The homless guy in room 12

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We all know the PIA homless ETOHer and or drug abuser. We also know the guy who really is apreciative of the clean bed, shower and food.who comes into the hosp when homeless.

Yesterday I helped cook and serve food for a homeless shelter. Everyone was nice, generally very clean (one guy smelled). They were articulate, sober, and appreciative.

A disproportionate number were 5 to 600 lbs or more. Kind of ironic that I was feeding them. chuckle. a few looked like the typical homeless. Many you would never in a million years guess were homeless.

As expected there were one or 2 families, a few women but the majority were male. Not only were they male but many looked and acted very able. What happens? Why is this the case?

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

So many people are just a few pay days away from loosing everything.I have worked with many over the years-people that had no savings,ran up their credit cards and made only the minimum payments and had huge car payments ( due to poor credit history) and just lived hand to mouth.After you loose your house and transportation it's hard to get a regular job.Looking "able" also does not mean they truly are.I think seeing "street people" on the street has changed...With some bad luck it could happen to any of us...

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I've worked the medical ER and have been in a psychiatric emergency room for almost 2 years. I also used to volunteer at a food shelter.

Some of the people you see are down on their luck, have no savings, and owe too much. I know several people that are one paycheck from being homeless, including myself several times in the past. Lose a job unexpectedly, have your house foreclosed on, lose a car and or have major medical problems and things can change drastically and rapidly.

The homeless that you see unkept, unclean and/or smelly are often (but no always) saddled with mental disorders. Schizophrenia is quite common among homeless persons because they just don't have the insight or ambition to take care of themselves. Self-medicating is quite common among this population. Even if they do have a place to call home, some people will wander on the streets for weeks or months when off their meds.

Drug addicts, when in the throes of their addiction, will tend to forego everything in search of their next high. They are most likely to end up homeless the longer they are addicted until they get help.

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

As for homeless people being overweight. What is the cheapest food you can buy? Not healthy stuff thats for sure! And you would want something that would keep, because I guess owning a fridge when you don't have a home is out of the question.

I wonder how many of those male ppl had been in marriage breakdowns, or who had been breadwinners and lost their jobs - getting to the stage where they wouldn't be employed because they hadn't been in work for so long?

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As for homeless people being overweight. What is the cheapest food you can buy? Not healthy stuff thats for sure! And you would want something that would keep, because I guess owning a fridge when you don't have a home is out of the question.

I wonder how many of those male ppl had been in marriage breakdowns, or who had been breadwinners and lost their jobs - getting to the stage where they wouldn't be employed because they hadn't been in work for so long?

I understand this this and what others say here. I also realize the 500 and 600 pounders are probably in the street because of their wt. Let's face it that kind of wt. creates health problem, diability and discrimination etc.

Actually no one there is starving and yes they are malnurished. And yes even the food we served was not healthy. (sloppy joe made with beef that was 27% fat, cookies and salad that was mostly iceberg lettus.

I know about mental illness and self mediction and all that. I guess my point was i was still suprised even when I have alway said that The poorest people in the US are better off than many in other countries. I guess i am just trying to understand all this.

On one hand I am very judegmental on the other I get such pleasure form the little old alcoholic who lands in the hospital who gobbles every last bite of food when we order them double and triple servings and rellish the shower they finally get to take.

I know looking able does not make you able. I know all this on a cognitive level and even feel for these people. And at the same time. I am judgemental, suspicious, untrusting. etc.

I know people can straignten out their life when it gets so messed up at these people. My sister got very mad at me one time when I expressed judgement against the homeless because her house burnt to the ground once leaving her "homeless" But I did not see that as homeless. she was never in the street never without the things she needed. Too many friends and family in the community would have never permitted that let along the community itself.

She stayed in a motel until she could move into a new house. Due to various circumstances in my life I have from time to time been temoprarly without a permanent residence. We even camped out in a tent for a month or two one summer as we had sold our house and would be moving to another state in that month or two. It was summer and did not make sense to move into a motel or rent an appartment for such a short time. Another time we waited while we purchased yet another house is a motel until a friend invited us to stay with them as they were concerned that the hotel would eat all our financial reserves. It was a mutually benificial arrangement staying with them ( I won't go into detail why they benefited) but never have I seen myself as homeless. we even had to stay in our car one fridigid and snowy winter because we had a broken furnace under warrenty and could get no one to fix it leaving our home temoprarly uninhabital again I did not see myslef as homeless.

I am puzzled why the vast majority are always single men? I just can not fathume how this can be.

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As for homeless people being overweight. What is the cheapest food you can buy? Not healthy stuff thats for sure! And you would want something that would keep, because I guess owning a fridge when you don't have a home is out of the question.

I wonder how many of those male ppl had been in marriage breakdowns, or who had been breadwinners and lost their jobs - getting to the stage where they wouldn't be employed because they hadn't been in work for so long?

500 and 600 pounds is not over weight. By the way the shelter folks will tell you no one there is starving.

And I am not suggesting that they need to starve inorder to be fed. I seriously doubt they got this way from being homeless, or eating the unhealthy diet of homlessness.

yes I am judgemental yes my whole reaction to this is mixed and problably therefore hypocritical.

I will advocate for a drug addict to get narcs or what ever else they need in the hosp before anyone else because I understand that their need is greater. I raise hell with docs who won't perscribe adaquate pain relief because someone is a addict. I see and recognize suffering and no I don't think you should suffer to get my help. I believe we are our brother's keeper. I also see so called poor and downtrodden who play us for suckers laughing all the way.

I don't know. I guess I would do better not to see the face of the person I am helping because they may be someone I could judge. I am trying.]

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Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.

There are a lot of people in the world who simply don't know how to find resources. This is either because they have never been taught how to find what they need, or how to even ask for what they think they might need.

I personally believe that the majority of homeless persons "appear" to be male because:

1) High incidence of mental illness in the male population.

2) The male persona causing them to seek out help less often and to hide debilitating feelings, habits and emotions.

3) Females being more "discreet" and less visible as homeless, and homeless families.

When I look at a person my first instinct is to judge, but then I try (and it doesn't always work) but I try to think about life from thier perspective. What may have caused them to be where they are, look as they do and act like they are.

Sometimes even a little story in your head can soften your attitude towards someone. Carrying judgement and distrust around in your belly everyday gets tiring, it is something I consciously remind myself to let go of everyday and just take each person as they come.

Somedays I get patients I can't emotionally handle, other days I can take them on and even make them smile. It just depends.

Evey person, everyday is a new story, and a new chance to just let it all go.

Tait

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/ for a little more information.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

There are just more resources out there for homeless women- especially those with children. I think that women who have children are more likely to seek assistance as well.

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Many are very capable of working but do to their poor choices in life drugs and alcoholism they choose there lot in life and it is to be homeless. And yes people do choose to be homeless. There are some homeless people with mental illness but the ones I have seen in the ER when I worked there were perfectly capable of working some sort of odd job.

We all know the PIA homless ETOHer and or drug abuser. We also know the guy who really is apreciative of the clean bed, shower and food.who comes into the hosp when homeless.

Yesterday I helped cook and serve food for a homeless shelter. Everyone was nice, generally very clean (one guy smelled). They were articulate, sober, and appreciative.

A disproportionate number were 5 to 600 lbs or more. Kind of ironic that I was feeding them. chuckle. a few looked like the typical homeless. Many you would never in a million years guess were homeless.

As expected there were one or 2 families, a few women but the majority were male. Not only were they male but many looked and acted very able. What happens? Why is this the case?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Addiction & Recovery, Community Health.

No matter the situation or reasons, which I can't begin to comprehend all myself, I feel that it is up to the rest of us to treat these people with dignity. I personally get satisfaction from giving someone the dignity they maybe can't even give themselves. It seems to be appreciated, most times, on their part too.

Being a Christian, not to preach, I also believe this is what God wants us to do. It is human to judge, but your actions speak volumes.

Peace...

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

You have quite a variety of stories as to why people are homeless, you really can't stereotype. Obviously people who weigh 600 lbs aren't starving. Some of them have extremely weak characters, some loose screws, and frankly, our society enables them.

It's good to have compassion, but I think tough love is also in order with many of these people.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
No matter the situation or reasons, which I can't begin to comprehend all myself, I feel that it is up to the rest of us to treat these people with dignity. I personally get satisfaction from giving someone the dignity they maybe can't even give themselves. It seems to be appreciated, most times, on their part too.

Being a Christian, not to preach, I also believe this is what God wants us to do. It is human to judge, but your actions speak volumes.

Peace...

Being a Christian doesn't mean giving out freebies to ungrateful people who are on a self destructive path. I'll bet a lot of men in that shelter have children out there whom they have irresponsibly abandoned.

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