Addictions and Homelessness

 

Alcohol and drugs are a major problem within the homeless community. In a past posting I’ve spoken about some of my drug and alcohol issues. I’ve also said that the drugs and alcohol are symptoms of other issues that each person has to address before he or she can really improve his or her quality of life.

I’m not certain, but through my own observations, I believe that about 80% of all homeless people and something approaching 100% of the unsheltered homeless people have drug or alcohol issues to a greater or lesser degree. This doesn’t mean they are addicts though. In fact, of all the homeless people who live in camps or elsewhere on the street, I know of only 2 people who don’t use alcohol or drugs of any sort.

Alcohol and marijuana are two of the biggest problems, with crack cocaine, various prescription drugs, methamphetamines and various opiates such as heroin are found amongst the homeless community.

There are several problems here that come to mind. Over the last several years a number of homeless people have been moved into some sort of subsidized housing which is a good thing. But without addressing the substance abuse issues and more importantly the underlying issues that caused the substance abuse issues in the first place, all that happens is that the homeless person will continue to do alcohol or drugs and ultimately become homeless again or worse. This is a huge waste.

Now I won’t say that I know how to resolve the addiction issues and their underlying causes. Each person is or has different issues as well as that persons experiences. This means that rehabilitation programs may work for some, 12 step programs for others, one on one counseling can be effective for still others. Even religion can be effective. In my case, I can’t put my finger on any one thing that caused me to begin my personal recovery even though I had been through rehab 3 times, an out-patient rehab program, several 12 step groups and even jail/prison time. Maybe it had something to do with my growing faith or Christianity. It could have been a bit of all the above.

What I’m saying here is that substance abuse issues and their underlying causes have to be addressed before any other kind of solution to homelessness can be effective.

Where this Blog is going and how

 

In a recent post I spoke of what I wish to talk about in regards to a limited aspect of homelessness known as “chronic unsheltered homelessness”. In this post I’m going to describe some of my immediate and long term goals that will apply to the continuation of the mission of this Blog.

The first thing I had to do was to determine my ultimate goals regarding myself and this blog.

With regards to this blog, I’ve decided to concentrate on the chronic unsheltered homeless. In addition I intend to speak of the people on both sides of the equation. Both the homeless people themselves as well as what people are doing to help eliminate or at least alleviate the problem of chronic unsheltered homelessness.

Secondly, my personal goals to be able to continue these postings for the long and short term require that I make a commitment to work with the first set of goals in mind. In order for me to do this I have to meet a few intermediate goals. So far I’ve managed to meet some goals that I had established for myself several years ago. The establishment of this blog is one of them. Another was to resolve my substance abuse issues and still another which is still on going, is to improve my personal quality of life.

With that being said, my personal journey is as much what this blog is about as it is the personal journey of all the other homeless people I speak of.

In the next posting I’ll speak more of my personal goals both intermediate and long term.

My Personal Goals

 

As mentioned before, my personal goals established several years ago were to start this blog, gain control or eliminate my substance abuse issues with a continuing long term goal of improving my personal quality of life. A modification or addition to the quality of life goal is to not lose sight of all the other homeless people, their lives, problems and possible solutions as I grow. I do have a unique perspective here and while my solutions may not work for other chronic unsheltered homeless, I can at least see what does work and what does not work for them or me.

My long term goals are getting off the street, out of this camp, into an apartment and having the means to do so. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well not really.

So far I’ve established a certain level of comfort but to continue towards meeting my ultimate goal requires that with some help I can make the next few intermediate goals. The biggest is to establish an income of some sort. One possibility is that in about a year I will be in a position to take advantage of an early retirement and begin receiving my Social Security at age 62. This is not an ideal way to meet my goals but is one option. Another way is pretty obvious. Go back to work. This where it gets a bit problematic. Those of you who know me probably have an idea of the hurdles in front of me. Age, lack of a recent work history and a criminal record just to name a few are some of the hurdles. Which means option number one may be my best bet. To get to the point that either option is met I have to maintain what I’ve now got so as not to fall back to a place that I’ve already been or stumble along the way. Been there done that applies here. To maintain the quality of life I’ve reached takes a lot of effort on my part as well as assistance provided by a few others.

This is where you can help. By assisting me reach my goal of self-sufficiency I will be able to continue toward my other goal of maintaining and moving forward with this blog, its associated web site and my life. The more of you willing to help me support myself until I reach my goal of self-sufficiency will allow me to invest the time and effort in reaching that goal as well as to continue to help and inform people about what is really happening out here.

My needs are pretty simple as are meeting my intermediate goals. If you think you wish to help in any fashion, please contact me via email. Let me know what you can do or I can let you know what my immediate needs are. Just know that I don’t forget who my friends are whether they give me their moral support, prayers, material support, financial support or all the above.

Thank you for caring and thanks to all for reading these posts. Finally, thank you all for all the kind words and good wishes.

This Blog

 

Let’s talk a bit about where this blog is going. Several years ago a thought started growing in my mind to develop a presence on the internet that talked about homelessness from the perspective of a homeless person. Pretty simple right? Well not so much. The original thought was to talk about homelessness in general. When I developed the original web site and later this blog I had all sorts of thoughts about all the things I could write about but it turned out not to be possible at the time. There’s nothing “general” about homelessness. Homelessness is as varied as the people it describes. As varied as the people in your own neighborhood or apartment complex.

In these last 10 months or so since the web presence of Homeless In Ft. Worth began, the postings have been somewhat all over the map touching on this or that aspect of homelessness. I’ve discovered though that this is not going to work. The problem is too complex and the personalities too diverse.

As of late I’ve spoken more often about a specific class or group of homeless people. It’s a relatively small group compared to the larger overall classification called “homeless” they are people who are considered chronic unsheltered homeless. Truthfully it was a simple choice because I’m part of that particular group and over the years have developed a fair understanding of them. Yes I’ve spent time in the shelters as well as slept on the street and in abandoned buildings. But with that being said the bulk of my time as a homeless person has been living in a campsite here in Ft Worth. (Actually campsites, as in more than one, for various reasons that I will speak of as this blog progresses.)

While living in abandoned buildings or houses and living on the street are also considered unsheltered, most of my conversations will be about camps even though there are many similarities amongst them all.

Another reason I’m concentrating my posting on the unsheltered homeless is because the sheltered homeless are fairly well documented and most common knowledge of homelessness derives from this very group. Which means most attention is paid to the sheltered homeless and very little is paid to the peole scattered throughout Ft Worth in camps large and small or simple or complex.

This is my plan. There will be diversions into other types of homelessness but I shall talk mostly of this group of called unsheltered homeless who live in campsites. I will talk about the people who consist of chronic and unsheltered homeless. I will talk about myself, my thoughts, my plans and what I’m doing. I’ll even talk about the few people who recognize the needs of the unsheltered homeless and try to help.

Bookmark this Blog and its associated web site. Return often to learn what we/I are all about and if it’s your desire, get involved with some of us or with the few organizations who are helping out.

Just Regular Folks

 

The other day at a morning men’s bible study I was speaking to one of my regular table mates. We were discussing how easy it is to become homeless after a personal or professional failure. This is especially true after this last economic recession we’ve been experiencing these last 4 or 5 years. People living paycheck to paycheck or those who are unemployed and their savings if any or support networks dry up and become homeless.

Fortunately for a few, they don’t remain homeless for long. Among the homeless service agencies, programs were in place to assist the chronically homeless with training, education, legal assistance and medical assistance to allow them to rise above their homeless condition. Lately some of the funding for the assistance programs geared towards the chronically homeless are being diverted into new programs that concentrate on rapid re-entry for the newly homeless. Obviously, this puts an additional strain on an already strained system.

The up side of all this is that it costs less in time and money to return many of these newly homeless back into being productive individuals. Maybe not at a level they once were at, but off the streets.

The downside is many fold. Firstly, funding that was, in the past, established for the chronically homeless is being used for the newly homeless. The same applies to medial services, re-education or retraining, housing and all the other services necessary to fight chronic homelessness.

Truthfully it looks good when a homeless agency can get anyone off the street. The problem is when only the easy cases get the bulk of the attention to achieve larger success numbers.

Once again the chronic homeless and most importantly the unsheltered homeless get lost in the shuffle. Services for these people get reduced or redirected. It’s an unavoidable fact. On top of that, services across the board are being threatened with funding cuts and in some cases eliminated altogether. Just listen to the budget talks at all levels of government these days.

Here is where I can put in a plug on how you can help.

Talk to your government representatives from the federal government on down. Do volunteer work with the agencies set up to help the homeless. This can be through your church or through some other homeless service organization. Even simple donations to these organizations can make a difference. You can even adopt a homeless person as I’ve talked about in the past. I realize that among the chronically homeless there are individuals who abuse the system but for the sake of the ones who truly need the system lets not divert or eliminate that help.

 

Let’s Talk About Camps

 

Most homeless people can be found living in the shelters around town. Some live in abandoned structures such as houses around town as well but there are a growing number of homeless people who would rather camp out. Their reasons for camping out are as varied as the number of camps around town. Personally my reasons, which probably touch on many of the same reasons others would give, are the privacy, security, a certain freedom and a good place to keep my property.

Let’s talk about a few of the types of camps that can be found throughout the city. Also let it be known that I have lived in and maintained each sort of camp in my years living as a homeless person.

The first camp I had and probably the most basic is a tarp and a sleeping bag. More often than not the people who camp this way are just starting out or are the ones who travel around so simplicity is the way to go. That’s the way I started out. Sometimes a fire place will be built but generally not.

The next sort is pretty basic too. It generally starts with a homebuilt shelter made up of a tart and plastic to keep out the elements. Sometimes this is as far as some people get when it comes to a camp.

Another sort is a tent, generally a small 2 or 3 man tent with basic equipment. This setup of a small tent, sleeping bags or blankets and basic supplies is probably the most common found in the various camps. Some of these setups are transitional camps leading to something more comfortable but most are just places for the occupant to sleep in and nothing more.

Some camps, but not many will have larger tents but not be much more than their smaller tent variety. The sleeping arrangements will be for the most part pads or mattresses on the ground with blankets and sleeping bags as well as a few camping necessities. Once again these places are in general semi-permanent or long term camps.

Lastly there are places that are more of a home than just a camp. They tend to have varying degrees of comfort and show the nature or skill level of the people living in them. My current camp is like this and has been for some years. It has a large tent that inside has a real bed with mattress, storage for clothing or other personal effects as well as food storage and a stove for cooking and heating in the cold weather. There is ground protection underneath the tent and carpeting inside. Outside the tent is a large tarp to keep the sun and rain off the tent itself as well as provide shade and protection in front of the tent. Inside as well as out I have chairs and areas set aside for cooking depending on the weather. Cooking is done on a Coleman stove that can be moved either inside the tent or out and is used for heating the tent in colder weather. On other days when the weather is not so wet or chilly there also a fireplace for cooking. The best part and one of the things I’m most proud about my camp is that I have electric power to operate lights, radios and my laptop computer. Power is provided by a solar panel and a couple of 12 volt batteries.

Of the last sort of camp such as mine there are very few and even fewer still are camps that have the level of comfort I have managed to create. It took many years and is now my home although that does not rule out my moving into a real apartment sometime. I just felt that if I had to camp out, I wanted to be as comfortable as I could.

 

 

1st Of The Month

1^st Of The Month

 

Well here it is. Once again the homeless people who do receive an SSI or Disability check from the government are suspiciously absent from their camps and the street. The no-tell motels are full, the corner stores are busy selling beer, and the drug dealers are busy.

Truthfully, the homeless people who do receive a check each month and are using it for housing, food, etc. are really no longer homeless. On the flip side there are quite a few homeless people who receive a check and have not changed their situation nor do they intend to. In about a week, sometimes less those people will reappear with no cash in their pockets and using homeless services that are intended for those who do not receive any sort of income or assistance.

I’ve talked about this in the past and probably will again. The abuses of the systems that manage SSI, Disability, Food Stamps and so on are causing enough concern that I’ve been hearing rumbles about substantial budget cuts in all sorts of public programs in the coming years. Most of these abuses could be nipped in the bud by not adding more hurdles to jump in order to receive benefits but in a more active oversight by the agency case managers. I realize this puts more work on the case managers shoulders but as the systems are set up today once you start receiving benefits that’s the end of it. There is no verification, for the most part, that the funds or services are being used as they were intended. Case in point, read the first 2 paragraphs again.

I don’t know if an overhaul of the different assistance programs by making it more difficult to qualify for assistance is the way to go. Nor do I think cutting back on the assistance is a solution to the waste either. I do know that if a system has active follow ups and monitoring, the abuses will come to light and then if a serious abuse is detected the individual is given the opportunity to use the assistance as it was intended or failing that the assistance will become terminated. The various assistance agencies will probably save enough money that assistance budgets might even stretch further.

There’s a reason behind all this. Every month I see this happening. I see the abuses. The number of “homeless” people who are actively abusing the system may surprise you. Yet there are many homeless people who could qualify for assistance but there is no money left in the budget or they just give up because the waiting list is too long.