in shame.