#-starling

[spacetimesystem]

Unholy screeching

hate passive influence hate cofronting hate being blendy hate it hate it

[spacetimesystem]

After a homelessness scare a friend had years ago, I've learned a lot about just my local situation -- and we've had several years of funding cuts and facist leadership since then.

Many shelters only accept referrals from the local council. This is messy and/or awkward for a whole host of reasons. First of all: access to a phone. If they can't afford a phone and can't find somewhere that will let them use theirs, this usually requires physically travelling to the council building to call them from one of their own freephones (yeah, they gotta call the council from the council). Yanno how much area this council covers with that one building? Approximately 30 sq. miles. So from most places, the homeless person would have to somehow either get the money for a bus, or walk for 2 hours to get there.

Provided they do manage to contact the council, you really think they'll just get a shelter and that's that? Nah, the council will also refer them through their "programs" for homeless people. Sure, the offer of support beyond just housing sounds good, but how do you think most people end up homeless in the first place? Through the council's negligence.

When I was a teenager, me and a friend of mine applied to a charity program advertised to help troubled youth get their lives back on track. During the interview, my friend swore a couple of times and was scolded. I did not, I masked heavily, and presented well. Guess which one of us was offered a place on the program? (needless to say I didn't take it bc I was pissed off at the injustice.) If a charity will treat children that way, what chance does a mentally ill adult have?

Let's dive into those "support" schemes, shall we?

One of them offers to pay the first month's rent to allow someone to move into a rented accommodation. Of course, then that person will have to somehow find the money to keep paying the regular rent and pay back the council.

Okay, so if they can't afford that, what else? There's social housing. According to the website it takes 15 working days after all the paperwork is received to process the application. Then there has to be somewhere available. The current average waiting time to get social housing depends on your specific individual needs and whether or not you're considered an 'emergency'. Obviously, families with young children usually get first dibs. Average wait time varies between three months and over two years. And then you still have to have the money to pay the rent (albeit a much lower rent usually affordable on benefits but if your benefits get cut off for any reason you're screwed)

You can get referred to a shelter, but those are always temporary and come with a whole host of additional conditions you have to strictly follow.

I want you to take a good, long look at that list. See anything they have in common?

Most of the exclusion criteria are reasons people end up homeless in the first place.

The document goes on to say they'll consider on a case-by-case basis, based on how long it's been, the circumstances surrounding the behaviour, and if you've improved. How many people do you think get better while they're living rough? Fuck, as a mentally ill person there are things I've done that would exclude me if the council knew about it (remember: public meltdowns and psychosis can be considered antisocial behaviour).

Out of the shelters available without referral, most are christian. Some are single-sex and others only house specific age ranges (usually 18-25). Most only allow you to stay for a certain amount of time before they either kick you out or expect something else from you (money, labour, etc).

Some local unhoused people told me one of our local shelters charges them money. The only free, all-sexes, non-referral local shelter I know of is closed on weekends.

Yes, I live in a city with five seperate wards listed as being in the top 10% most deprived areas in the country, but if you think for a second things get much better for homeless people anywhere else, you're completely misguided.

Also, like, I'm sorry but if you've set up a free shelter, and people refuse to go because sleeping on the sidewalk under a freeway bridge is more pleasant, that's fucking on you, that's not on them.

You really can't compete with sleeping under the overpass so you are going to force people into shelter?

Unspeakably cruel and stupid.

[herpsandbirds]

Greater Blue-eared Glossy-starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus), family Sturnidae, Kruger National Park, South Africa

photograph by PanWoyteczek

[dunyun-rings]

She was rolling around on my desk and fell off 😭

[libberkib]

European Starling Gouache and Ballpoint Pen on 10 inch Wood Panel Painting no. 7 in the "In Bloom" series, availabilty TBA

Print Shop | Commissions | Tip/Donate

[deputyrook]

favourite FBI/detectives in film and tv

[mulder & scully - the x-files; lee harker - longlegs; will graham - hannibal; dale cooper - twin peaks; clarice starling - silence of the lambs; rust cohle - true detective]

[dragoncuspid]

God this pic my bird feeder camera took of a baby starling and a mourning dove exudes so much emotion

[longingforrotkehlchen]

No matter how I looked at it, he didn't like me.

Star (starling) am Max-Eyth-See, Mühlhausen.

[filmgifs]

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) — dir. Jonathan Demme

[classichorrorblog]

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

[torpublishinggroup]

Tor Publishing Group is BACK with a guide of books to gift the people in your life…and yourself!

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Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

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Forbidden romance to keep you warm…

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

The Stars Are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda

━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━

Beloved bestselling authors to add to your TBR… 

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Not enough books? Don’t worry, we have another GET BOOKT: THE BOOKENING guide to help you out!

[spacetimesystem]

Things we've noticed since going on ADHD meds

System communication hasn't necessarily improved like we'd hopes (what u mean I gotta put in the work aw maaaan), but we're way more aware of passive influence

While blendiness and switching hasn't increased or decreased in frequency, we don't heavily dissociate as much as before

(Prev might also be the therapy we've been doing)

That said, the decrease of dissociation and increase of passive influence means it's gotten a lot harder to discern if I as the host am having the Mood or if I'm being Influenced by someone else's Mood

The system has, shock horror, not suddenly disappeared

[ziggystarling]

He's so silly

[herpsandbirds]

Violet-backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster), male, family Sturnidae, order Passeriformes, found in southwestern Africa

photograph by Nigel Voaden

[jaubaius]

Source

[julianplum]

prompt 4 // crisp & basket // gouache on hot press paper