Chapter 6 – Dealing with it

Many but not all homeless people out here go through the desperation phase. In fact most of the people you see in camps and around the shelters don’t. This is the way they live. The lying, cheating, stealing, alcohol, drugs and other criminal activity are simple the norm for them. For the bulk of them it’s all about the free ride. They can be given every opportunity to move up into a better situation and they will take it and ultimately turn it into something it is not. For example one person I know was placed into housing. He received an SSI check every month that he used to use mostly on alcohol. When he received housing he had to pay a nominal amount each month toward the rent and utilities while the balance was subsidized by HUD. While he may have moved out of the shelters or a camp he still kept on in his old ways and ultimately did not change anything except where he lived.

That sort of thing is typical and while most people do not have the opportunity to move out of their situation many do fail.

A few of us are working toward something better and don’t want to fall into the trap of just changing the scenery but not the situation. A few of us do work on our problems and because of the difficulty in seeing the difference between those of us who are working to fix ourselves and those who are just good actors, we tend to get lost in the shuffle.

Basically what I am trying to show is that the bulk of folks out on the street are not dealing with their real problems and are using the help and resources without showing any benefit. The few of us who really do need some of the same help and resources are lost in the crowd.

These last few years for me have shown me what’s really going on out there. I have been working on my own personal issues. I’ve made amends to many people I have wronged. I’ve change my lifestyle so that my old addictions are no longer in control. I do wish to get out of my camp and into an apartment. I do wish to go back doing some sort of meaningful work. It is a daily struggle to not fall back into the old ways because what I see around me with those who just take and take. It’s a struggle not to be like them again.