Homelessness

[angelburst29]

Eighty homeless people have died on the streets in the Portland last year, adding to more than 350 people who have disappeared while homeless in the past six years.

Eighty homeless people died on Portland streets in 2016: Report
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/12/15/545714/Eighty-homeless-people-died-on-Portland-streets-in-2016-Report

The number marks a 70 percent increase in homeless deaths in Multnomah County, home to Portland, local authorities said Thursday.

This is since officials first began tracking the homeless in 2011 and is in line with similar significant increase in homeless deaths in other large West Coast cities where the homelessness has surged.

The annual report is used as a barometer to track the city’s progress addressing a crisis that has also overwhelmed cities from Seattle to San Diego.

In Seattle, a similar count found 91 homeless people died in 2016 and 115 perished in San Diego. In Sacramento County, that number was 71 people. In Santa Clara County, 132 homeless people died in 2016 — a 164 percent increase since 2011, according to data from county medical examiners in those counties.

“These neighbors are literally dying right in front of us,” Deborah Kafoury, chairwoman of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, said. “This is unacceptable. This is not normal.”

The US Department of Housing and Development released numbers earlier this month indicating the overall homeless population in California, Oregon and Washington grew by 14 percent over the past two years.

The unsheltered part of that population, living in vehicles, tents or on the streets, climbed 23 percent to 108,000, in part due a shortage of affordable housing.

“The fact that we’re still seeing such a huge number of people who are dying on our streets really just shows me that we have a lot more work to do,” Kafoury said in a phone interview.

“They need long-term housing with supportive services,” she added. “It’s very expensive but we pay for it one way or another, whether in emergency rooms or jail overcrowding — or deaths.”

Many American cities are suffering from a sluggish economic recovery, stagnant or decreasing wages among the lowest-income earners and budget constraints for social welfare programs.

A lack of affordable housing, combined with falling wages at the lower end of the US pay scale, has been cited by analysts as a cause for homelessness in the US.

The growing number of homeless people on the streets of the United Kingdom as severe winter weather hits the country could result in an increase in deaths.

UK Homelessness Increase, Cold Weather Could Result in More Deaths on Streets
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201712161060046971-uk-homelessness-cold-weather/

In recent days, the United Kingdom has been affected by heavy snows, freezing rains and cold weather, with temperatures falling below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) across the country. On Monday, meteorologists working in Shropshire country registered a drop in temperature to 13 degrees Celsius below zero.

At the same time, the figures from the UK Department for Communities and Local Government said that in September, about 80,000 households, including over 120,000 children, were homeless in September. The statistics showed that this number has been rapidly increased since 2010, while the number of homeless in July to September alone increased by over 15,000 people. According to the housing charity Shelter, there are more than 300,000 people homeless in the country.

Tasmin Maitland, the head of innovation and good practice at the Homeless Link charity told Sputnik that despite the fact that there was no national system collecting information on the deaths of homeless people, the weather has clearly contributed to the increase in the number of deaths on the streets.

"There are deaths on the streets every year, but it's been a long time since we've had a winter that's been this cold… Unfortunately there is no central way of recording how many people die when sleeping rough. At the moment there is no national data set to indicate how many people die when homeless and how many people die when on the streets, but each year there are deaths and the severe weather is a contributing factor," Maitland said.

Reporters from UK Channel Four interviewed a number of homeless people on the streets of Manchester, who told the journalists that they were aware of a number of deaths that happened because of cold weather.

Charities like Homeless Link try to support the homeless amid the existing developments but are only aided by the efforts of local authorities — the groups claim that the nation as a whole has not addressed these problems.

We're seeing some areas doing particular activities to provide protection against the weather, but it is a local response so it does vary from place to place and how much provision there actually is available," Maitland said.

She added that local responses were not enough and stressed the need for a statutory response.

 

[angelburst29]

Robots are being used to deter homeless people from setting up camp in San Francisco (Photos)
http://www.businessinsider.com/security-robots-are-monitoring-the-homeless-in-san-francisco-2017-12

A robot patrolling a street in San Francisco to discourage homeless people from congregating in the area has lost its job after angry locals knocked it over and allegedly covered it with feces.

Ew, Robot: San Francisco Locals Trash Robocop Used to Chase Off Homeless
https://sputniknews.com/science/201712191060118620-san-francisco-locals-trash-robocop-chase-off-homeless/

The Knightscope K5 security robot was being used by the San Francisco branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to stop homeless people from sleeping near the organization's building in the Mission District.

However, the local community quickly took to social media to voice their complaint against the robot.

"The money that was spent on these robots could have gone towards homeless shelters," one local tweeted, while another described the robot's use as "shameful."

However, angry words were not enough for some residents.

According to social media reports, several locals smeared the robot's sensors with barbecue sauce, knocked it to the ground and covered it with a tarp. A Twitter user also posted that they saw feces smeared on the robot.

The SPCA defended their decision. "We weren't able to use the sidewalks at all when there's needles and tents, and bikes, so from a walking standpoint find the robot much easier to navigate than an encampment," Jennifer Scarlett, SPCA president, told the International Business Times.

The shelter told media outlet Dezeen that the purpose of the robot was to help keep its employees safe following a surge in crime attributed to an increase in the number of homeless people in the surrounding area.

"In the last year, we've experienced a great deal of car break-ins, theft and vandalism that has made us concerned about the security and safety of the people on our campus," SPCA media relations manager Krista Maloney told Dezeen.

"The security robot that we've been using on a pilot basis has been very effective at deterring these criminal incidents. The device helps us prevent crime; it doesn't attempt to remove homeless people from the sidewalk," she added.

The K5 robot has four cameras monitoring its surroundings and can move at a maximum speed of three miles per hour. It is 1.5 meters tall and almost a meter wide.

Knightscope's K5 model is already under scrutiny for other mishaps making it a danger both to others and to itself, including knocking over a toddler in Silicon Valley and plunging itself into a fountain in Washington, DC.

 

[Glenn]

Knightscope's K5 model is already under scrutiny for other mishaps making it a danger both to others and to itself, including knocking over a toddler in Silicon Valley and plunging itself into a fountain in Washington, DC.

Here is the story of the robot that fell into the fountain.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-dc-knightscape-k5-robot-falls-into-fountain/

Which kind of reminds me of this incident with a self driving car.

http://<iframe width="560" height="...w="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[angelburst29]

Knightscope's K5 model is already under scrutiny for other mishaps making it a danger both to others and to itself, including knocking over a toddler in Silicon Valley and plunging itself into a fountain in Washington, DC.

Here is the story of the robot that fell into the fountain.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-dc-knightscape-k5-robot-falls-into-fountain/

Which kind of reminds me of this incident with a self driving car.

I don't know anything about robotics but I'm under the impression that they use highly sensitive sensors like radar? What threw me off in the article was this statement:

The K5 robot has four cameras monitoring its surroundings

Just think of the implications of this suppose "Knightscope K5 security robot"? It could be outfitted with all kinds of gadgets to send sensitive personal information to a database, like tapping into your cell phone, reading chipped bank and visa cards and taking Iris scans, if you happen to be only a few feet from it. And, if it's fitted with sensors - what's it doing with "four" cameras? Why not a rotating 360* security camera like most stores, banks and businesses use for surveillance?

When drones were first introduced, they claimed it was only for surveillance - now they strap bombs on them. So, when do they outfit Knightscope with a stun gun and use it for crowd control?

 

[Complexity]

Hello from the UK..

Homelessness has been on my mind a lot too, recently. As Tory Austerity rule still grips the UK our nation is severely suffering.

Our standings in income equality, welfare, health, and housing are plummeting fast, as our infrastructure implodes before our eyes.

There is a severe housing crisis that has been exasperated over the last 8 years by the willfull neglect of the Tories, who have sold our land off cheap, not kept up with real housing demand, and have earned millions of quick bucks running the current extortionate housing market - that has now frozen out most of those under 30.

There is no affordable housing, and it's estimated that any one household will require a minimum of two combined incomes just to keep it afloat.. meanwhile our local economies are suffering during the advent of what's known as the "Gig economy", which is how the Tories have subjecting us to low paid, insecure work, basically perpetuating slave labour.

Which all of a sudden they going to find hard to do in the wake of Brexit, considering all our European brothers and sisters (who were being used to drive down labour costs) are now leaving Britain for more secure prospects.

But they'll attempt to push on with extreme Austerity measures, regardless of any hiccups they might find along the way. Destroy it infrastructure as an excuse to privatise it, that's been their game all along.

But the Tory's are party full of internal strife right now, between those who wanted in, the those who wanted a hard-brexit.

Our date, domestically and internationally, is in the hands of those who are completely selfish, and completely incompetent.

Only Corbyns Labour could offer us any coherence and cohesion now.

MPs condemn 'abject failure' of homelessness policy

Public accounts committee says homelessness is a national crisis and DCLG has been unacceptably complacent

Homelessness in England is a national crisis and the government’s approach to tackling the problem has been an abject failure, a committee of MPs has said.

More than 9,000 people are sleeping rough on the streets and more than 78,000 households, including 120,000 children, are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, often of a poor standard, according to the Commons public accounts committee.

It says in a report that the attitude of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to reducing homelessness has been “unacceptably complacent”.

The government’s commitment to eliminate rough sleeping by 2027 will address only the “tip of the iceberg” and there is an unacceptable shortage of realistic housing options for homeless people and those at risk of homelessness, it says.

Meg Hillier, who chairs the committee, said: “The latest official figures hammer home the shameful state of homelessness in England and the abject failure of the government’s approach to addressing the misery suffered by many thousands of families and individuals.

“As we approach Christmas there are thousands of children in temporary accommodation – a salutary reminder of the human cost of policy failure. The government must do more to understand and measure the real-world costs and causes of homelessness and put in place the joined-up strategy that is so desperately needed.”

She suggested practical steps that could be taken now. “For example, targeting financial support on local authorities with acute shortages of suitable housing, rather than those councils which are simply ready to spend. That would make a real difference to people’s lives,” Hillier said.

The report says the number of people sleeping rough has increased by 134% since 2011, and there has been a 60% rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation since 2010.

The MPs make a series of recommendations to the government and call for a strategy by mid-June 2018 on how homelessness can be reduced. They say the DCLG has only just acknowledged that its “light touch” approach has not worked.

John Healey, the shadow housing secretary, said: “This damning crossparty report shows that the Conservatives have caused the crisis of rapidly rising homelessness but have no plan to fix it.

“This Christmas the increase in homelessness is visible in almost every town and city in the country, but today’s report confirms ministers lack both an understanding of the problem and any urgency in finding solutions.

“After an unprecedented decline in homelessness under Labour, Conservative policy decisions are directly responsible for rising homelessness. You can’t help the homeless without the homes, and ministers have driven new social rented homes to the lowest level on record.”

John Bird, the founder of the Big Issue, said: “The people we see sleeping rough and living on our streets represent the mere tip of the iceberg. The fact that the ‘hidden homeless’ aren’t even included in the final figures show the extent of the problem.”

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/20/mps-condemn-abject-failure-of-homelessness-policy

And looking to the future
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homelessness-rough-sleeping-rise-crisis-homeless-three-quarters-decade-a7884261.html%3famp

 

[angelburst29]

Hello from the UK..

Homelessness has been on my mind a lot too, recently. As Tory Austerity rule still grips the UK our nation is severely suffering.

Our standings in income equality, welfare, health, and housing are plummeting fast, as our infrastructure implodes before our eyes.

There is a severe housing crisis that has been exasperated over the last 8 years by the willfull neglect of the Tories, who have sold our land off cheap, not kept up with real housing demand, and have earned millions of quick bucks running the current extortionate housing market - that has now frozen out most of those under 30.

There is no affordable housing, and it's estimated that any one household will require a minimum of two combined incomes just to keep it afloat.. meanwhile our local economies are suffering during the advent of what's known as the "Gig economy", which is how the Tories have subjecting us to low paid, insecure work, basically perpetuating slave labour.

<snip>

The elites in the U.K, as well as the U.S. and France have been focused on illegally "occupying" other Countries, to extract precious metals and minerals, gas and oil, while they subject the host Country in a Power struggle for domination. In their greedy quest, they have used and continue to subtract the assets and wealth in their own countries, as a "spring-board" to finance their escapades, draining their own economies and infrastructure.

I can't speak for the U.K. or France but in the U.S. - we are at a breaking point, economically and financially and structured society is falling apart. There are no longer isolated pockets, within each State, where a large portion of the population are homeless and lacking adequate food resources - the whole Country is suffering!

The different media outlets are advised to focus on "immigration" as the sole problem, although a contributing factor, the core parasite lies directly within the White House, Senate and Congress, who are now fully controlled by the war-profiting Military Industry Complex. We have already hit "rock bottom" and a revolt is on the horizon. We're close to a bloody war in our own Country and it won't be North Korea, Iran nor China or Russia that fired the first bullet!

Homelessness in England is a "national crisis" according to a committee of MPs, leaving small charities no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

Vending Machines For UKs Rough Sleepers, 'Stopgap, Not Solution' 20.12.2017
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201712201060166448-vending-machines-rough-sleepers/

In Nottingham, charity Action Hunger, is providing card operated vending machines on the street to allow rough sleepers access to essential items during the crisis. However these vending machines, are just a "stop gap" not a "solution" founder and director Huzaifah Khaled told Sputnik.

"We're not seeking to supplant the work carried out by charities, Crisis or Shelter to tackle homelessness, we exist as a stop gap."

"In an ideal world I wouldn't have founded this charity, I wouldn't have created the vending machines but they are necessary because many homeless day centers are only open for a couple of hours a day," Mr. Khaled explains.

"Foodbanks symbolize a failure in government policy to sufficiently tackle poverty in low income families; vending machines for homeless people are a symbol of its failure to tackle rough sleepers on our streets," Mr. Khaled told Sputnik.

Mr. Khaled explains that the machines are accessed using a card — the card is only available to people who attend local day centers where they are encouraged to seek long term solutions to their situation.

"These vending machines are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. offering sandwiches, hats, gloves, water, foil blankets, sanitary products, a multitude of products. We don't want to encourage rough sleeping, we want them to find long term solutions. It's crucial they attend centers like the Friary in Nottingham."

A Public Accounts Committee report reveals almost ten thousand people are sleeping rough in England and almost 80,000 households are in temporary accommodation, including 120,000 children.

Local authorities are finding it harder to provide advice and assistance that will effectively prevent people from becoming homeless, and are having to divert more of their funding into tackling homelessness after it occurs," the report states.

The British government says it is investing more than US$ 1.34 billion (£1 billion) on the problem of homelessness, which is the legal definition for rough sleepers, single people staying in hostels and those in temporary accommodation. The Department says it wants to abolish rough sleeping by 2027.

 

[angelburst29]

This report illustrates my point - that America is in deep trouble - economically and financially with it's population suffering the consequences of poor management.

American Exceptionalism’s Dark Side: Poverty and Despair in America December 19, 2017
https://www.globalresearch.ca/american-exceptionalisms-dark-side-poverty-and-despair-in-america/5623258

Vast destruction and millions of casualties attest to its brutality, revealing its contempt for human and civil rights, world peace and rule of law principles.

Poverty, homelessness, hunger, unemployment, underemployment, and overall deprivation in America increase under either wing of its duopoly governance – while Wall Street, other corporate predators, and its privileged class never had things better.

UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston published a report on poverty, deprivation, and despair in America – a damning indictment of what he learned firsthand.

He visited California, Alabama, Georgia, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, and Washington DC, meeting with experts, civil society groups, federal and state officials, along with impoverished and homeless Americans.

For countless millions of poor and neglected people, the nation is a wasteland of dystopian harshness, deprivation and despair – the Constitution’s general welfare clause forgot, Alston saying:

“My visit coincide(d) with a dramatic change of direction in US policies relating to inequality and extreme poverty.”

“The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans.”

“The dramatic cuts in welfare, foreshadowed by the President and Speaker Ryan, and already beginning to be implemented by the administration, will essentially shred crucial dimensions of a safety net that is already full of holes.”

“It is against this background that my report is presented.”

The world’s richest country increasingly doesn’t give a damn about its poor and disadvantaged.

Alston witnessed deprivation and despair firsthand, meeting with “people barely surviving on Skid Row in Los Angeles.”

In San Francisco, he encountered a police officer “telling a group of homeless people to move on but having no answer when asked where they could move to.”

He discovered how “thousands of poor people get minor infraction notices which seem to be intentionally designed to quickly explode into unpayable debt, incarceration, and the replenishment of municipal coffers.”

He saw sewage-filled areas where state authorities don’t consider sanitation important in impoverished areas.

He saw toothless adults unable to afford proper dental care. He learned about deaths and diseases from “prescription and other drug addiction.”

He saw human despair in Puerto Rico, impoverished people without electricity, running water, and other essentials in normal times, greatly exacerbated by Hurricane Maria over three months ago, many without enough food and other essentials for their families.

He saw positive and negative things, the latter outweighing the former. America’s wealth is enjoyed by its privileged class. Ordinary people struggle to get by.

US healthcare expenditures are double the average of other developed countries – its availability based on the ability to pay, notably to treat expensive illnesses and injuries.

US infant mortality is the highest among industrialized nations.

“Americans can expect to live shorter and sicker lives, compared to people living in any other rich (country), and the ‘health gap between the US and its peer countries continues to grow,” Alston explained.

US inequality way exceeds the level in other developed nations. Its obesity is highest among rich countries.

It ranks 36th worldwide in access to clean water and sanitation. It has the world’s highest incarceration rate by far, exceeding China’s and India’s, both countries with four-times the US population.

Its youth poverty exceeds other developed nations. America ranks last among the world’s most well-off countries in terms of labor rights, poverty, safety net protections, wealth, inequality and economic mobility.

Among 37 OECD nations, it ranks 35th in terms of poverty and inequality. The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality calls America “a clear and constant outlier in the child poverty league.”

Registered voters are lower than in other OECD countries as a percent of its eligible population. Participation in US elections is low – the farcical process failing to serve ordinary people equitably.

Enfranchisement affords no rights in America – money, power and privilege alone served, ordinary people with no say over how they’re governed.

Alston: Republicans and Dems “reject the idea that economic and social rights are full-fledged human rights, despite their clear recognition…in key treaties that the US has ratified” – including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“(T)he United States is alone among developed countries in insisting that while human rights are of fundamental importance, they do not include rights that guard against dying of hunger, dying from a lack of access to affordable healthcare, or growing up in a context of total deprivation,” Alston added.

Poverty and deprivation in America are deep and growing. Michael Harrington’s “The Other America” (1962) got Jack Kennedy to investigate the problem.

Lyndon Johnson addressed it, saying his administration “here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.”

It was little more than a skirmish, way short of what was needed, yet a step in the right direction – long since abandoned since the neoliberal 90s, and post-9/11 war OF terror priorities, along with serving privileged US interests exclusively.

Undemocratic Dems under the Clintons and Obama, along with Bush/Cheney and Trump administrations declared war on social justice in America.

It’s been eroding toward elimination altogether – Washington’s bipartisan criminal class at war on its poor and disadvantaged citizens.

Growing millions are grievously harmed. Imperial and corporate priorities take precedence.

America’s deplorable state is unfit and unsafe to live in for most of its people – because of deep-seated corruption, rampant human and civil rights abuses, governance for its privileged class exclusively, and imperial madness.

 

[angelburst29]

A committee of British House of Commons lawmakers said in a report Wednesday that the level of homelessness in England was a national crisis.

Report: UK Response to Homelessness "An Abject Failure"
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960930000813

The Public Accounts Committee report said urgent need for joined-up strategy to help people and address underlying causes of homelessness, with 78,000 households currently described as homeless. The extent of homelessness across England is a national crisis, the report stressed, Xinhua reported.

"It is appalling that at any one time there are as many as 9,100 people sleeping rough on our streets. More than 78,000 households, including over 120,000 children, are homeless and housed in temporary accommodation, which can often be of a very poor standard," it added.

It said that in addition there are "hidden homeless" people who are housed by family and friends in shifting circumstances, but not captured as part of the official figures.

The report concluded that in addition the attitude of the government department has been unacceptably complacent.

"Homelessness can be a devastating blight on the lives of those who experience it, the average rough sleeper dies before the age of 50, and children in long term temporary accommodation miss far more schooling than their peers," the report noted.

It added that the homelessness crisis has been growing for some time, since 2010 the number of households in temporary accommodation, for example, has increased by more than 60 percent, and since March 2011 the number of people who sleep rough has risen by 134 percent.

The Department for Communities and Local Government's attitude, the committee adds, to reducing homelessness has been unacceptably complacent.

The limited action that it has taken has lacked the urgency that is so badly needed and its "light touch" approach to working with the local authorities tackling homelessness has clearly failed.

The Department is placing great reliance on the new Homelessness Reduction Act to provide the solution to homelessness.

Committee Chair, Meg Hillier MP said "The government must do more to understand and measure the real-world costs and causes of homelessness and put in place the joined-up strategy that is so desperately needed."

 

[angelburst29]

Robots are being used to deter homeless people from setting up camp in San Francisco (Photos)
http://www.businessinsider.com/security-robots-are-monitoring-the-homeless-in-san-francisco-2017-12

Ew, Robot: San Francisco Locals Trash Robocop Used to Chase Off Homeless
https://sputniknews.com/science/201712191060118620-san-francisco-locals-trash-robocop-chase-off-homeless/

A popular Czech nightclub has employed a new robotic DJ to spice up the routine and attract customers with a craving for the exotic.

Robot Dance Gets Real! Prague Club Gets Mechanical DJ
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201712211060217566-dj-automaton-nightclub-addition/

The Karlovy Lazne Music Club in Prague now has got itself an industrial-grade DJ – a repurposed robot that was originally used at a vehicle assembly plant.

People are excited (about the robot), because they haven't seen anything like this around Europe, and I am not sure if there is something similar in the world," club manager Adam Lipsansky said.

The mechanical DJ, shaped like a giant arm with a pincer attached, is mounted on a platform above the dance floor. Thanks to a special suit of software, the robot can choose which songs to play and, apparently, even dance.

Some customers however took a dim view of the club’s new addition.

"It can't feel what the people want to dance to. There is no emotion behind the music. When there is a real person, they know, what fun is like," a Mexican tourist named Marcia Lopes remarked.

 

[melatonin]

I read somewhere that there was 5 times more people sleeping rough in the UK than back in 2012.

I take chocolate bars everywhere i go, and hand everyone i see 2 of them....its amazing how many think your going to pull your hand back before they take them from you...you can see it in their eyes. And afterwards, you can see how much hope it gives them. Hope in humanity.

Its the hope your giving someone. Such a powerful force...and obviously, who doesnt like chocolate too. :P ;)

Edited - Last line....changed slightly.

 

[angelburst29]

I read somewhere that there was 5 times more people sleeping rough in the UK than back in 2012.

I take chocolate bars everywhere i go, and hand everyone i see 2 of them....its amazing how many think your going to pull your hand back before they take them from you...you can see it in their eyes. And afterwards, you can see how much hope it gives them. Hope in humanity.

Its the hope your giving someone. Such a powerful force...and obviously, who doesnt like chocolate too. :P ;)

Edited - Last line....changed slightly.

There was a point in my life where I found myself "homeless". I'm fortunate, the experience was short lived but I carry that memory - everyday. It gave me a better appreciation of life and the little things I use to overlook because I thought they were insufficient or didn't matter in the long run. One of the lessons I learned, it really is the little things in life - that make the World go round.

The hardest experience was going several days, even a week without any food. Visiting the local gas station bathroom was great to freshen up and refill a water bottle but I craved something hot to drink ... coffee or tea, it didn't matter. One morning, when I was sitting on a small bench near a coffee shop, a middle age woman approached me with a piece of paper. As she handed it to me, she gently smiled and walked away without saying anything. At first, I wasn't sure what it was but it said "voucher" which entitled me to a drink of my choice, plus a hoagie or soup and hard roll from the coffee shop. I have never forgotten her kindness!

After I was back on my feet and working full time, I put some money aside, so I would have it available to purchase a few food voucher's, in case I came across someone in need.

Chocolate bars are a nice gesture but I would ask you to try a little experiment? Try a three-day-fast with nothing but liquids. On the fourth morning, would your first preference in solid food - be a chocolate bar?

 

[melatonin]

There’s a few reasons I use chocolate bars. Sometimes I can hand out around 20-30 on 1 visit to Nottingham. They are easy to carry. Secoundly... price.... I don’t have much money myself. They also have good “use by” dates. I’ve also never had anyone turn them down. A mate of mine used to offer sandwich’s, and people often said they didn’t want them. (Wrong type of filling etc). Chocolate works for me and what I can do. :)
One of the biggest mental mind traps I used to have is feeling like nothing I did would be enough...and it stopped me from doing something like this for years. :)

 

[angelburst29]

There’s a few reasons I use chocolate bars. Sometimes I can hand out around 20-30 on 1 visit to Nottingham. They are easy to carry. Secoundly... price.... I don’t have much money myself. They also have good “use by” dates. I’ve also never had anyone turn them down. A mate of mine used to offer sandwich’s, and people often said they didn’t want them. (Wrong type of filling etc). Chocolate works for me and what I can do. :)
One of the biggest mental mind traps I used to have is feeling like nothing I did would be enough...and it stopped me from doing something like this for years. :)

May I suggest ... in the area of Nottingham where you visit, to locate a small coffee shop, or a McDonald's or any fast food place and ask them, if you can purchase a few vouchers "limited to a drink of your choice (coffee-tea-soft drink)" which I have no trouble with purchasing for a dollar a piece. There is also the option of purchasing a small voucher booklet (already prepared) that contains 8 coupons (each offering a drink and hamburg/cheese burger) for ten dollars. Many donut franchises like Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts have prepared voucher booklets that can be purchased - that offer "coffee or tea and a donut of your choice" for a dollar a piece. The booklets contain 10 coupons for the purchase price of 10 dollars. None of the vouchers contain an expiration date.

From living on the street, so to speak, I learned "homelessness" can be reduced to four categories:

1. Those that find themselves homeless, due to external circumstances which they have no control over, like a business or corporation closing doors (sometimes without notice to employees) due to bankruptcy or moving over seas. The employee is unable to pick up another job, depletes savings and can no longer hold onto an apartment or make house payments and find themselves unable to qualify for any kind of public assistance (which usually stipulates that you have housing to qualify).

2. Those that might have a mental or physical disability, that are unable to get the proper social assistance, due to lack of public or government funding, in which, the VA can be added to this list of incompetence.

3. Those that find themselves homeless due to their own behavior problems and addictions (drinking - drugs) and have no motivation or desire to pull themselves out of their circumstances. The type, that even if they get external help, lack the ambition "to try" and end up back on the streets.

4. Those that use homelessness - as an excuse - for profit, extortion and personal gain. Many who will scout out a busy public intersection, dress down in tattered clothes and display a sign, to collect donations in a self employed endeavor. "Panhandling for a living." Many investigators have found that these individuals ... own newer model cars and live in expense housing.

Many that find themselves homeless, due to external circumstances, which was the case in my situation, find themselves on an emotional rollercoaster.
Being young and inexperienced and for one reason or another, unable to reach out to family for help ... added to the pain and desolation. The one thing that worked in my favor, I considered the situation "temporary" until I could find my way out of it. It's what kept me moving forward but in the process, I experienced what homelessness had to offer. It turned out to be an invaluable life lesson, on many levels.

Chocolate works for me and what I can do. :)

I asked - "suggested" - an experiment for you to do ... to get my point across.

Chocolate (of any kind) on an empty stomach will make you feel sick and want to throw up. It may give "an instant surge of energy" for a brief few minutes, which eventually unwinds into an energy crash, leading into depression. That's what you are offering - by giving out chocolate candy bars!

A homeless person will suffer different stages of stomach cramps from not eating solid and proper food for extended periods of time. They might also be suffering from levels of dehydration. Any form of sugar - adds to the physical discomfort and suffering! The stomach cramps get more pronounced and you get light head and lose the strength in your feet. Many homeless will try to collect and drink their own urine ... because warm liquid has a tendency to relieve most of the stomach cramping, although it's only a temporary fix. I can't imagine what drugs and/or alcohol can do - for I never went that route but it can only have devastating effects.

Someone, who is really homeless will crave something warm to drink (to get rid of the physical discomfort and over all body pain) and a small amount of warm food. The stomach can't tolerate more than that. It's one of the reasons, why some soup kitchens opened to feed the poor during the depressions.

I have offered a safe alternative, "food vouchers" which are readily available in different denominations from most food establishments.

 

[angelburst29]

A British police chief has voiced his surprise over the demand by a council leader to use legal powers to remove homeless people from the streets of Windsor, near London, ahead of the forthcoming royal wedding between Prince Harry, fifth in line to the UK throne, and American actress Meghan Markle.

UK Police Boss Awaits Letter Demanding Homeless Be Moved Before Royal Wedding (Photos - Video)
https://sputniknews.com/news/201801041060513961-windsor-homeless-police-remove/

Anthony Stansfeld, police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, revealed on January 4, 2018, he has yet to receive the letter sent by Simon Dudley, the Conservative leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, despite details from it having already been made widely public.

He said: "I am somewhat surprised that this letter, sent from the Leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, has been released publicly but not yet been sent directly to me. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council are a key partner for Thames Valley Police and myself and I am always happy to listen to any concerns they may have and work together where possible."

Mr. Dudley has called on the police to take legal action against rough-sleepers in the upmarket town before the royal wedding takes place in May. He said "an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy" in Windsor was causing concern and presented the town "in a sadly unfavorable light."

He believes the 1824 Vagrancy Act and the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act should be applied to rid the area of homeless people and beggars from the streets. In tweets posted while on holiday in the United States over Christmas, the council chief said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in May "will focus minds. Due to tourism, Windsor is different and requires a more robust approach to begging."

He claimed also people begging for money were "marching tourists to cash points to withdraw cash." His comments have caused a split on social media with some locals supporting his call while others have attacked it.

First Time - In a statement to Sputnik, Mr. Stansfeld said the issues had never been raised with him before despite attending the council meeting in October. "I will of course provide Cllr Dudley with a full response addressing his concerns once I have received the letter and investigated the issues he has raised further," he added.

The police commissioner continued: "Supporting the vulnerable, including the homeless, is a priority within my Police and Crime Plan and I have previously provided funding to homeless shelters in Berkshire. I also provide a Community Safety Fund to local authorities which allows them to fund any local priorities they may have to prevent crime and improve community safety and this year provided Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council with nearly £150,000."

"Protecting the public is of the utmost important to both myself and Thames Valley Police and the force work day in and day out to keep people safe from harm and make the Thames Valley a safe place to live, work and visit," added Mr. Stansfeld.

Ironic that some of the homeless people Simon Dudley wants 'dissapeared' before the Royal Wedding could well be men who served with Harry, seeing as how this Govt has put more ex-servicemen on the streets than any since the Napoleonic wars…

​Council (obviously under orders) want to get rid of homeless people in Windsor before the royal wedding… Buckingham Palace has plenty of room!

Help and Support - Homeless charities have been quick to critize the plan to instigate anti-social powers against rough sleepers, stressing more needs to be done to provide help and advice.

Paul Noblet of the charity Centrepoint — whose patron is Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, said: "Begging and rough sleeping are two distinct issues, and it is not helpful to conflate the two. The best way to help rough sleepers is to get them off the streets and into an environment where they can access the long-term support they need."

Under the Vagrancy Act it is a criminal offense to sleep rough or beg. According to UK government figures, there were almost 1,500 convictions under this law in 2016.

 

[Ca.]

I Left my Filth in San Francisco – The Daily Conspiracy
May 18, 2018 Baghdad By The Bay

NBC investigators

rated the city “one of the filthiest slums on earth.” After surveying 153 blocks in the downtown area, “including some of the city’s top tourist destinations,” they discovered “a dangerous concoction of drug needles, garbage, and feces lining the streets of downtown San Francisco.”

Every single block surveyed by the NBC crew had trash littered about. 41 of those 153 blocks had drug syringes and 96 blocks were contaminated with human excrement.

One has to wonder why a city the size of San Francisco, with such a rich history and vital tourist trade, doesn’t pick up after itself?

The problem, as revealed by the San Francisco Chronicle and many other sources, is homeless people. It seems they just won’t use the public toilets or garbage cans provided by the city.

Things have gotten so bad that San Francisco mayor Ed Lee headed up a Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, effective July 1, 2016. The Chronicle reported that the civic group “spent $275 million on homelessness and supportive housing in the fiscal year.” This year’s budget is $305 million.

Since its inception, city Public Works cleanup personnel have collected “more than 679 tons of trash from homeless tent, and collecting more than 100,000 used syringes from the camps in that time span.” That is a lot of garbage.

People are sounding off about the awful mess. In both 2015 and 2016, the city’s city’s 311 line got more than 22,000 complaints about needles and feces around homeless encampments.

Ironically, Channel 4 News steered us toward what might be part of the real problem:

“The city of San Francisco hands out millions of syringes a year to drug users but has little or no controls over how they are later discarded.”

Yes, San Francisco has so many folks with no place to live that they have built tent cities, a recent American phenomenon. According to a Yale Law School study published in March 2014, titled Welcome Home: The Rise of Tent Cities in the United States” gives the reason for the current high rates of homelessness experienced across the nation:

“Because of the economic recession and the financial and mortgage foreclosure crises, homelessness has increased and intensified in the United States over the past several years.”

Failed mortgages and unemployment during the Obama years have taken their toll throughout our once-great nation. Federal policy before President Trump has failed miserably to get people out of tents and into homes.

A 2017 “Homeless Census” put the exact number of destitute individuals to be around 7,500. The Guardian adds that “the waitlist to get into a homeless shelter is more than 1,000 names long.”

Is it merely coincidence that San Francisco is a proudly self-professed Sanctuary City which welcomes all the people mentioned on the base of the Statue of Liberty? Just to refresh your memory, the last part of the statue’s famous text (“The New Colossus”) goes like this:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

This is indeed the creed that has made the United States the land of wealth, power, and opportunity that it is today.

But we just established that not everyone is wealthy or empowered or enabled to thrive, would you agree?

For those “wretched refuse” who make it all the way through the Golden Door to the Golden State, uncertainty awaits. But one thing is certain: San Francisco has turned into a pond full of bacteria-ridden scum.

Wondering just how long ago people began noticing a decline in public standards in San Francisco, we checked out some TripAdvisor reviews. It seems like everything was going great until 2014. A visitor wrote on May 10 of that year:

“SF has gotten so dirty, unfriendly, cold and uncaring of it’s [sic] tourists and of the upkeep of once such a gorgeous city!!”

Another July 16, 2015 opinion helps explain why San Francisco is winning awards now for slovenliness:

“Having visited San Francisco a lot during the 90s and loved the place, it has been a big disappointment to return in 2015 to find the city area very dirty. As well, aggressive homeless people putting on pressure for money and being abusive when none (or too little!) is forthcoming make a visit unenjoyable. We were also subject to abuse from a large African American man selling his music: when we didn’t meet his needs he abused my wife using foul language and threatened to put on her. No police in sight anywhere – no locals intervened.”

Perhaps the real solution to filth caused by human destitution is – get ready – get rid of the destitution. Create an economy with enough sustainable jobs to allow people without homes to get one, even a modest place. Educate the public about sanitation, counsel the druggies, install more toilets and trash cans, and let’s turn this sorry picture around!

Those that profit from the intended consequences

KPIX CBS SF Bay Area Published on May 19, 2018

Kaiser Permanente has made a $200 million pledge to help heal the plague of homelessness in the Bay Area and beyond. Da Lin tells us Oakland is already seeing the benefits.

Baghdad By The Bay

Published on Jun 12, 2017

Today I talk about whether or not the party is over in San Francisco and some of the tell tale signs the City isn't the best place to live right now possibly.