Homelessness - "Mankind Is No Island"

[QuietGuy]

I'd be interested to hear your opinions of this video:

[youtube]ZrDxe9gK8Gk[/youtube]

I have nothing bad to say about it. It's very moving, brings tears to my eyes, and reminds me to be so grateful that I currently have a warm bed and a roof over my head. Who knows - one day in the future, I may be homeless myself.

The majority of comments on YouTube are positive. But a couple of reviewers on IMDb don't like it - they call it manipulative, corny, patronising, numb, bloodless, etc. I kind of understand what they mean.

Anyhow, I'm glad this film was the winner at Tropfest NY 2008. Anything that makes us remember and want to help those poor forgotten souls on the streets has to be a good thing.

 

[Badjedidude]

I have little pity for the homeless. From what I've seen personally, they don't even try to recreate a life for themselves, which means they've given up. And nothing is more disgusting to me than someone who won't even ******* try to make things better for themselves, but elect to trust the system to spoon feed them.

There are a LOT of things a homeless person can do to rebuild. It just takes hard work and a lack of quit. Look at how many stories there are about people who were once homeless/jobless and they became millionaires or at least built themselves a life worth having.

The vid you posted was pretty well done, though, I must say.

 

[eris]

I was homeless after my house burned down but in three months I had another apartment.

Homeless shelters are only for the night and you have to sleep in a room full of drug addicts. They aren't free, either. It's something like 5-10$ a night and people that panhandle need their money to eat. I was lucky to have a car. While there are many social services that help the homeless they can only help a fraction of these people. There are a few group homes for homeless people but finding one of thoses is like finding a needle in a haystack.



And I agree with both of you...



IMO there are 3 kinds of Homeless People:

1. Many people that are homeless are extremely mentally ill, and those people never seem to find their way.These people are truly destitude and there is little hope. Once I had a man approach me saying he is an artist, and he is very rich and famous, but he wondered if I could buy a drawing for 5$ so he could eat. He was super nice and very pathetic. The pictures were that of a 5 yr, olds drawing. I actually gave this guy my lunch. I never ever do that.

2. And then there are people like me. People that had horrible luck and they just need a break. Most of these people find their way in a few months. There was a lady downtown who had nothing but 2 cats on leashes. Her house burned down and it killed her whole family. She had no insurance, no savings, no work experience, and thousands of dollars in burial expenses. I noticed that after a little while she wasn't there anymore and I hope she is doing well.

3. Then there is the drug addict/just plain lazy person. I think this is what most homeless people are. Downtown Pittsburgh is absolutly full of these people. I litterally got bothered at least twice everyday. These people will always be homeless and often take up permanent residence in sewers.

^^ "Got any change lady"...(walks away)..."Hey FU"


And that movie was very sad and well-made.

 

[iBreathe]

... but for the grace of God (or whomever you personally choose) we could all be in those shoes/boxes/sewers/etc...

Is it maybe a little like ANYthing that happens in life? Just like loneliness, obesity, drugs, alcohol, etc... it takes a strong desire in the person to want to change, and more hard work than most of them are willing to attempt.

Idk...
/ramble

 

[JamaisVu]

It's well done but I don't think it gives a very complete picture of homelessness. I used to live right in downtown San Francisco which has a major problem with homelessness. With the city's liberal policy on panhandling and the big tourist population and decent weather, it's a safe haven for them but a major pain in the ass for anyone who has to walk anywhere. Some of them must make over minimum wage just panhandling, especially in the tourist areas.

Alot of them were just plain mentally ill, as eris describes. They're allowed to just roam the streets and fend for themselves. Sad, but the politics there deemed it wrong to 'lock them up' in a mental institution. As if the streets are better? I suspect some of the ones who are obviously messed up are being manipulated by someone else to get money.

Many are addicts, either alcohol or hard drugs. Alot of people blame it solely on the drugs, but I don't think the drink and drugs are the root cause. I suspect most of them are messed up in some way before they become addicts. The couple outside my building were like this. I found an article about them that was written after the woman got burned alive, it's fairly informative.

There's a contingent that are very aggressive panhandlers. As a young woman I'd get hassled alot especially if walking alone, and some men would make very obscene comments and that kind of thing. I hate these types. They use intimidation to get money.

I gave money to someone who asked directly only once, it was late at night and an older Chinese man stopped and quietly asked if I had any bus money as I was going into my apartment building. Now I've heard that line so many times but I couldn't tell if he was homeless or had been mugged or something, so I gave him what change I had and never saw him again.

 

[QuietGuy]

Many thanks for your replies, as always.

It's well done but I don't think it gives a very complete picture of homelessness.

No, I suppose not. Homelessness is a very complex issue, and this video just scratches the surface. But then it's not supposed to be a comprehensive documentary. Just something to make you stop and think.

I met a friendly homeless guy in London a few months ago. He didn't seem to have any major mental health problems. We sat and chatted for a while, and I offered him some of my lunch. I haven't seen him since. I hope he's doing OK.


I'm not sure these statistics are reliable, but take a look anyway:

WHY PEOPLE BECOME HOMELESS
38% - Family and friends unable or unwilling to accommodate them
20% - Relationship breakdown
23% - End of rented or shorthold tenancy, mortgage or rent arrears
19% - Other, including mental health problems

The couple outside my building were like this. I found an article about them that was written after the woman got burned alive, it's fairly informative.

Articles like that make me feel ashamed to be human. The fact that we are capable of that kind of barbaric act makes us lower than any other species on Earth. And May's story is utterly tragic too.

 

[eris]

I'm not sure these statistics are reliable, but take a look anyway:

WHY PEOPLE BECOME HOMELESS
38% - Family and friends unable or unwilling to accommodate them
20% - Relationship breakdown
23% - End of rented or shorthold tenancy, mortgage or rent arrears
19% - Other, including mental health problems

I really doubt this.

What about drugs ? I would say that is one of the main reasons. And I don't think people just give up and go live in the strrets if they have back taxes or rent to pay.And what does a relationship ending have to do with being homeless ? Im sure SOME people become homeless because of these reasons, but not THAT many. Not enough to account for almost half of the homeless people on the streets. I think more of them have mental illness, too.

 

[Badjedidude]

I'm not sure these statistics are reliable, but take a look anyway:

WHY PEOPLE BECOME HOMELESS
38% - Family and friends unable or unwilling to accommodate them
20% - Relationship breakdown
23% - End of rented or shorthold tenancy, mortgage or rent arrears
19% - Other, including mental health problems

I don't wanna be a stickler, but... the historian in me cringes at this. Did you just randomly invent these statistics, or are they from a published source? If they're taken from a published study, then please credit the study and present the source.

Otherwise, it's all coming out of your ass.

 

[QuietGuy]

OK, I admit it, I randomly invented those stats to provoke a response from you!

No, actually they come from a UK government survey conducted in March 2006. Hmm... government statistics... perhaps not entirely trustworthy? Anyway, this is the article where I found those figures. (ODPM = Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)

I think this is the sort of report that those stats came from. Take a look at Table 4.1: Main reasons given for loss of last accommodation: % by region in the PDF on that page.

 

[ThinkPositive]

Like JamaisVu's article illustrated, I think a lot of it actually has to do with abusive or neglectful parents. I mean, think about it, a lot of these other problems -- drugs, bad relationships, mental illness, etc. -- can be overcome if you have decent parents looking after you! (I guess that falls under "Family and friends unable or unwilling to accommodate them" but I think that would be a pretty simplified description.)

By the way, if you really want to help the homeless financially, the best way is not to give them money directly, but to donate to social service organizations that can help them out: shelters, food banks, health clinics, etc. They'll know how to make the most of the money you give.

But yeah, I do think there are SOME (not all, or maybe most) homeless people that are basically homeless by choice. I see these able-bodied young people with their leather jackets and chains and dog and guitar -- hell no, I'm not giving you money.