Living In America

[Michael]

I've created a new channel for "other than daycare" conversations and I felt it would be a good idea to start a new section. Cat Herder mentioned a new term that I had to add to the TAGS section called HOTEL KIDS.
Since I live in California I tend to see a lot of vagrant homeless and wonder how the children of these groups are fairing in this world and whether they are doomed in their future successes.

This state is beautiful and the weather is what makes most people want to live here including the homeless. Many cities like San Francisco pay the homeless subsidies to "live" there. BUT, this state is so expensive to live in that in Los Angeles alone, there are between 60,000-100,000 homeless living in tents and broken down cars and RVs everywhere. The sidewalks of Hollywood are lined with tents. I watched from my car as an Uber dropped off a man at his sidewalk tent as he unzipped it and disappeared inside only to reappear 10 minutes later, dressed for a night out, as another Uber came to pick him up. Many homeless here join gyms here in order to shower( which in that respect is a good thing). They are not paying rent nor taxes and pay $29 a month for a gym to do what a home bathroom would do. I can't blame them but we are the "richest" state in the Union and supposedly the 6th largest economy in the world. How is this the preferred outcome? The crime is also skyrocketing as drugs are prevalent everywhere.

Which leads me to the next question/observation. The people of America choose their politicians, choose their drugs and choose their way of live. This is not getting better, its only getting worse. Is too much freedom bad for the masses? There is a herd mentality and callousness to what is instrumental or detrimental to one's existence.

Our children learn from their surroundings. I guess Hotel Kids is a better life than Tent Kids.

[Annalee]

I've created a new channel for "other than daycare" conversations and I felt it would be a good idea to start a new section. Cat Herder mentioned a new term that I had to add to the TAGS section called HOTEL KIDS.
Since I live in California I tend to see a lot of vagrant homeless and wonder how the children of these groups are fairing in this world and whether they are doomed in their future successes.

This state is beautiful and the weather is what makes most people want to live here including the homeless. Many cities like San Francisco pay the homeless subsidies to "live" there. BUT, this state is so expensive to live in that in Los Angeles alone, there are between 60,000-100,000 homeless living in tents and broken down cars and RVs everywhere. The sidewalks of Hollywood are lined with tents. I watched from my car as an Uber dropped off a man at his sidewalk tent as he unzipped it and disappeared inside only to reappear 10 minutes later, dressed for a night out, as another Uber came to pick him up. Many homeless here join gyms here in order to shower( which in that respect is a good thing). They are not paying rent nor taxes and pay $29 a month for a gym to do what a home bathroom would do. I can't blame them but we are the "richest" state in the Union and supposedly the 6th largest economy in the world. How is this the preferred outcome? The crime is also skyrocketing as drugs are prevalent everywhere.

Which leads me to the next question/observation. The people of America choose their politicians, choose their drugs and choose their way of live. This is not getting better, its only getting worse. Is too much freedom bad for the masses? There is a herd mentality and callousness to what is instrumental or detrimental to one's existence.

Our children learn from their surroundings. I guess Hotel Kids is a better life than Tent Kids.

I hear Hawaii is the same way.....supposedly, the U.S. has provided a one-way ticket to Hawaii....again, too expensive to live there but the homeless choose to be there anyway.

In my state, we now have a statistic for child care licensing where we give a number of homeless children. If their family lives with a grandparent/aunt/anyone else, the family is considered homeless...I always thought if a person had a physical home/house, then they were not homeless regardless of their living arrangements but???

And yes, why choose these respective politicians in places like California in such homeless-disarray of people?

This will be an interesting area to post on......

[Alwaysgreener]

Yeah I had a client that was living in her mother's basement, before that she was living in her van. There was some things about the child's development concern to me, but I didn't consider her homeless because she was living with her mom, she had a roof over her head and a bed to sleep in.

A year or more after she left, I was talking with another provider that pointed out to me that I should have called CPS for her being homeless.

Although I hadn't called CPS, I did it contact with Mom's permission the local school district toddler program to get mom assistance with the child's delays. Shortly after that is
when mom gave an excuse and ended the contract though.


Anyways there got to be a line on when when living with family is considered homeless and CPS worthy and when it is not. My dh and I stayed with my parents for five weeks while our home was being finished, so technically that would make us homeless which seems weird to say.

[Annalee]

Alwaysgreener, yes, I think the homeless definition needs clarified......my bro says people are living like the waltons as some can't make ends meet. regardless of the reasoning behind it, the goal is for family to take care of family. My mom has an apartment on the back of his house with complete living quarters but she is considered homeless.....this was an agreement between them both when my dad died. But there are some situations like this that are also not healthy so there is a fine-line between it all.

[Blackcat31]

Cool new channel!

Is there the ability to have different threads or sub-channels?

[Michael]

Yes, you as admin can create them in your control panel under channel management.

[Cat Herder]

Thanks! This is a pretty new topic for me, too.

[Cat Herder]

Oh, I did not coin the term, I heard it used by PD on scene.

[Cat Herder]

One of my favorite people (fire, EMS, ER tech, CR lawyer) says it exploded when *they (politicians, I assume) decriminalized drug use. Documentation is needed for insurance/funding, insurance/funding is needed for treatment, fear of prison or death is the only real motivator for treatment for many. By taking away the "crime" aspect, they take away the state’s financial responsibility fir care and follow-up.

I don't know. I have no experience in this world other than "fighting them to the er". They are always angry and combative after we give them a reversal med and we all loathe taking these calls. We (LEO, EMS) should not have to endure violence without repercussion. Maybe social workers should be doing this job, instead of EMS? I don't know the solution..... but this isn't working.

[Cat Herder]

edit: states financial responsibility

[Cat Herder]

The tent thing.

I lived in my car (alone) for a couple years while working and going to college, as you know. I was never allowed to be seen, I would have been picked up for vagrancy or suspicious activity. I did not drink or do drugs, I only needed a "safe" place to sleep for a few hours. I had to go inside convenience stores and let the employee know I was in the trunk (climb through back seat), where I was parked and when I would be leaving. It was usually 4-5 hours because that was all the time I ever had between shifts or classes. I did that because I could not afford tuition, food and dorm fees at the same time. The state refused to accept my emancipated minor status, making me ineligible for loans or scholarships even though I had no parental support or contact. If the school found out, I risked being kicked out because they had strict residency rules (for profit).

I was discreet, worked three jobs and got out of my car fast because the risks were too high. Clearly, without the motivators that worked on me, there is no reason to ever "live on the grid". Maybe? At least for those without drug or mental health issues.

[Michael]

Wow, respect for what you’ve gone through in life. That’s why you have street smarts and common sense. You can pass that forward to the youth of today. Hopefully it will sink in but the media and social platforms have the advantage of peer pressure.

[Cat Herder]

You are definitely correct there. The last time I tried to offer workable/temporary solutions to a 20 something I was called a boomer and told to "go bootstrap myself". Took me a bit to figure out what she was saying. lol!! I am gen x and our many of parents claimed us on their taxes long after we left home, so we had no way to get help. I did not know anyone whose parents paid for their college. I have held a job (part-time during school, full-time during breaks) since my first work permit at 14. Bootstraps are the only option we had. Or illegal activity, I guess, I never really considered that. lol!