S/o How many unhoused people have you met in person?

[Anonymous]

Many to multiple, although I am a board member of a charity that is tangentially related to homelessness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My best friend growing up is homeless, based on multiple mutual friends seeing her panhandling in Crystal City. She was a genius in school - all As at a DC private (where we met) and she was an extremely talented musician. She was in the middle of grad school when I think she had a full mental break; schizophrenia runs in her family and I saw glimmers of it in her here and there. So yeah, mental health troubles are a precursor to homelessness.

She was the only child of an older mother (father died when she was a kid) who I imagine has passed on as well. No other family to speak of. We are in our thirties. What is society to do?

I think bringing back institutions and making involuntary commitment easier, as CA has recently done, is the only humane answer re: both the individual and public order and safety. What we have been doing has been a disaster. Dismantle all the advocacy orgs that push Housing First and urge people to stay on the street and expand St. Es with better oversight.

I used to work in an institution, preparing patients for placement in group homes, because the law required us to move them out of the institution asap. Because they were schizophrenics who couldn’t handle that setting, they would invariably become homeless, would get in trouble, police would be called, and they would end up in our institution again. Several patients would deliberately get in trouble just to return, because they felt safer in the institution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A ton! I'm a lead volunteer for refugees and I work with 2-3 families at a time for several months until they get placed in temp housing and then move on to the next families that need support.

The patterns-
-They are insanely thankful for any connections and support. They go out of their way to make meals for me, make me handmade gifts, do prayers or blessings over me.
-They are so family oriented. Most are together 24/7 as they can't work right away, kids aren't enrolled in school yet, etc. They really work together and everyone pitches in to do their part.
-They abide by the rules. They will not do anything to jeopardize their chance at being here.
-They can laugh despite everything. When I'm fumbling over their language or do something that would be considered rude/improper in the culture instead of feeling embarrassed it almost always leads to a good laugh and kind course correction.

I know this post was made tongue in cheek, but I actually have met billionaires (and responded in the other thread) but I'd take the refugees any day, everyday. Just some of the most lovely human beings I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with despite cultural and language barriers.

They weren't homeless where they came from. Being a refugee is very different from being homeless. They're undergoing an external crisis.


That's like my saying my family was homeless for six months when we moved in with family because we suddenly lost our house. We worked and were financially stable the entire time and we have been happily housed ever since.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A ton! I'm a lead volunteer for refugees and I work with 2-3 families at a time for several months until they get placed in temp housing and then move on to the next families that need support.

The patterns-
-They are insanely thankful for any connections and support. They go out of their way to make meals for me, make me handmade gifts, do prayers or blessings over me.
-They are so family oriented. Most are together 24/7 as they can't work right away, kids aren't enrolled in school yet, etc. They really work together and everyone pitches in to do their part.
-They abide by the rules. They will not do anything to jeopardize their chance at being here.
-They can laugh despite everything. When I'm fumbling over their language or do something that would be considered rude/improper in the culture instead of feeling embarrassed it almost always leads to a good laugh and kind course correction.

I know this post was made tongue in cheek, but I actually have met billionaires (and responded in the other thread) but I'd take the refugees any day, everyday. Just some of the most lovely human beings I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with despite cultural and language barriers.

They weren't homeless where they came from. Being a refugee is very different from being homeless. They're undergoing an external crisis.


That's like my saying my family was homeless for six months when we moved in with family because we suddenly lost our house. We worked and were financially stable the entire time and we have been happily housed ever since.

Huh? They don't have a place to live. Most sleep in tents outside the police station or sometimes the women and children are allowed in to sleep on a yoga mat in the hallway floor of the station. They don't have work permits and can't work until they are able to get authorization which often takes months.

[Anonymous]

I've met quite a few through work over the years (I've mostly worked in a legal roles where our were poor, including homeless people). We also have a friend of my wife's who never has stable places to live and sometimes sleeps on the street. Right now she's staying in a hotel but she might get kicked out at any time. We help manage her finances (disability payments), store stuff for her, etc. No drug use but a long history of mental health problems.

[Anonymous]

Following a common theme here, my sister, who has schizophrenia, was homeless for about 10 years. She is now on medication, receives disability, and has a comfortable apartment. All that was needed was to get the mental illness under control.

[Anonymous]

Yes, a distant relative. Very clear mental illness but familial refusal to see it and treat it. They kept encouraging him to talk to a minister about his visions. We eventually cut contact because he started to display unsafe behaviors and we had young kids. I think he still lives on the streets but am not sure.