Are there a lot of homeless people in the city you live in?
By ctrymuziklvr
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
United States
September 16, 2007 8:30am CST
The state of Massachusetts itself has a high rate of homelessness and Boston probably has the most of any city. The small town I live in has a homeless shelter that can't even handle the people who live here who need a bed to sleep in at night. They often send them into Boston because there are so many shelters there. If you were to walk by the shelter at a certain time of the day you would see a line of people so long that it's unbelievable all trying to get in for the night.
When I'm out doing errands it's not unusual to run into at least ten homeless people in a short length of time. Some of them ask for money but some don't. You can tell that they are homeless just by looking at them. It breaks my heart to see it. I often will buy someone a cup of coffee and bagel or donut depending on what they want...I won't give them any money because I want to be sure that they eat and don't use it to drink or buy drugs.
Do you come into contact with any homeless people? Are there a lot of homeless where you live? Does your city/town have a homeless shelter?
check out the statistics for homeless in MA..
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2terminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Researcher&L2=Basic+Needs&L3=Housing+and+Shelter&sid=Eeohhs2&b=terminalcontent&f=dta_r_finassist_homeless&csid=Eeohhs2
5 people like this
16 responses
@andyliuzn (1029)
• Guangzhou, China
16 Sep 07
Well, there are some, but I don't know exactly the figure, some people do beg in the street, I doubt whether they are true poor ones or not, I would do the same thing if they look really poor, giving them some cup of water or something to eat.
The government would also help take care of them if necessary.
WBR,Andy
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
16 Sep 07
Well, here in the US the government doesn't take care of the homeless. If they did we wouldn't have so many.
@DavidReedy (2378)
• United States
17 Sep 07
On the other hand do you want to hand to the government more responsibilities, and thus more power?
Where are the communities? Where are the churches? Shouldn't we be trying to figure out how so many people become homeless in the first place?
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
11 Oct 07
I'm sorry...I didn't mean the US government I actually meant the State governments. That should be where the problem is taken care of.
@jeanbug23 (992)
• Philippines
17 Sep 07
THere are still so many, lots of homeless people who live in our place. In our country, and from the city where we lived. I have seen these people wander from place to place, and beg on the streets for food and money. I noticed they sleep on dirty benches and floors with newspapers and also their children.
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
It's the children I worry about most. Thankfully there are a couple of places in my city that will take in whole families.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
17 Sep 07
My city Kolkata has a lot of homeless people. Maybe homeless is the politically correct term, but I prefer calling them beggars. I see them anywhere and everywhere. Kolkata doesn’t have any facilities for the homeless. They come to this great city, beg on its street, sleep on footpaths and under flyovers (we don’t have harsh winters like you and that’s a boon), breed in the dark, evacuate in the open and beg for money at every major crossing. I never give them money for I believe that if they wanted, they could have done something to earn some money at the end of the day. But most of them take to begging as the easy way out. But sometime if a child will ask money for food, I will buy her something to eat. I also give money to the very old and ailing for whom it is genuinely difficult to work.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
I feel that since they are homeless they have lost all faith in everything and just give up.
@raychill (6525)
• United States
16 Sep 07
Ha! That's nothing!
I myself live in Baltimore and I can just tell you there's a ton of homeless just within my city itself. Late at night you'll see homeless sleeping in the doorways of all the buildings and you'll see communities of homeless take up courts (tennis/basketball whatev) with cardboard houses.
I can't find anything on our government web pages. It's funny because my city has one of the highest crime rates, heroin use rates and herpes rates in the US and you can never find stats on it on our government pages. They don't like to admit our faults. ha ha. BUT ...
yeah we have about 8,000 homeless in the state of Maryland.
http://www.newsline.umd.edu/health/specialreports/homeless/homelesscount011007.htm
That's a bit more (about 5,000 more) than what your state has.
Seeing homeless people are completely a daily thing. I, personally, don't help them because I know that there are many who don't WANT help. I don't help the ones who ask because all they ever want is money. I'm not giving them money.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
16 Sep 07
Well I guess you do have more than we do. Isn't that a sad case of affairs? I also won't give them any money I would rather they got something to eat or drink like coffee!
@kitty1234 (1476)
• United States
17 Sep 07
I live in a small town and we do not have a homeless shelter. I have never seen any homeless on the streets. But if you go into the city, there are homeless on every city block. I also try to get them something to eat but a lot of them just want money. It is unfortunate that there is such a need but we must care for the homeless as best we can. IN the city there are at least 5 shelters I know about and maybe even more!
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
It's usually the bigger cities where you will see the homeless. Even when they want the money I will give them an ultimatum....food or nothing!
@ssf12ster (488)
• India
17 Sep 07
plety of them in our country lso.but i think somebody is helping them.i try to give them pennies if i come across them that is for sure.i never ignore r mutter at them. u need to have some social service mind otherwise you are not fit to be a human being.money comes and goes so why do you thik you are wasing money when u hand over the pennies to them.it is thier fate that they ahve been made to live like that. i dont like the attitude towards them.they are also humans.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
I feel the same way. Nobody knows the reason why someone becomes homeless and they surely don't do it on purpose. We should be respectful of all human beings no matter what their situation is.
@DavidReedy (2378)
• United States
16 Sep 07
There's a good number of homeless in my city, but I'm not sure how well they are tracked, or what the statistics is. My city is sad, in that instead of confronting these problems, they pretend they don't exist.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
My city helps as much as it can with the homeless situation. Not only do we have a shelter but there are places the homeless can go to get a good meal.
@cefaz_21 (2596)
• Philippines
17 Sep 07
yes, Just last last saturday, I encountered a homeless family, they said they were't able to pay for the rent for soem months now that's why they left the house. It is sad because they have kids. It's even sadder that I cannot do naything to help them.
Poverty is a big problem here in our country,and no matter what the government does it's still there. Squatters are all over the cities.Kids goes to street to beg.Sometimes it can be depressing..
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
Yes, the whole idea is depressing. I hate when I see a whole family homeless.
@wisedragon (2325)
• Philippines
17 Sep 07
You're lucky to have a shelter for the homeless. Here in the Philippines there are no such shelters, so the poorest of the poor do what is called "squatting". That is, they occupy property that is not theirs then build makeshift homes there. Sometimes they live along riverbanks, railroad tracks, garbage dump sites, or under bridges. We have a long way to go in solving this problem.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
I think the Philippines needs to get it's act together as far as homelessness. I'm sure it has something to do with the government.
@ashar123 (2357)
• India
17 Sep 07
I am from Pakistan and there are many homeless people here coming from Afghanistan. Pakistan is neighbor country of Afghanistan and due to the war there are many people coming here from there. I don't know when the war will be over. Government of Pakistan has developed a whole city for them who have come from Afghanistan.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
War definitely makes for more homeless people. It's so sad because there are also little children involved.
@bagumbayan (2705)
• Philippines
5 Nov 07
I opened up discussion on homeless people and I was brought in the same subject matter. All the while, I thought its only in our place where these kind of people exists. I do pity them, but its seems they are increasing in number, can they not work? Our government is trying to help them, but it seems they are increasing and increasing and the place for them is getting smaller and smaller. Maybe an international rules and regulations be made to address all our concerns on related matters.
@thefortunes (2367)
• Netherlands
17 Sep 07
For as much as I know there are no homeless peope
in our small town here in The netherlands, but I do
know that the homeless people do increase in
numbers also here. I feel so sorry for these people
and always give some cash when i see them begging.
It is such a shame really, and I do give money to
the organizations that keep the shelters in the big
cities too, and know that many folks do the same,
as we cannot expect that the government does more
than striktly necessary, which is such a shame.
TheFortunes
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
I think most governments do the best they can to help the homeless. It's awesome that you donate to these causes.
@nathalghoda (66)
• India
17 Sep 07
It is the problem of every city. My city too is facing this problem of homeless people.Day by day the no. is increasing. It is because everyone is not getting the job, even an unskilled one at the native of people. They are comming to the cities to earn. The situation worsens further. This is an unending story.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
17 Sep 07
We don't have to see a lot of them to know they are there. Sometimes some of them are lucky and get day to day jobs to keep them off the streets.
@MGjhaud (23240)
• Philippines
28 Oct 07
I see some around here in my city but not that a lot of them. I don’t know if we do have that shelter for homeless people here either, I recognized one. Maybe we have, I just don’t know it yet. Sometimes I look at them sleeping on some building stairs, without proper bed and blankets. They asked alms from whoever passes their way, that’s really terrible. I mean I wonder where are their relatives who could possibly help them or at least give them shelter during the night.
@comeonmolly (828)
• China
26 Oct 07
Actually,there are not so many homeless in my hometown,not as much as u said in Massachusetts maybe there are so many but I haven't seen b/c I don't often go to the outside,this is a really serious problem which can't avoided ,what we should do?
In most occasions I will give the old beggers who don't have the ability it earn the living by themselves,to the young guy even the small child I am sure I will not give them any money istead I will try my best to make them know that they are useful they are no longer adopted by the society,it is just themselves that look down upon themselves,I will make the know their outstanding which makes them different from the others,with this skill they can earn a living by themselves,and I also make them know that god is equal to everyone of us she selodems shuts one door without opening another,each of us is essential to the society.If u give money directely without any effort then they will found that it is easilier for them to ask money for others tahn make the money by themselves,so why don't they go on to be as beggers,in this case the beggers in our society will much more their number will never be decreased..
