Homeless - surprised - Page 2

RingTwist · 08-29-2012, 08:09 AM

Sometimes they are kept away from tourist areas, as others have said. They were all over the place when I lived in Chicago; I learned to ignore them pretty quickly, although occasionally I would buy food or drop a dollar.

IndianaHiker · 08-29-2012, 08:53 AM

Have to agree that there is more homeless not less. I live in rural Indiana in even in this small town there is a few homeless folks. I spend a good deal of my time in Louisville Ky and there is a good number of Homeless there. I normally give a buck or two if I have any cash on me. Found from talking to these folks many are just plain people that have fallen on bad times. Yes there is a percentage of mental illness, and addiction problems but seems as the economy has gotten worse more and more this may not be the case. Heck looking at my own situation if crap went bad I would be just a couple of paychecks off the street myself so in some ways I can relate. Couple of weeks ago meet a couple of younger kids late teens early 20's that were panhandling to travel across the county. Kind of admire that sense of adventure and free spirit actually. Talking to them they were very smart wouldn't be surprised of one or both write a book on the adventure.

campclose · 08-29-2012, 12:56 PM

I bet the police have a better control then. Perhaps we just stayed in areas that attract less homeless people. It really is sad. The few we did see all had name brand new sneakers on. How is this possible?

Grandpa · 08-29-2012, 01:28 PM

[QUOTE=campclose;71218]I bet the police have a better control then. Perhaps we just stayed in areas that attract less homeless people. It really is sad. The few we did see all had name brand new sneakers on. How is this possible?[/QUOTE

Possibly a nearby shelter house had arranged a donation from a manufacturer. Just a thought.

campclose · 08-29-2012, 07:42 PM

I would buy into that grandpa if they were all the same brand. Some were Nike and some Reebok. I have heard stories about people faking being homeless.

Pathfinder1 · 08-29-2012, 07:50 PM

Hi...

This being a rural area, rarely do you see anyone carrying a sign or panhandling. There are maybe one or two people who live in the woods year around, though. (The people that the Census Bureau never find).

Grandpa · 08-29-2012, 08:05 PM

Gave an old grizzled hitchhiker a ride a couple years ago. He was hiking along about 20 miles from nowhere in the middle of the Snake River plain close to Craters of the Moon Nat Mon. That is a desolate stretch. However, he had a good Gregory backpack, and a Marmot Helium bag tied on. He said he just wanders the country wherever his nose leads him. He asked if I could stop at a small grocery store so he could get some supplies. He paid cash for some food items, and I dropped him at a major junction where he stood a good chance of another ride. No bum has that kind of equipment or buys the kind of stuff he bought so I assume he has an income or stipend coming to him somewhere.

ppine · 08-30-2012, 02:31 PM

Indiana,
I am glad you mentioned young people on the road. On my last trip to Seattle I saw them at rest stops, downtown, all over. Panhandling (but sometimes playing instruments). They looked like new hippies- street people. If there are Republicans in the White House we will see lots more people on the street.

wvbreamfisherman · 08-30-2012, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ppine

Indiana,
I am glad you mentioned young people on the road. On my last trip to Seattle I saw them at rest stops, downtown, all over. Panhandling (but sometimes playing instruments). They looked like new hippies- street people. If there are Republicans in the White House we will see lots more people on the street.

Doubtful- what we'll see is the media playing up the stories just like they did in the Reagan/Bush era. When Clinton took office, the homeless vanished from the TV and newspapers like snow in a blast furnace.

Judy Ann · 08-30-2012, 06:48 PM

Back in the 90s the company B.U.M. handed out sweatshirts to the homeless in LA. Not quite sure if that was politically correct. I was on one of the streets going through one of the more expensive areas in LA when I saw my first homeless person pulling a drink out of the trash and drinking it.

As a nurse in Charleston, SC I discharged more than one person back to the streets since they had no home. Really sad.