cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15197917
this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
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I've never figure out how these people are expected to pull themselves out of their situation. Drug use is merely a symptom, the cause is living conditions and an existence that makes being sober untenable.
"Get a job"? Find a job that will hire anyone on the spot, AND that can pay for an actual place to live.
My brother said the same thing. "He can go get a job at McDonalds."
Ok, do you think McDs wants to hire someone who hasn't bathed recently? How will he eat after work if he hasn't been panhandling during the day? What happens between now and his first paycheck? What if he doesn't have a bank account when that arrives?
It's as if getting a job doesn't immediately cure your problems. My brother sorta seemed to be persuaded in that he didn't push the idea any further.
There are super shady jobs that pay in cash daily. Hang around a Home Depot parking lot before opening and get a gig with a contractor looking for manual labor.
Oh, it's going to fucking suck, and you'll feel like you're going to die on day 1. But work is there for the willing.
Not to mention they are not overseen by OSHA, so if you get hurt on the job, and you’re still homeless, you might die!
A significant number of homeless in CA and WA have at least 1 job as far as I know.
Fast food workers make up 6% of the CA homeless population, for example.
they are expected to not exist because they are an eyesore and reminder of human fragility.
nobody cares about them 'pulling themselves out of their situation'
It can be done. The job IS going to suck, and you will hate your fucking life for doing it, but it can be done.
https://www.indeed.com/q-general-labor-l-seattle,-wa-jobs.html
Better if you at least have a drivers license.
https://www.indeed.com/q-lot-attendant-l-seattle,-wa-jobs.html
https://www.indeed.com/q-parking-attendant-l-seattle,-wa-jobs.html
I helped a friend throw sod in a back yard one time. Hardest fucking job I've ever done in my life, I'll never do it again. But it paid. :)
https://www.indeed.com/q-turf-l-seattle,-wa-jobs.html
https://livingwage.mit.edu/metros/42660
The problem with homelessness is that each person's situation is a bit different, now to you it might sound like a massive lump of excuses when heard all together, but to an individual the one or multiple things that prevents them from having personal stability is a massive barrier.
anecdote
I once helped a homeless stranger get a bus back to Alberta because he hitchhiked to Vancouver over 3 months but couldn't find the opportunity he wanted to (plus the rents here are upwards of 1500USD equivalent for a small studio), so he wanted to go back. He used to work in construction but he got fired and his wife left him. He wasn't drunk or high, he was just bumming cigs from people and begging for money. Spending a day with him, I found that little things made him nervous and stressed him out, he couldn't really advocate for himself well, had nothing but a broken android tablet with his expired health card and birth certificate, and he couldn't read 24 hour time. The intercity bus operator wouldn't let him on the bus bc he looked too dirty, even though he was a paying customer. I get him cleaned up at the community shower, a new pair of pants, and I book a flight for him (which ended up being around the same as the bus) gave him 50USD equivalent spending money and the addresses of libraries, charities, employment centres in Lethbridge (this is where he came from). At the airport, they were bugging him that he had only 1 valid ID and 1 expired photo ID, I had to escalate for him 3 times for them to allow him through and get accomodations to guide him through the airport. Something that's normally so easy to get through if you have a ticket and a phone and whatever is a nightmare for someone so disadvantaged.Trying to apply for work, not get scammed and advocate for yourself throughout a process is honestly a challenge that is tougher than the actual labour. I'd been taking those things for granted myself. Fines and fees for being poor just worsens the problem.