#homelessness //

[aquotidianoddity]

I keep seeing posts like this about Finland and homelessness and I wanted to add a comment to correct some misinformation. To be clear, this isn't a criticism of Finland, just the way the information is being presented.

This post doesn't say it, but I've seen others that say that Finland has "ended" homelessness. This is not true. Finland has about 3500 homeless people, about 2/3 of which are living with friends or relatives. Finland has made huge strides in reducing homelessness and poverty-based homelessness is almost non-existent (meaning that homeless people usually have a social problem that prevents housing: debt, drug or mental health issues, or violent living situations).

Finland also doesn't "give you an apartment." The philosophy of "housing first" means that the social services in place are available to you regardless of your situation and their goal is to help you find your own apartment as a first priority. There are no sobriety or health requirements to receive them. The only prerequisite is that you're homeless or about to become homeless.

There are many services available to help you find and keep an apartment: social workers, housing counseling for those who don't know how to look for an apartment, and advice for approaching landlords when you have a mark against your credit, you have debt, or you're unemployed. There is also public housing; however, this can be limited, wait times can be long, and applications are prioritized by need (for example families with children and people who can't get private apartments because they've lost their credit details are prioritized)

There are also other services that are available to everyone, which help prevent both homelessness and poverty. The government pays a housing allowance to everyone whose income is under a certain amount (about 1600€/month). For example, as a student with no income my housing allowance is 313€/month and my rent is 480.

Unemployment benefits have no maximum time limit. There are some higher, wage-based unemployment benefits that have a time limit (300-500 days), but if you don't qualify or you run out of days, you can get the minimum benefit, about 800€/month.

If you can't work because you're sick, the government pays you 70% of your wages or a minimum of 800€/month for those with low wages or no job.

If your income isn't high enough to cover your necessary expenses, or if you have no income (perhaps you've temporarily lost your right to unemployment because you didn't apply for 4 jobs per month) and no savings or assets, the government pays you a basic income aid. This includes about 550€/month for food and necessities, the rest of your rent after the housing allowance (up to a certain maximum), plus the exact amount of your water, electricity, renters insurance, and medications. Other urgent and necessary bills can also be covered if they're approved. For example if you're evicted from your apartment and can't afford your new apartment's security deposit.

This is kind of the tip of the iceberg when it comes to welfare in finland, but these are some of the main pillars that most people will use at one point or another. All of these add up to a system that prevents homelessness before it can happen and supports people with issues to get back into a home and maintain it.

This system is unfortunately under attack by our current right-wing government. Health and social services are being underfunded and the conditions for receiving certain benefits have been made less generous and less flexible. The current government has a goal of eliminating long-term homelessness by 2027, but with their policies, I would be surprised if they achieve this.

Also let me know in the replies or my asks if you want to know more about welfare in Finland! It's one of my special interests and I have a lot of experience both working in the field and receiving it myself

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[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.

[is-this-yuri]

remember kids, homelessness is the direct result of flaws in the capitalist system 👍 it is not the result of laziness, addiction, or even misfortune. it is a state of being only possible when profit becomes more important than humanity 👍 homelessness is manufactured as a threat, or a promise of what will happen if you don't give your labor to the ruling class 👍 we can disarm this threat by removing its power to cause fear and by being kind to the homeless 👍

[liberalsarecool]

UBI works. 88% success rate.

[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.

[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.

[coveragepuns]

Donations have been stagnant for the past 15 days.

Again, even if it's as little as $5, it helps. And if it wasn't clear before, I've reopened my art commissions for the time being. So, if you're interested, please take a look at the details above and/or get in contact with me.

Please share and/or donate, I'm at high risk of homelessness

I'm being kicked out of my home and only have a few months left. I have nowhere to go, little money, and haven't even had a job before. Please donate and/or share, or commission art from me (info can be found under cut). Anything helps.

https://gofund.me/7f2589bc

[animentality]

[politijohn]

Source

This is pretty cool

[lilithism1848]

[agentfascinateur]

Hello, I’m Ibrahim from Gaza. I live with my wife and four children.

Our life before 10/07/2023 was full of optimism and peace, but because of the brutal war and the mass extermination carried out by the occupation army on Gaza on that date, we lost our home and were forced to flee, moving more than 8 times in search of a safe place, but to no avail.

The war destroyed my livelihood and my family’s livelihood, and we faced hunger, illness, and the harsh conditions of heat and cold for an entire year. We lived in a small tent that we moved in several times to different places, fleeing from the bombing and destruction, all in search of safety.

In the midst of this tragedy, my dear mother was severely injured as a result of bombing by the occupation’s planes. She was transferred to Egypt for treatment. She underwent five surgeries, and now she is staying in a hospital in Egypt. However, we are unable to bear the costs of her treatment and the required medical supplies, while we have no income or source of livelihood. Additionally, the blockade on Gaza prevents us from visiting her due to the enormous amounts required to coordinate our entry through the Rafah crossing.

Amid this suffering, we were blessed with a newborn.

His arrival brought us great joy, but it also increased our burdens. Our baby needs special care, and his needs, such as formula milk and diapers, have become extremely expensive. I cannot describe the feeling of helplessness when he cries from hunger, and I cannot meet his needs. The high prices and the absence of income have made securing even the most basic necessities for him nearly impossible.

To my second family،

Our situation, as well as the situation of my family and the people of Gaza, has become incredibly tragic. Can you imagine that my wife, our four children, and I, along with our entire family, have been displaced more than 8 times and have lived in tents for over 13 months? We are now suffering from hunger in the truest sense of the word. The occupation uses hunger as a weapon and has blocked the entry of aid and food trucks for over two months, leading the country to famine. Prices have skyrocketed, and every day that passes, we live in real hunger.

Please, don’t grow tired of us and don’t stop talking about this injustice.

I need your help and support now more than ever.

The funds raised will be used to cover essential needs:

1. Traveling through the Rafah crossing to Egypt: The cost of crossing the border for individuals over 16 years old is $5,000, and for those under 16 years old, it is $2,500. For our family of six, the total will be $20,000.

2. Visa application for entry to Egypt: $300 per person, totaling $1,800 for our family.

3. Passport fees: $100 per person, totaling $600 for our family.

4. Costs for my mother’s treatment: $15,000 to cover hospital fees, surgeries, and other medical services.

5. Basic living costs and temporary accommodation in Egypt: $1,500 per month for six months, totaling $9,000.

6. Education for my four children: $5,000 for six months.

The total amount required: $49,000.

Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a big difference.

You can donate through the link in the bio (GoFundMe).

Thank you for your generosity and support in these difficult times.

[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.

[teaboot]

the thing about people experiencing addiction or mental health issues, especially living on the street, is that, like. They usually aren't dangerous.

Like yeah, seeing someone moving erratically or screaming or saying weird stuff can be scary if you haven't seen it before, but "scary" isn't always dangerous

This post is about the guy rolling on the ground at my local park.

He's rolling on the ground and he's picking up trash to put in the garbage can and we do not need to call police about it

[theconcealedweapon]

[is-this-yuri]

what's the big deal with homeless people being comfortable? if we're comfortable it means we're too lazy to participate in normal society? is that why there's such a high standard of performance for homeless people? if we aren't suffering constantly, we aren't actually in need of help, apparently.

if you truly believe being homeless is somehow more comfortable than being housed, maybe you should try it. maybe it means there's been a massive failure in the system, and we need to make some kind of change. why are you so jealous of the guy on the bench? do you want to live in a tent too? does it sound fun, freeing, enjoyable? is it because you're tired of living the way you do? or do you just want homeless people to suffer because you hate them

[sjw-irritant]