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?
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.
My parents are both 74 years old, and my mom grew up in a house near some railroad tracks. Men would often knock on the door and ask for some food, and Grandma would make eggs, toast, and coffee, and offer him a cigarette if he wanted it (remember, this was the Depression/WW II era) but he would never be allowed in the house.
My mom once asked why no women ever came to the door, asking for food. Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" did the same thing when he was kid. Neither set of parents knew the answer, but I'll just bet this is it.
I'll go into more detail later since I'm on my break at work.
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.
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Many you would never in a million years guess were homeless.
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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?
It could just be a local variance, I only have data for Australia but the rates vary between the range 60/40(M/F) and 40/60(M/F) over the years.
Then neither will wasting my tax dollars on government schemes to take from the producers and give to those who refuse to be productive.
$100,000 dollars and a free ear to a shrink can not undo years of making the wrong choices and dealing with it. Try it with a workaholic who avoids his family, chooses work over life and I bet less would be shocked but the outcome would virtually be the same.
Opportunities abound everywhere. Some people are fortunate enough to recognize them, some are better at finding them, others couldn't see them if they attacked them in a well lit alley.
Addiction, dysfunction and lifestyles come in all kinds of packages. Pretty or not.
Then neither will wasting my tax dollars on government schemes to take from the producers and give to those who refuse to be productive.
Your post sounds as if we are all robots whose only purpose is to contribute to the Gross National Product
How about, instead, if people with character and perserverance help construct a society that nourishes the positive traits of dignity and self reliance? How about if we teach our less fortunate brethren the value of fishing for their own dinner, instead of handing them fish and robbing them of the opportunity of providing for themselves? How about, respecting the dignity of each person enough to expect the best of them?
Excellent post, glad you will be supporting a conservative Republican for President.
Your post sounds as if we are all robots whose only purpose is to contribute to the Gross National Product
How about, instead, if people with character and perserverance help construct a society that nourishes the positive traits of dignity and self reliance? How about if we teach our less fortunate brethren the value of fishing for their own dinner, instead of handing them fish and robbing them of the opportunity of providing for themselves? How about, respecting the dignity of each person enough to expect the best of them?
Excellent post, glad you will be supporting a conservative Republican for President.
Why did you bring up politics? I must say, it's hard to have a discussion with you. I was talking about the dignity of human beings. Many people from all political parties are interested in helping people better themselves. And both Republicans and Democrats can also be ruthless and exploitive of their fellow human beings, and view them as pawns on a chessboard.
My mother was a lifelong Democrat and spent her working life trying to instill a love of learning in underprivilaged youth. Most of her life she worked in Special Education. She valued hard work and education, and tried to instill that in her students, many of whom came from incredibly underprivilaged backgrounds that would make you or me shudder.
Specializes in gen icu/ neuro icu/ trauma icu/hdu.
Did anyone watch Oprah the other day? They discussed a recent documentary that was made for Showtime. It is about a homeless man and what he would do if he was given $100,000, CASH! This man was not mentally ill, nor a drug abuser (he had to pass tests given by Medical Professionals). He was offered financial counseling, mental health counseling and ample job offers. He refused everything but the money. He blew through the cash in a year. He didn't take advantage of any of anything offered to him....not even a job (because he has problems with 'authority figures'). He just took the cash.
The people that made the documentary admitted that they were a bit shocked and disappointed in the outcome. The were positive that a person on the streets, given all of the right opportunities, plus a lot of money and emotional support, would choose to change their lives for the better. They were wrong.
I use to do a lot of Volunteer work for the Homeless. Many homeless were Mentally Ill or Substance Abusers. Believe it or not, there were a lot of people that did not have either of these issues and chose to live on the streets. (I'll save that for another thread).
Anyway, back to the Viagra comment. Most all of the free clinics in my area have stopped prescribing ED drugs. They will refer these individuals to other MDs that specialize in diseases that they may cause ED. Even then it can be difficult for uninsured men to get the drugs (for free) because impotence is not a life threatening condition.
I was told that the clinics were forced to stop prescribing these meds because the clinics were absolutely flooded with men wanting them. These men took up thousands of appointments....only to ask for ED drugs....nothing else.
Same with Narcotics/Opioids. The Pharmacies at the clinics don't even carry them anymore. There is a BIG sign on the entrance door stating this, too. Obviously, the clinic will see a person having pain issues, but the patient will be given a referral to a Pain Management MD so they can receive the appropriate pain control and prescriptions for pain medication.
Viagra is also used for pulmonary artery hypertension not just impotence
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 am puzzled why the vast majority are always single men? I just can not fathume how this can be.
I'm guilty of being judgemental as well, even when I try not to be. As a wife and mother and breadwinner I feel like there would always be something I could do to get up some money. Even just a little money. I could go walk up and down the road and pick up cans to scrape up enough money for some food. It's true, I've never been homeless so I don't truly know what it is like, but I also understand how hopeless you feel when you are bogged down with depression.
For whatever reason they are in the homeless shelter, most of them aren't there because they feel like they have a choice. I'd say you could get some pretty greasy characters who come in and could be violent or cause trouble, though. It would be hard to want to help those types.
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.
Or they aren't allowed to see them for some very good reasons.
I doubt that a person weighing 500 or 600 pounds was at a soup kitchen, simply because they aren't going to be mobile enough to get themselves there.
When I lived in my old town, my church served dinner once a month at a soup kitchen, and we had a lot of regulars. Most, but not all, were men. I'm guessing that women are less likely to go because they might be afraid of being in a room with a lot of men, and getting the kids there could be a problem.
During this time, I did relief work at a pharmacy that serviced the chronically mentally ill, and after this, I knew immediately what medications some of those people were on just by looking at them.
Specializes in Adult Step Down ICU, NICU, PEDS ICU.
First thing I want to say is who are we to pass judgement on anyone based on gender, age, race, sexual orientation, or economical status.
Yes, there are some who choose to be homeless because of circumstances beyond most of our understandings. These are very few in the homeless population. And then there are the others that are homeless due to circumstances that may have been beyond their control, or by poor choices they made. But come on!!! Haven't we all made atleast one poor choice in our lives. To stand on your soapbox and preach about how wrong, unnecessary or disgusting it is for some of these people to be homeless is very immature and self righteous.
Until you have walked a mile in their shoes, you have no right to pass any kind of judgement on their lives. You are nurses.......what happened to compassion???
There are far too many selfish, self centered people in the word today. It seems to have become all about me, me, me!
I am now 39 years old, but when I was 18 years old I was homeless in Denver, CO for 3 months. My home was my 1978 Ford Pinto. I was raised in a single parent home. We grew up on welfare and housing in Nebraska. It was not much fun being teased in school because of my Goodwill clothes. I felt like I didn't have anyone that really cared about me, so I followed the first guy to show any kind of feelings for me to Denver, CO. That is where he left me one day in a park. All I had was my clothes, my car and about $5. I survived by washing up in gas station bathrooms and stealing the food and supplies I needed from local grocery stores. I slept in my car in the mountains. It was a very lonely existence. It wasn't until some kind old man reached out to me and gave me the money to drive my car back to Nebraska. I am now an RN and have been for the last 5 years. I make great money and have a great life now. If not for that kind old man, I'm not sure where I would be today. I offer help and kindness to those I see in need. I don't know how they got there, but it is not up to me to judge them. I just help them any way I can and hope that it makes a difference.
The moral of the story is, we all make poor choices and need some help and guidance from time to time. Those of us that have that help can over come. Those who are cast aside may never be able to pull themselves out of the hole they are in.
Some people are fortunate enough to have a great support system when things go wrong in their lives, and then there are those who have no one. They very well could be the ones who are homeless and need guidance to move in the right direction. But instead what they get are ignored, looks of disgust, criticism and sometimes beaten up because of their unfortunate situation. Where is the love in this world for humankind.
Think twice.....it's just another day in paradise for you and me!!! (Phil Collins song.....give it a listen!!!)
Specializes in Psych/Rehab/Family practice/Oncology.
Well, I'll jump in here too. The majority of homeless that I've seen in my career are in fact homeless because of poor choices. Yes, we all have occasionally made the poor choice or two, but I'm talking poor choice after poor choice, time and time again. I have actually had more than a few patients who remain without shelter because they don't want to follow the rules of the shelters. "They make me look for work, and I can't work." "They always want to make me go to A.A., and I've been through that enough, it doesn't work for me." They won't let me smoke, unless I stand outside in the cold." Their excuses are endless! I have little empathy.
Specializes in Adult Step Down ICU, NICU, PEDS ICU.
Well, I'll jump in here too. The majority of homeless that I've seen in my career are in fact homeless because of poor choices. Yes, we all have occasionally made the poor choice or two, but I'm talking poor choice after poor choice, time and time again. I have actually had more than a few patients who remain without shelter because they don't want to follow the rules of the shelters. "They make me look for work, and I can't work." "They always want to make me go to A.A., and I've been through that enough, it doesn't work for me." They won't let me smoke, unless I stand outside in the cold." Their excuses are endless! I have little empathy.
To NurseAboveBoard:
I'm not saying that there aren't some homeless people who have just given up and are trying to play the system and get what they can. I can totally understand what you are saying. I just don't want us to catagorize ALL homeless the same. There are those that really need help. Sometimes we need to drop our predjudices and help those that we can. Please lets not try to lump them all in one catagory or let the ones that abuse the system take from those that really need help. That's all I'm saying.
rph3664
1,714 Posts
My parents are both 74 years old, and my mom grew up in a house near some railroad tracks. Men would often knock on the door and ask for some food, and Grandma would make eggs, toast, and coffee, and offer him a cigarette if he wanted it (remember, this was the Depression/WW II era) but he would never be allowed in the house.
My mom once asked why no women ever came to the door, asking for food. Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" did the same thing when he was kid. Neither set of parents knew the answer, but I'll just bet this is it.
I'll go into more detail later since I'm on my break at work.