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Literally psyops instead of helping. The people who did this are the characters you see getting shot in the movies and don't feel bad about it.
Let's do more of that.
Shooting them?
Preferably
Oh, good!
No one in power wants to help the homeless, progressive or regressive. Don't pin this on 'evil' people, no meaningful social service growth has happened in ANY of our lifetimes and I'm fucking ancient by internet standards
I'm in a homeless shelter in Los Angeles. I am not required to leave during the day. We are provided with 3 meals a day (I always miss breakfast, sometimes miss others). The showers suck, and often run out of hot water. Each bed has an outlet, and an attached locker with various shelves.
The program that made this place happen didn't exist 5 years ago. And sure as shit didn't exist when I was previously homeless 13 years ago.
It's not perfect, but it's movement in the right direction.
Can I ask what you need today to make your situation better? I know there's obviously big stuff like a home, but on your path to get yourself in a better position what is it you need today that you don't have?
Thanks for the offer, but unless you have quite a bit of disposable income, my situation cannot be improved by one person due to the nature of how this country works. As kind as your offer is.
Homelessness is a systemic issue. Getting housing often requires a job. Getting a job often requires housing. And it's easy to lose that job if you're unhoused, even if you're in a shelter.
Then there are infrastructure issues, like LA being terribly car-centtic while also having massive traffic issues, and pathetic alternative transit options. Lack of biking, walking, shade, third places, etc. There're 2 buses that stop nearby, but they are slow, and connections infrequent. Even the fastest public transit is slower than typical LA traffic. The region has a short term car rental option that's handy, but the kiosks aren't within reasonable distance.
I live within a 15-minute walk from 3 different grocery stores, but they're the "not good" kind. Many other homeless shelters are within food deserts. Since I can't have a fridge and can't really cook (1 tiny microwave for ~100 clients), I require shelf stable foods, which usually contain excess salt, fat, and sugar. Also more expensive per ounce / unit. And they're about to crack down on our "pantries" because the COO did a walk thru recently and didn't like what she saw (instead of trying to understand and rectify the causes).
There are no nearby gyms for things like cardio and resistant training, or alternative showering (the main driver of homeless in gyms). Yes I could go for a walk – or try some running, but I'm overweight with several injuries – but the aforementioned showers are terrible, so I try to shower every 2 days.
Most in this building aren't permitted to do laundry on the weekends, as that's reserved for people who work (with no apparent regard to when they actually work). And laundry hours are limited between 8am and 3pm. With ~100 clients it's easy to potentially miss days of laundry. The laundromat nearby is a massive ripoff.
Public healthcare is often laborious with long wait times (like all other public assistance).
Wages have stagnated across the country. My last job was my best ever paying job at $22/hr. And while it's possible to subsist on that in Los Angeles, it's not a wage anyone can thrive on. Especially if they decide to use a car. I was taking Uber rides after work since there were no buses at that time.
I have a savings. I'm getting unemployment (after months of hassle). I'm even planning a trip abroad in the next year since the math works (because I'm not gonna sacrifice what little joy I might get in this shit life just because I'm homeless).
I lost my prior job working at a detox after 3 months due to "performance" (it wasn't a good fit, I preferred more outpatient environs). Despite living in a tumultuous homeless shelter while working 2nd shift (and the shelter turns the lights on at 7am, off at 11pm), I managed to do the majority of my work effectively. They didn't care. Bye-bye. Despite that, I'm possibly the person with the best stability in this specific shelter.
Again, thanks. But I doubt any single individual can provide what I and most other homeless need in this capitalist hellscape run by fascists.
In the USA, it's easier for the housed to become homeless, than it is for the homeless to become housed.
Thank you for your detailed response. Its very informative to get this level of information from someone who lives it. You're right that I can't fix any of that big stuff by myself.
There are no nearby gyms for things like cardio and resistant training,
Would a set of resistance bands help? Or is that more of a bother because its more items you have to manage?
Wages have stagnated across the country. My last job was my best ever paying job at $22/hr
Is there a tool or certification in needed in your field that would let you get a higher paying job?
At a minimum, are you comfortable saying what network of shelter you're in? My googling shows a couple in the LA area such as the LA Mission or Shelter partnership. If nothing else it sounds like they're providing some things helping you which I support.
Resistance bands would probably get confiscated at the shelter. First to Serve is what I'm under.
Resistance bands would probably get confiscated at the shelter.
Understood.
First to Serve is what I’m under.
Thank you for sharing that. I clicked through to the website but the "Donate" page/link appears to be broken. I called and talked to Maria who will put me in contact with someone else who can take the donation. They were also very interested to hear their donate page is broken.
Even the fastest public transit is slower than typical LA traffic.
No rail? 😲
We have rail. But often the rail is at-grade with the street, and cars get priority.
Congrats, you're getting assistance in one of the wealthiest and most progressive counties in the entire U.S.
Your experience is sure as fuck not the norm
It's unfortunate it's not everywhere. It's fortunate that it exists somewhere. And it's a proving ground that others can emulate.
All I hear is that those in power are all evil because they refuse to help the homeless. In fact both sides in government work actively to attack the homeless.
Attacks against the homeless are perpetrated by evil people, its just the people you voted for are also evil
So good people are doing this? Or trying to kick the "ugly" away isn't evil, and is moray acceptable?
What's your stance exactly?
What progressives? Are you talking about the US? You guys don’t really have any progressives. The NDP or Green parties here in Canada would do a lot more to help the homeless than our current leading party (LPC)
no meaningful social service growth has happened in ANY of our lifetimes
We just got tax payer funded dental care for a large portion of the population. I only bring this up because I hate the generalisation that we’re all American on the internet
What should they be doing? They shouldn't try to keep their businesses going?
Housing, rehabilitating and educating homeless people costs the same or less than funding their persecution, prosecution and incarceration while solving the problem instead of perpetuating it
The people doing this enjoy the cruelty, they feel those that fall through the cracks should be smashed, and when those bodies cleared, the next slightly less poor group will be crushed
again and again
Until it's only the ultra wealthy being served by the grateful remainders of every other class who they deign to allow to survive
Just like the plan
and the business is the one deciding these things?
Like. I get it.
The way we treat homeless people sucks in this country.
It shouldn't be that way. But the business isn't the one setting those policies here. That's on LA and the CA governments. And while yes, some of the business interests are voicing opinions here... the barber shop and the landlords here aren't big enough to have any pull. Many are just looking for ways to end it... and would fully support doing housing-first strategies and all that. (because they work.)
Businesses just bought the election for the fucking president. They can buy policy that helps humans.
You think every business wanted Trump?
C’mon. That was a relatively few, large, businesses. Be realistic. The barber that’s looking at losing his business, the others in that building had to leave or close.
The landlord, who can’t get tenants to move in.
They probably weren’t trumpers anymore than you were, and I doubt very much they would resist an actual solution to the problems they’re facing.
Landlords can suck my ass.
There are enough idiots complaining now in a variation of "I support Trump but I didn't think the tariffs/deportations would hurt my business"
Yes. Because an infinitesimally small number of business owners say so, all business owners must.
There’s over 4.2 million small businesses in CA alone.
Most of which are owned and operated by totally normal, not-awful people.
I can’t know their politics and neither can you.
What I can tell you is that cities across the country are fucking up the crisis and leaving everyone else involved in a lurch. The homeless people themselves are the most obvious and most needy, don’t get me wrong.
But the current situation is also impacting businesses, causing them to either move away or close as people stop shopping.
City and state governments are fucking it up. Not the fucking barber who probably is a member of that community just trying to earn a living. Not the others who had already left or closed and were also part of the community, probably.
Small-business owners are a major force behind the U.S. swing vote. Nearly a quarter are registered Democrats and 38% are Republicans, according to the National Small Business Association’s 2024 Politics of Small Business Survey
Small-business owners’ support for Trump was based, in large part, on opposition to the current regulatory regime.
In addition to promising a lighter regulatory touch, Trump campaigned on lowering taxes, which small business applauds.
Doesn't sound like an infinitesimally small number of business owners.
Every small business I've been exposed to has been more than happy to exploit their employees. Small places with Less than 10 employees or large regional chains with a few thousand.
Doesn't matter if they're ostensibly 'liberal' (read:pro corporate). The owners still support Republican policies because they like the deregulation and salivate at the degradation of labor rights.
“I support Trump but I didn’t think the tariffs/deportations would hurt my business”
is what the infinitesimal portion is about. Only a very, very small sliver of absolute morons are saying that. Everyone else knew exactly what was going to happen and what impacts it would have.
thanks for a source showing business owners mostly reflect the rest of society, though.
Those blasting baby shark 24/7 as a "solution" to the homeless problem may or may not have voted for Trump, but in using legalistic cruelty to try to "solve" problems Trump and them are 100% in alignment.
Costs the same? The price of a speaker and mp3 player on loop is a lot cheaper than rehabilitation and educating homeless people. What should the business be doing was the question. Not what should the government and society as a whole be doing.
They shouldn't try to keep their businesses going?
Try to keep their business going by bullying in the public space? That doesn't seem like something a business should do in the first place.
7-11 does it in LA. LA metro does it. Lots of businesses and public agencies are doing it. It's definitely something they should be doing for their business and public.
'Come on, babe. Lots of people are doing it. It's ok. Totally not psychological torture or psyops. Just one more location. It'll totally solve the problem. Come on, everyone's doing it.'
It's ok
It is ok. Hearing annoying music that you can move away from is far from psychological torture. Would you consider being surrounded by drug use and by trash as psychological torture?
sounds like the tenant that's playing music needs to move then if they're so psychologically tortured by seeing the poors
They aren't making the claim that they are being tortured. That would be absurd. It is also absurd to just sit in front of a speaker that is playing music and say you are being tortured instead of moving.
Bad faith argument.
Do you understand how to help humans, or do you simp for businesses?
Not even close to a bad faith argument. How can they help homeless people when their business is failing and they are worried about their own financial situation?
If they want the benefits of a highly capitalist society, paying customers, they have to deal with the fallout of a highly capitalist society: a large and unassisted homeless population
paying customers
They aren't getting these because of the homeless. The whole area is becoming completely void of businesses and the buildings are completely falling apart. Your argument goes the same for the homeless. If they want the benefits of society they get the good and the bad with it as well.
The argument that the homeless benefit from dog eat dog capitalism and the society that we pretend exists around it is so terrible that you should consider taking a time out from posting for your own mental health.
no one benefits from dog eat dog capitalism but the most wealthy, homeless people the least
You get the good and the bad is the previous posters argument. Not mine.
You're saying it applies to people who have basically nothing. If you don't understand how ridiculous an argument that is, you should take a moment to consider it.
Ok then someone should hire the homeless to clean up, those business owners could pool their money and offer food and they'd have a nicer area after
Ends don't justify means (CCC 1753)
So what should businesses on skid row do? Just close?