simvastatin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2019/03/22/feature/this-is-not-me/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.41946c0984bc Before 10 a.m. on another cold Thursday, Monica Diaz stirred in her tent, filled with dread. It had been two weeks since the last cleanup, and city workers would again be here soon, with their dumpster truck and police cars, to clear out the encampment. Every morning was awful, but these were the worst of all, when Monica, who’d otherwise be resting before work, was forced to confront publicly what she did her best to hide: that she’s homeless. That she lives in a tent. That she just turned 40, and that this is somehow her life. “You ready?” Monica asked her husband, after a sleepless night at the base of Union Station, near CNN’s Washington bureau, where the noise never stopped and they’d huddled together with their dog, Sassy, against the cold. “Somewhat,” said Pete Etheridge, 31, sighing. They looked around their tent, which not only held the sum total of their world but also reflected a way of life that has, over the past decade, fundamentally changed the face of American homelessness. As housing costs climb ever higher in booming urban areas, the significant growth in tent encampments nationwide has become one of the most visible signs of the nation’s failure to alleviate widening inequality. In Orange County, Calif., more than 700 people were cleared out of a tent city along the Santa Ana River last year after thousands signed a petition and Anaheim declared of a state of emergency. Seattle, meanwhile, has allowed some tent cities to operate as de facto communities — long-term, regulated, even with phone numbers and addresses. And in the District, the number of encampment cleanups has surged, according to city data, rising from 29 in 2015 to 100 in 2018. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nothernsoul Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 My friend went to work in LA and told me there were visibly different levels of homeless, people living in makeshift shelters, people sleeping in cars then cleaning themselves up in a public restroom before doing a shift of work somewhere. He told me America is a fascinating place to visit but he wouldnt want to live there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy2x3 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 (edited) i dont understand the sleeping in car thing. why not just swap your car for a van? can make a reasonable decent home in a van not a car. heck you can make a big van into a great place to stay to a point of not feeling homeless at all, there are 4 million campervans in the uk, all used as temporary and permanent homes, some are very posh indeed. but yes indeed homelessness is everywhere now, and so is poverty due to high rents sucking all the money from you. a revolution in alternative living needs to happen. living in vans and campers and caravans etc needs to be seen as quite acceptable. to be honest i see it changing to this way allready. Edited March 25, 2019 by jimmy2x3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simvastatin Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 26 minutes ago, jimmy2x3 said: i dont understand the sleeping in car thing. why not just swap your car for a van? can make a reasonable decent home in a van not a car. heck you can make a big van into a great place to stay to a point of not feeling homeless at all, there are 4 million campervans in the uk, all used as temporary and permanent homes, some are very posh indeed. but yes indeed homelessness is everywhere now, and so is poverty due to high rents sucking all the money from you. a revolution in alternative living needs to happen. living in vans and campers and caravans etc needs to be seen as quite acceptable. to be honest i see it changing to this way allready. What i cannot get my head around is that there is no shortage of empty houses in the US or even the UK, the uneven development seems to to be the cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 14 minutes ago, prozac said: What i cannot get my head around is that there is no shortage of empty houses in the US or even the UK, the uneven development seems to to be the cause. Very many do not want others living in their spare homes.....if they do rent it out for less it will mean the value is reduced....better no income than an income that will reduce the value?........even if given a home a home is still expensive to store, both in upkeep, security and taxes.....a lot more than a caravan or tent, freedom to some is valuable.....for some homes tie you down and create more problems than they solve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl_hater Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 The ERG Utopia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 They need to move to somewhere with cheaper housing - Washington D+C is pretty expensive. Monica Diaz came close to falling asleep while standing as she spoke to a lawyer who offered to help her pro bono with a complaint regarding city workers throwing away her belongings, including her identification cards To me me ,this reads like she does not have full citizenship,. which is a s hit load of problem in itself. She knew that she’d made some mistakes. Some bills went unpaid and debts had accumulated while she tried — unsuccessfully — to get a college degree at Towson University, ruining her credit. Then four years ago, she was charged with distribution of a controlled substance, a case that was dropped. Shes ucked up, massively. Assuming shes ot full US citizen its frankly down to the US big heart that shes not had her a5se kicked out. If I was Monica Id be looking to move to somewhere much much cheaper. Rental in US drop of massively when you move to less popular/high paying states. In her case, if they both carrying on working theyd pretty much earn the same income but could halve their rental bill. Im reminded of this story, that was floating round FB, with my usual collection of FB going 'Oh, disgusting a homeless woman freezes to death. Tory austerity!. Richest country i nthe world etc etc. https://metro.co.uk/sec_55724344/ The reality was she choose to pan handle for drug and booze money, live rough and .... had a house https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/homeless-woman-who-died-on-briggate-had-been-given-a-tenancy-by-leeds-council-1-9636611 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 What you don't want is rich ghettos and poor ghettos or areas...... especially when big money is made from high rents and addictions, some of the richest people are some of the most addictive, wealth does not discriminate.....rich people do not pay high rents they own it and rent it out for little to people like them......back scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Hoovervilles. We have our own but they are mostly out of sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord D'arcy Pew Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Wayward said: Hoovervilles. We will have Dysonvilles. They will still suck, but they will be modern, lightweight and plastic. Edited March 25, 2019 by Lord D'arcy Pew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 What model is that?......found many previous models in full working order on the tip....the best ones are the ones you can still plug in no battery to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronyx Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 1 hour ago, Lord D'arcy Pew said: We will have Dysonvilles. They will still suck, but they will be modern, lightweight and plastic. Excellent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluestone59 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 3 hours ago, chronyx said: Excellent Gwyneth: "Why do oovers suck?" Denzil: "Cos it avent any tith" 'Absolutely' (C4 1990s) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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