Originally Posted by
SaltySeaDog
What an interesting thread. I'm always intrigued (and unfortunately often saddened) to see what opinions people have on such a complex subject as this.
I'll throw in my two pence for what it's worth.
I've worked in a few homeless centres, and from my experience there were about 1-2% that chose that lifestyle. This tended to be to escape the demands of society, and live in a sort of freer way. The overwhelming majority however didn't express this view, and the number of desperate situations people found themselves in was really tough to observe.
We do live in a competitive society where if you are born into the right circumstances, or are fortunate enough to have had a secure upbringing and/or developed the necessary self esteem/confidence you can do very well. If you are on the poorer side of the divide, with a lack of inner strength/stability/security/mental health to thrive in this culture, chances are you will end up on the periphery & with a higher chance of becoming homeless.
If we view mental health and it's side effects (drink/drugs/crime/disruption) as something to lock away, and to shame, we will never solve these issues. Each society will create certain effects due to it's policies, and that particular society should own up to these effects, and deal with them in a mature and compassionate way.
Lots of my friends and family share a similar belief that if you give to a homeless person, then that money will be spent on 'the wrong thing'. Or that there are hoards of non-homeless milking it on the streets and living in mansions. What is interesting however is that none of the people that think this have ever given money, spoken with, or had any real first-hand contact with a homeless person.So my only conclusion from this is that a narrative has been formed from the media, and just circulated, and regurgitated, without anyone really questioning what their beliefs are and whether they actually, truly believe it.
Who cares anyway what that person spends that money on, and who are we to judge them? If we want to give that person some money, it is totally their right to spend it as they wish, and we should accept that. We all have people close to us that spend money on things we wouldn't choose to, but acting superior and judgemental never achieves anything.
Love man, that's answer to it all
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