HOMELESS RANT 2

I am always the cynic. I think that people cannot make enough profit off of the homeless so they won't do anything Plus I honestly think a lot of people just don't give a damn.

 

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/30/5764096/its-three-times-cheaper-to-give-housing-to-the-homeless-than-to-keep

 

 

HOMELESS RANT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I'm walking down the steps of the 5th Avenue train station on the E yesterday evening and there is a store that sells Lotto tickets on the mezzanine level so I start thinking about that 500 million Powerball that I didn't win.  As I pass the store where I would normally purchase a ticket I see a homeless man half asleep in the doorway.  My thoughts almost immediately go to thining of what I would do for this guy if I actually won.  Then it dawns on me...there is not one damn thing I can do for this man...or the one sleeping five yards away from him.  In fact giving up the entire 500 million would actually do nothing to help the homeless population.  I touched on this before and now I am going to harp on it.  It is my OPINION that there will always be a homeless problem not only in this city but in this country because people really don't care about the homeless, the hungry or the mentally ill unless it directly affects them or unless they can make a profit off those affected.

 

 

 

 

Once again IN MY OPINION, the only ways to come close to eradicating homelessness are to aggressively deal with mental illness for one thing.  Recognize that the mentally ill may not be able to care for themselves and it is inhumane to leave them to fend for themselves.  In dealing directly with the homeless issue you need a joint effort from the government and non-profit agencies.  You definitely need federal and state agencies overseeing most of it along with non profit groups dealing with the hunger portion of the problem as well as the sheltering issue.  The problem cannot be handed to people trying to make money.  A Black conservative once told me that hospitals were here to make money.  I thought they were here to help people get well.  Homelessness and hunger are not problems to get rich from.  You have to eliminate that if you really want to assist people in need.

 

The areas to make a profit can come from job placement. When trying to place employable homeless maybe companies can try to earn a profit from referrals or whatever training they may have to provide.  You should still have government and non-profit agencies around for that as well.

 

It started as a well intended thought though.  Maybe after I win I could get this man off the street and get him a home, but it can't work like that.  For one, there are too many people like him and I would literally throw money away.    The problem is bigger than people.

 

 

JOURNAL ENTRY 55: BELATED 50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Yesterday I celebrated my 50th birthday with family and friend who essentially are family.  My cousin arranged it last month and I had no idea how many people she actually invited.

Now my birthday was last month.  However, I spend my birthday with my mother (whose birthday is the day before mine) so I couldn't celebrate in New York.  And being that it is Mom I wouldn't spend it any other way.  This was a great second though.  If anyone is reading this now I thank you for a wonderful evening.