If there is unemployment benefit for the able bodied why isn’t there more help for the homeless?

Question

There is only a handfull of homeless(compared to the number of unemployed) and they are in most need of help whether they are drug addicts or not yet I am surprised the govement ignores them and doesn't help them much with a minute fraction of our billions of tax money.

It's a little bit disgusting to see restaurants, shops, food and people walking by and then there are homeless people begging because it shouldn't be like this as they are entitled to a share of the wealth too - at least not the indignity of begging.

I am from UK. I see a lot of homeless in London. There isn't enough shelters and the shelters are run by charities and sometimes the homeless have to pay for the shelters.

I saw one middleaged overweight woman 5 years ago. I still see her in different places and it surprises me everytime. I seen an old woman as well with all her belogings. ok I haven't helped them much but the homeless are very visible and it shoudl be easy to help them.

In UK if you haven't got a job and looking for a job you can claim unemployment benefit and this is paid for you by the goverment whether you have ever paid tax (or national insurance) or not.

Of course I am not against people being mega rich. However some people are fortunate for eg. to buy a newly privatised product for a pittance and likewise some people are unfortunate and its a positive thing to help them I think and give them a hand when they are in the gutter (if there is help it has to reach reach them).

Answer 1

i was homeless at the start of last year and the only help i could get was a month in a b&b then because of my age i was left to my own devices. anyone between the age of 30/60 get no help in the uk

Answer 2

I agree with you completely. If there was a "super charity" (just go with this) that everybody donated too and a small fraction went to publicizing and the rest was volunteer work, then there would be no homeless people. Hurricane Katrina made lots of people homeless instantly, if everyone cared that much about homeless people who are homeless ALL the time, then, again, the homeless situation would be solved. That, or Bill Gates can hand out checks to people sitting on the street.

I was in a city (I forget where, bad memory) and outside of a coffee shop, was a man begging for money to buy some food. He couldn't read the sign on the front for coffee, so when we (me and my family) walked back to the hotel (after going to the mall) he was asking how much a cup of coffee was. I was going to give him $2.50 (the price for a cup) when my mom pulled me away.

However, once they have some sort of housing situation and have a job, they need to become independent from the government or whatever has given them the money.

Answer 3

You only receive unemployment in the State of MN if you have worked full time for the past 18 months .. and the money you receive is only 2/3ths of what you had been earning. It is also taxable money. The benefits last from 13 to 26 weeks. Then it ends. Also, I don't know that I agree with your statement that there are many more unemployed people than there are homeless people. Also, their ARE helpful programs for the homeless and/or people with little or no money in MN. Do you have any idea how many billions of dollars it would cost to build a home and feed someone every day for the rest of their lives ? However, if we could get back the over 100 Billion that we have wasted with the war in Iraq .. then fine. I would prefer to spend that money on deserving people that are going through a temporary rough spot in their lives. Good Luck ! :)

Answer 4

Having studied the homeless situation in both UK and USA in uni Sociology studies, I can only offer a few insights.
Some people do perfer to be a street person. One I met at a soup kitchen had family, but she liked the independence. She knew all the places to get food, and to socialize.
Some would rather beg. One USA man was discovered to be making approximately 1000 usa dollars a week. Another woman went to a nearby shop to break twenties buying soft drinks.
There are also those who have psychological disorders, and the unfortunate who fall through the cracks.
Personally, I would not want to be on the streets. In UK I would apply for benefits and housing, etc. In the USA, I (I am oddly not as familiar with) there are no benefits for able bodied, and no assurrance of housing, In some large cities there are oodles of homless, making uncomfortable those who are approached for money. Many are drug addicts who will take any money given to feed their habits.
Charles--That Cheeky Lad

Answer 5

What do unemployment benefits have to do with homeless people? I think you're talking about two different things. Unemployment benefits are paid for by working people not taxes. Unemployment is taken out of our pay checks every single month.
As for the government helping homeless, there are a gazillion programs out there and tonnes of volunteer opportunities. Our taxes pay for shelters and programmes to treat these people physically and mentally. If I'm not mistaken, California this year has set aside millions of dollars for new programs to help homelessness and the mentally ill.

Answer 6

Because you can't force someone to rehabilitate themselves against their will.

Often when the homeless people come to a homeless shelter or mission kitchen, they are given opportunities to participate in rehabilitation programs. They choose not to. They'd prefer to continue to be addicted to whatever their substance of choice is, not work, and not have any responsibilities.

They are not "entitled" to a share of the wealth because they have chosen not to participate in wealth creation. They have chosen to be a drag on society instead of a producer. If that's the choice they want to make, then I'll be damned if I or some gov't program should reward that by giving them some minimum living standard.

I'm all in favor of offering assistance to help people out of homelessness into a more normal life, but we can't force them!

Answer 7

they should help the homeless a lot more than they are. i think most people have an aversion to homelessness, which really stems from a fear that they could end up homeless. i used to have the same aversion to bums, until i ended up on the verge of homelessness myself, and i feel much compassion for them now. our government doesn't want to help anyone who is in need. they would rather spend the money to go kill innocent people in third world countries. there's really no reason any legal citizen in the us should be homeless and hungry, unless it is by personal choice. there are homeless people who like their lifestyle, but most have no choice, due to mental problems, addictions, or many other causes.

Answer 8

homeless people are typically mentally ill. They were thrown out of state hospitals by liberals like you in the 1970s. At least they had food and a warm bed and were receiving treatment.
It's a fact that 70% of homeless people have schizophrenia. The rest have other mental ailments, or are addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

Answer 9

All the money the U.S. sends to Israel and in aid to Africa, could be used in the U.S.. We could have no poverty in America easy.

The answer is people simply do not care, since it is not affecting them. Poverty doesn't directly affect non-poor people, instead it indirectly affects them. Amusingly, when they don't care about poverty because they feel it doesn't affect them, they actually should care because it does affect them negatively.

One way to end world hunger is to replace all the cattle ranches with farms to produce vegtables, grains, etc.. The farmland can produce five times the amount we get from the cattles. This would mean no more eating meat, except as a delicacy. There is no way the meat industry would allow this to happen.

Answer 10

Actually, there are a lot of local, state and federal agencies (not to mention private non-profits) which help the homeless. That's not to say more can't be done. Your heart is obviously in the right place.

Here in my city, homeless advocates and government agencies estimate that at least a third of the homeless are Vietnam War vets. Many, many more are diagnosed with serious mental illnesses.

So what can be done? Well first of all, at the risk of sounding insensitive, homeless advocates need to stop characterizing all homeless as victims. Too often (and with the best of intentions), the homeless are portrayed as innocent victims of a cruel and uncaring society. That's true to a point with a lot of individuals.

But as someone who works with the homeless on a daily basis at the Central Library, I can tell you there's a great deal of diversity in the homeless population. Some homeless are completely deserving of your sympathy and support, especially the elderly, children, the physically/mentally challenged and single mothers. That these people are left to fend for themselves is a national shame, especially considering that we're the richest country in the world. That there is little or no quality health care for them (and all of us) is equally scandalous.

But then there are other homeless - the ones who have pulled knives on my coworkers, routinely intimidated other patrons, destroyed others' property and who spew racist bullshit. These homeless individuals are content to spend the entire day playing games on the Internet, defacing magazines and relieving themselves wherever its convenient for them. They don't care about themselves and believe it or not, they REALLY don't care about you and your good intentions ... except so far as to how they can get whatever they want out of you. Sure, maybe desperation made them that way, but at some point, everyone is responsible for the predictable consequences of their actions.

So what do we do to help these individuals? Many homeless are incredibly motivated and come to the library to write/post resumes, research the job market and even volunteer in their spare time. And while I can't speak for all my co-workers, I treat EVERYONE with a great deal of courtesy and respect, regardless of who they are or how they appear. I will bend over backwards to help anyone. I routinely assist the homeless with locating lost relatives, obtaining birth/marriage records and locating various social services, shelters and medical clinics. Usually these people are grateful and many of us have even become friends.

However, once a person treats me or my coworkers with disrespect (which is frequent), I couldn't care less what brought them to their current lot in life. And make no mistake about it - there are a great deal of homeless who don't want anything but to be left alone to live life the way they want ... without rules, responsibilities, bills or a job. And if that's what makes someone happy, that's fine with me. I'm not judging anyone. But a lot of these people have learned how to get things through intimidation.

Now when I walk the streets people don't just ask me for money, they TELL me to give them money ... then proceed to lecture me on my insensitivity if I don't have any to give.

You say people are in need of help whether they are drug addicts or not - if you dealt with some of the drug addicts we work with every day, you might not be so sympathetic. Many of these people are so messed up, they neglect and/or mistreat their children. I've seen 40 oz. bottles of malt liquor stashed in baby carriages so mom can get her groove on in between the book shelves. We've had people shoot up in the bathrooms, then leave their dirty needles on the floor for people to step on. If I had a dime for every speed freak who has terrorized our staff and patrons I could retire.

To make a long answer short (too late!), the sad fact is that the homeless situation is terribly complex and neither the hardass conservatives nor the well-meaning liberals have a firm enough handle on the situation to produce any solid results in the near future. Until that day, we all have to take a long hard look at ourselves and our lifestyles and decide what each of us can do to make the world a better place.