#homelessness //

[the-alethiometer]

Fun fact: just giving homeless people housing is 1/3rd the cost of having them on the streets. It's literally cheaper to just give them housing. And we don't. We, as a society, make the choice to be cruel and waste money.

[socialjusticeinamerica]

This is barbarism. The right-wing illegitimate SCOTUS has ruled that communities have the right to remove homeless encaencampments.

☹️😞😢

[is-this-fascism]

the amount of people who comment on my beard in my youtube comments is crazy. ive never experienced it before. a. why do they care and b. did they not consider i look disheveled on purpose? i AM a no good lazy bum after all

[politijohn]

Source

Source

[malfiora]

Yep.

*homelessness exists*

US: oh we can't afford to house and feed people for free

*desperate people steal what they need to survive*

US: omg LOCK THEM UP IN A FACILITY THAT WILL HOUSE AND FEED THEM FOR FREE

[liberalsarecool]

UBI works. 88% success rate.

[rosalind2013]

I say this as someone who works at a nonprofit: the attitude “someone who has nothing will be grateful for anything” is harmful and dehumanizing when it’s used to justify donating something ripped, stained, or expired to someone less fortunate.

Homeless people deserve clothing with good structural integrity. Victims of house fires deserve linens that are free of stains. No one should have to eat expired food. It’s disrespectful to give people scraps when they’re already hurting.

Please, out of respect for your fellow humans, check the dates on your food donations before you drop them off.

[cricketcat9]

Toronto city has its attitude towards homelessness unchanged since the nineties; after some complaints about homeless "congregating at the parkette", and "unsavory individuals dealing drugs", the councillors in their wisdom decided to raze the parkette, one of the few green spots in area.

The City of Toronto is asking a court to order a local man to stop building small wooden shelters for the homeless.

The city filed an injunction application on Feb. 12 against Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who has been building small structures for those living outside.

The city wants an order that permanently stops Seivwright from placing or relocating structures on city-owned land.

It cites bylaws that prohibit camping and living in city-owned parks.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada @onpoli

[shining-dawn]

The way the government treats homeless people and panhandlers ought to be evidence enough on its own that empathy doesn't always lead to ethical behavior. Middle and upper class people get uncomfortable seeing homeless people because seeing someone in a bad state triggers an uncomfortable empathic response. They feel bad seeing people suffering. But people respond by trying to remove the source of their discomfort just as often as they respond with compassion.

That's why cities respond with hostile architecture and brutality. They just need to make the problem invisible, and people stop complaining.

Empathy is very useful, but it's no substitute for actual ethical principles.

[theconcealedweapon]

And who enforces this? Is it just a few bad apples, or is it all cops?

How hard is it for them to find cops willing to enforce this? Do they have to sift through hundreds of heroic cops who refuse until they find the one cop who's monstrous enough to enforce this, or do they easily find cops willing to enforce this because monstrous cops are everywhere and being a monster is part of the job?

"All cops are bad" is not a stereotype. It's literally a requirement for the job that every single one knew about.

[animentality]

[reasonsforhope]

"According to National Coalition for the Homeless, 40% of the country’s homeless youth population is comprised of LGTBQ+ teens. 

When New York native Austin Rivers took up knitting during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was this staggering figure that drove him towards action. 

“I don’t have the capacity to build a shelter, the network or the connections to help in that way, but what I can do is knit,” Rivers told NBC News. 

“And I know that New York City is cold, so I decided I would start knitting and create this nonprofit.”

That’s when he founded Knit the Rainbow, an organization that distributes free handmade garments to those in need. 

And nearly five years after it was first created, Rivers’ knitting collective isn’t just serving the queer community in New York City.

Their nationwide network links local yarn stores and local nonprofits with over 550 volunteers from 45 states. 

As of 2024, they have collected and distributed over 25,000 winter garments — including sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, and socks — throughout homeless communities in New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, and beyond. 

Once clothing items are shipped to Rivers’ apartment, he works with volunteers to unpack boxes, tag and sort donations, and pack and deliver them to local shelters that provide housing to LGBTQ+ and HIV+ homeless youth. 

Although the organization’s impact is wider, and the piles of mail have grown higher, Rivers still has a hand in day-to-day deliveries. 

“We’re going to do it whether it’s rain, or snow, or shine,” Rivers said in his NBC News interview, pulling a handcart topped with boxes. 

Those clothes could be the difference between frostbite and hospitalization, especially in cities that often drop below freezing in the wintertime. 

But Rivers also noted that every handmade item — knitted, crocheted, or stitched — has a dual impact, because every piece of clothing is made with love. 

“A lot of the times, the reason that they’re unhoused is because they were kicked out by their families,” Rivers said. 

“We’re not just providing warmth, but we’re also providing that love and that compassion that they so often don’t have.” 

To the members of the community Knit The Rainbow served, he had a clear message.

“There are thousands of people out here that are constantly thinking of you and using their hands to make things for you,” Rivers emphasized. “So don’t give up. Keep going.”

To download free knitting [and crochet] patterns, donate a garment, or sign up to volunteer, you can visit the organization's website to get started." 

‍-via GoodGoodGood, December 23, 2024

[queermystic]

Heading back to Motel 6. Unexpected expenses wiped out half of Moms pay and we have to spend every cent left on the Motel and still we only have the room until the 10th.

And that didnt leave anything for food.

If you can help us please do and if you cant please reblog this so it might find someone who can.

Ko-Fi

PayPal

[genderqueerdykes]

this summer has been brutally hot. while you're trying to stay cool, please consider giving cups or bottles of water to any homeless people you see. i honestly don't care what your stance on homelessness is: just do it. if you've never had heat exhaustion or heat stroke, you have no idea how utterly miserable overheating is, and it gets worse when you're dehydrated. now consider how much worse it gets when you don't have a consistent source of shade to lower your body temperature. nobody "Deserves" heat exhaustion or heat stroke, leave your "they have to earn shelter" shit at the door. no one's listening.

i live in what's regarded as the worst part of town, dubbed "the war zone". i have countless homeless people walking by my apartment daily, and whenever i'm on the porch, I do my best to offer what I can. some folks turn me down for food, not every person who comes across my block needs narcan, but water is always gratefully accepted. please try to give water instead of sugary drinks if possible and avoid caffeine, as that is a diuretic and can cause people to dehydrate faster. if all you have is juice or soda, go ahead, but please give water when and where possible.

i have never had anyone get belligerent with me even despite the awful nickname this part of town has gained. if someone seems like they are in the middle of a psychotic episode (speaking to someone you can't see, irritable outbursts, confusion, reacting to cues you can't see, and so on) and are visibly agitated or angry, give them space and don't force them into anything. DO NOT CALL THE COPS ON THEM. don't call the cops on ANY homeless people. when a psychotic person is in the middle of an episode, what they are seeing, hearing and feeling are real to them, and can be perceived as life-threatening. sometimes someone in the middle of a psychotic episode cannot parse that you are not a threat, especially if they are in the middle of a particularly paranoid episode, which happens extremely easily when you have nowhere safe to rest your head at night. constantly having to watch over your own shoulder can easily lead to someone feeling constantly persecuted.

my neighbors have been handing out food, water, and cigarettes too, without any provocation from me. now that I've moved in, we have someone to hand out narcan, too. we can build a more compassionate world. if everyone on my block wordlessly helps the homeless folk who walk past without any provocation from someone else, the whole world can be this kind. i promise it can. you can possibly save a life just by reaching out. we all have the power to make a change for the better. a simple glass of water can literally save a life. your unsheltered neighbors are still your neighbors.

[m4rb13d-f0x-g1r1]

OH MY FUCKING GOD THAT'S SO SAD, WHO KICKS SOMEONE OUT OF THEIR HOUSE THAT RANDOMLY?!?!! I WISH I HAD MONEY DUDE, I HOPE HE HAS A BETTER DAY SOON :<

Hey yall! I have a very urgent thing to ask. As the screenshot says I got kicked out of my parents house this morning at 8 am. I have somewhere to stay for now, but I have no money. You may dm me if you would like to donate or help out. I have PayPal, cash app and venmo. Anything helps. Please spread the word.