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Please Help. I'm hungry, homeless and scared.

Baka?
And to the people that want to help around xmas. That is great and all, but people need help all year round.
I give to charities regulary. I think this is more helpful.
 
baka means stupid/idiot in japanese, apart from that I've got nothing.
Personally I'd rather donate $1,000 to the Salvation Army than to give someone on the street some small change. It helps me for tax reasons and it goes to an organisation that will use the money more effectively than I ever could. However if it is someone I know personally, then I'd go to any lengths to help out.
 
meh!!!
COLES hires anybody!!! GET JOBS ya bumbs!
in the case of nezos 1st post and the girl at brunswick st,fudge ud have to be a real prick to walk away without giving a little assistance.But hell,ive seen that working in the city and then when u give her change she walks around the corner and here boyfriend is happy that she scored some change...There are many diffrent extrems out there...Its up to the individule.
I dont give spare change to just anyone who askes now,Cause of situations like Friskk,there are too many dodge people out there and sadly they making it harder for the ones who actually need/want the assistance.Donating your time and community based activities/programs are the best way to help and DONATE your old clothes!Not your torn ones.
Im not homless but im no money bags...and im not that educated but now i work a second stupid job at night so i know that my rent will be payed and pay for some of my creature comforts.
I love reading opnions from little snotty nosed kids from the comfort of their keyboard who are doing it "hard" - you guys rock - PLUR to you all. go easy haste...Not everybody does it hard and alot of people make efforts in there life so they never go down that track.
and most of them snooty nosed kids will stay behind there computer and most probably get an education so they never become homeless.
 
Yes sorry, I was a little harsh, just an issue thats very close to me - apologies all round :)
 
nezo:
Isn't the welfare system we have supposed to help these people? The Dole? Subsidised housing? Youth Allowance etc etc? I'm not very clear on how these welfare programs work. Don't homeless people qualify for these programs? Can someone enlighten me?
Yes they should, but again you have to clarify what 'homeless' means. For many people it’s characterized by intermittent housing, hostels and refuges; for some, interspersed with ‘rough’ periods on the street. Like I said, it’s a pretty fine (and quickly crossed) bridge between treading water and poverty – things can compound pretty quickly and bad circumstances beget worse ones. Say you’re on Youth Allowance or Newstart Allowance – you’ve lost your fixed address, you don’t receive their correspondence for whatever reason, you miss an interview or a requirement so you breach your allowance and all of a sudden Centrelink’s either cut you off or slashed your payments for 18 weeks.
For all the talk of ‘individualised, personal service’ and ‘seamlessness’, our social security system is a mess. Huge gaps, ever stricter entitlements and they’ll drop a ton of bricks on you if you should miss one of the hoops you’re supposed to jump through, no matter whose fault it was. Add some sort of substance abuse, an intellectual disability, a mental illness, whatever, and things can fall apart pretty fast. There’s not much sympathy when your identity is ‘welfare dependent’.
As for whether or not to hand over that $1.35 in your pocket... If you see a dead fish floating down the stream, you don’t think much of it. After you’ve seen twenty or thirty, it’s time to head up the river and see what the fuck’s going on. Personally, I reckon you’re better off donating your time or money to some sort of organisation, ie. help out at The Big Issue office, Brotherhood of St. L, etc etc, particularly ones with a self-help approach to their work. Or get involved in some sort of advocacy work. I suppose it comes down to your own values and what you feel comfortable doing.
Yeah, I agree it’s a fair point to ask why don’t they get a job at Coles, etc - I guess people have their reasons whatever they are... Just try to remember that people do make their own choices, but not always in circumstances of their own choosing.
 
kinda hard to get a job at coles when; you don't have a bank account they pay into (I assume that's how it's done), you don't have a nice white shirt and black pants cause the only gear you have is what you have been wearing for the last week and you're competing against every year 11 / 12 kid. No?
I help out the guys with The Big Issue when I can - I've been buying The Big Issue from Louie ( who some of you will recognise as the large tea cosy african american dude who plies his trade at Parliment St and Brunswick St) for the last 5 years. Some of the stories he tells me are hard to believe in regards to how even they are treated. :(
 
One thing that I would like to see... And some will say its not fair... I know its illegal because of some international laws regarding rationing or something like that but...
I see all too often people get their welfare money and go buy alcohol/drugs/cigarettes etc... Then go and get a food voucher when that has run out.
Why not give out a voucher or some kind of different currency for those on welfare, especially the long term ones. Some kind of currency that will allow the purchase of most things like food and clothes and fuel etc. But not Alcohol/drugs/cigarettes etc. It would be helping these people as well as reducing the wastige that is our welfare system.
See I have no problem with those who need help and are genuine but those who just bludge coz they don't want to work I really can't stand (and yes I know many of these people who openely admit to being bludgers, they think it is their right to recieve the money and do nothing rather than seeing it as assistance)
 
yossarian.lives nice post!
and nezo yes and no.I guess the biggest bitch about it is at the end of the day they need a forwarding address and all for a bank account!Cant homeless people get GPO BOX address???
People can work night shift in casule clothes,no need for shirts and slacks....
In saying all this i can not imagine what a homeless person has to go through or feals but i do understand in that stupid little "ive been 2 hell and back before" way,how homeless people feal useless and unmotivated at times and offers like what we are disscusing seem pointless and this is when people turn there back on the needy and we then continue in our viscious cicurle of life.
must cut it short here...bye yeas!
 
I agree with you . . . but the argument to that is that in doing that, you are telling them how to spend their money . . . the other argument to that is - its not really their money.
i used to live in a shitty area, behind us was all homeswest (state) housing. and it used to make me really sad to see little 2-3 years olds sitting on the road with dirty clothes, no shoes, whinging for food, or money. when i know first hand that their parents had ample money for drugs/alcohol.
but this is a complex issue. its quite easy for someone white and middle class like myself to make judgements on minorities, and i think thats why there haven't been any real improvements to their conditions/situations because the welfare system doesnt help or even take in to account the factors that have put these people in these situations. I could quite honestly say that if i grew up in that sort of area, in that sort of life, abuse, drugs, no education, etc, no real future looming ahead - I would probably spend all my money on drugs/alcohol aswell!!!! i mean if u cant get anything else out of life . . .! i guess i can just see where they are coming from.
i know people claim they should just go get a job, but without a car, clothes, phone, education, experience!!!! its really really hard, and after awhile of being unemployed, self esteem goes down, as does motivation, and the longer you are unemployed the harder it is to find a job.
so, the solution? i have no idea.
(edit) PO boxes arent free, or at leaast they didn't used to be . . . . so how does a poor or homeless person get one?
[ 10 December 2002: Message edited by: beatGirl ]
 
My father works for maternal heart which is a division of the S V de P society, these people give monetary assistance to people on the street every day... from what I have heard from my father is that he gets little accolade from these people, they treat him as a foe rather than a friend?
today my dad told me that someone stole the battery out of the clock in the waiting room.. haha hows that stealing and treating those that give up their time voluntarily like shit...
All of them have a sob story, which has been refined over the years for maximum tear jerking effect...
Yes there is the occasional few who really appreciate the help given but as has been reitterated so many times, the majority couldnt give a shit about their situation..
But for the original post, that was a fucking decent thing to do, I admire that you helped someone in need... As yes she could have been one of the real needy...
Cheers (keep voting liberal)
 
nezo: I think you showed a lot of compassion in a difficult situation. The issue of why people become homeless is indeed a complex one. As yossarian.lives pointed out, it is all too easy for someone struggling with a mental illness, intellectual disability, abusive family etc to end up homeless through no fault of their own.
I find it saddening that in a country as prosperous as Australia we still have people living on the streets.
It is acknowledged by mental health workers, for example, that there is a serious lack of housing available for people suffering severe/chronic mental illness. I believe this goes for people with ID too. The fact that a homeless person has to pay to stay in a shelter for a night is ridiculous IMHO.
My personal policy is that generally I don't give to people begging. My main reason for this is that the few ex-heroin addicts I know have all begged, in order to buy heroin. I have also known some alcoholics who beg for money to buy grog. I am not confortable giving money to someone for this purpose. I know I can't tell the difference between a person begging for food money and a person begging for drug money, but nonetheless, this is my stance.
There are many worthy organisations who can put the money to good use in providing services on an ongoing basis. The Salvo's are the best known, but there is also St Vincents de Paul who run shelters like Ozanam House, and
Hanover and others. I'm sure they could all use donations, and potentially volunteers too.
 
Originally posted by beatGirl:
its quite easy for someone white and middle class like myself to make judgements on minorities,
This is another huge problem... People giving excuses if you are a minority. As far as I am concerned all people are equal.
What does the fact you are white mean? Perhaps many white people get a better upbringing? Perhaps white people get more or better chances?
I dont think so, I think it is to do with attitude. The sooner people stop making excuses for anyone who isnt "white" the better. All it does is create a problem, "white" people have only one advantage as I see it and that is their attitude. Many "minority" people I know have come from a bad background and become something because someone in their childhood drummed into their head they could be something... I dont think it was their parents... In fact I know it wasnt. If people stop making excuses and start forcing others to do something then they will become something... but it has to start early.
This is a little off topic and some may not agree but I personally hate the race point of view. No offence intended to anyone especially beat girl.
You can become what you want to become if you put your mind to it, it doesnt matter who you are or where you are from...
 
babydoc : both times I have given a bit more than spare change to people who I thought needed it, I have asked to check their arms for track marks. Yes, I know, injecting via toes etc etc but I'm not going to ask them to take off their bloody socks am I? :p
 
Originally posted by SumHiFlyingFucka:

This is another huge problem... People giving excuses if you are a minority. As far as I am concerned all people are equal.

perhaps where your concerned all people are equal, but in reality, thats not true.
if all people were equal then why does one race conquer and colonise already inhabited land, marginalise, abuse, rape, murder, almost destroy the other race . . .??
i know this is in the past, but these acts created and set the scene for problems we are seeing now. even today, things are not equal. thats a really stupid statement, everyone has different life chances, situations, factors that perpetuate inequality. come on be realistic.
 
Originally posted by nezo:
I've been buying The Big Issue from Louie ( who some of you will recognise as the large tea cosy african american dude who plies his trade at Parliment St and Brunswick St) for the last 5 years.
man, that guy 0wnz :) when uni's on, i pass him every morning, and sometimes he sings...yeah, he just seems like a really cool guy. i'll have to start buying my big issues from him..
!brad
 
Originally posted by beatGirl:

perhaps where your concerned all people are equal, but in reality, thats not true.
if all people were equal then why does one race conquer and colonise already inhabited land, marginalise, abuse, rape, murder, almost destroy the other race . . .??
i know this is in the past, but these acts created and set the scene for problems we are seeing now. even today, things are not equal. thats a really stupid statement, everyone has different life chances, situations, factors that perpetuate inequality. come on be realistic.

As you said that is in the past... Its time to move on and not let it happen again.
These days all people have all different chances but I know from where I stand that I am the most discriminated against. (I am white and Male).
I work for an Aboriginal organisation and get payed the same money as them(Less than some) however I have been unable to get most of the assistance they can... They only difference being that I am white. I could not get an ATSIC loan like them, I could not get a certain traineeship, I can not do this, I can not do that... And it all boils down to the fact I am white. Why when everything about me is the same except the colour of my skin are these people entitled to so much more?
They agree with me... They do not understand either... We were born in the same land, grew up in it together...
I think (and they agree) it is time to stop living in the past. Lets move on. Lets be equal. When people are treated differently the gap will never close. It is time to close that gap.
 
Ok, a few points here that necessitate a response. First, the whole "You can become what you want to become if you put your mind to it, it doesnt matter who you are or where you are from." issue; second (and related), the 'race' thing.
Allow me to borrow from Marx, and please excuse the gendered language:
...men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past... (Marx, 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte)
Kinda similar to the whole 'people make choices, but not in circumstances of their own choosing' idea. We all tend to experience whatever happens in our own lives as unique and private, as we also tend to interpret what happens to other people as unique and private to them. *Private* troubles – in western societies we tend towards an individualised orientation in our understanding of what happens to us and those around us. All fair and well. What this does however is to downplay or miss the systemic, structural forces that go on all around us (political, economic, social and cultural arrangements and so forth, ie. the labour market). Take an example: when one person is unemployed, it's a private trouble; when 3 million people are unemployed, it's a public issue.
How does this relate to homelessness and ethnicity? Both of these have and are talked about as 'problems'. When you use language to set up a 'problem', you portray the subject (homeless people, 'dole bludgers', Aborigines, whatever) as 'sick' or maybe 'troublesome'. The language of 'problems’ individualises the person or group, and precludes an understanding of the 'problem' as systemic or structural.
Example: people who rely on welfare – we think of 'welfare dependency' as a 'problem' – a 'problem' needs a solution - these people (who are most often the most vulnerable elements of the community) are portrayed as a fiscal threat to government. Instead of 'the unemployment problem', you've now got 'the problem of the unemployed'. Somehow it doesn’t seem to matter that there's more unemployed people than there are jobs – blaming the victim is easier than stimulating labour-market demand.
I'm not trying to deny or downplay individual decisions/actions etc, however it's important to think carefully and critically about 'the big picture'.
As for 'equality' and excuses based on ethnicity or race. People are always whinging that 'the Aborigines are getting too good a deal' or 'they have access to services I don't' or whatnot. Let there be no false ideas here about spending on Aboriginals – for most of the 1990s the amount of welfare, heath care and education support provided especially for Aborigines amounted to about 1.5% of total budget outlays, which is in proportion to the 1.5% of the population that Aborigines represent (ABS 1999). By any measure or indicator you should care to use, Aborigines are doing far worse off than 'white' people.
Education: Significantly lower levels of formal schooling than average (ABS 1996).
Unemployment: Far higher (over 35%), and most Aborigines who are unemployed have been so for over a year (ABS 1997).
Income: Aborigines are usually poorer than most non-indigenous Australians.
Health: Aboriginal life expectancies are the same as those for white people circa 1901.
That's just the start of it. I seriously challenge any non-indigenous person on this board to say they’d swap their circumstances for those of an Aboriginal child. Further, of course these systemic, structural conditions will shape life chances. To suggest otherwise is simply ludicrous.
To wind this over-long post up (sorry!), YES! Let’s move on. Let’s close the gap. But lets also remember that both these groups (people who are homeless and Aborigines and Torress Strait Islanders) face distinct, serious disadvantages that we all need to think about and takle.
[ 11 December 2002: Message edited by: yossarian.lives ]
 
i really appreciate this post.
some food for thought : a person that i know quite well once said to me: " i dont want to have the donor on my id room: the reason behind it was:
if i was on the operating table, within a surgury, and i was critically ill. the fact that i have donor on my card may sway the surgeon to "let me go" and donote my organs, rather than give me all he has got."
for what its worth i dont agree, i dont believe that a doctor ( i know 3 ) would have such little morality/integrety, well...at least not in this country. however, i beleive that in other countries, not so fortunate as us may be forced to make that decision due to limited recources.
i hope that made sense. ps - i donate to ronald mcdonald charity everytime im at maccas.
 
The only ones I really do feel sorry for are the kids, and donating to the salvo's is probably the best option...or doing even more if you have the money to donate.
For the older homeless people, all I have to say is this.....
I gave a few times before, and all I saw was them go straight into the pub and piss it against the wall.
I have lost total respect for them, especially after seeing my ex g/f live in a great apartment with 5 friends (yeah alot of people, but she still had a bed, pool and a spa), be on case management (get some of her clothes paid for, and other things on the side)!! fucken overboard but she got the money!! There is help out there, and if they want it they will find it. The thing is, some of these people just can't be fucked and would rather wait until they die thinking other people let them down, instead of trying to make something of their lives themselves.
Maybe I am being too harsh, and I know they are on the streets for a reason, but there are ways around it.....WE LIVE IN AUSTRALIA, NOT AFGHANISTAN!
[ 11 December 2002: Message edited by: MOTOMAN ]
 
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