The homeless are becoming more inventive every year. This is not to say that they’re getting smarter. In fact, the reality is that more people are finding themselves unable to sustain their environment, are dissatisfied with their jobs, have become transient in new cities looking for affordable housing, or choose to walk out of the daily grind of more bills=more work=more tired=less work=more bills.
Some of the more modern trends that typify the new homeless are:
couchsurfing- spending weeks at a time with friends til something new come along.
alternate shelter- golf carts, storage containers, tents, oil drums, and the good old fashioned tree house.
Popular methods of getting cash: Holding signs that say- “Why lie? I need money for beer.” , “Time traveler, need money for flux capacitor.” and “I bet you can’t you hit me with a quarter.”
Selling plasma: But this is only advisable if you have no known diseases, haven’t had sex with someone in New Guinea, or gotten sick from shellfish as a child.
Bartering- My 5 plastic sacks, 17 aluminum cans and half used bottle of Alka-Seltser for your pack of camels.
Traditionally, the definition of a homeless person is someone who sleeps in a mission or shelter designed to provide temporary living assistance. Or a person who sleeps in a place not fit for human habitation. The definition has been broadened to include those who have no fixed place of residence.
So actually in our modern society there really are no homeless persons- just houseless persons.
They say “Home is where you hang your hat.” and “Home is where the heart is.” But when you have no house- this can be a problem. Is it necessary to compartmentalize people because of their lack of society imposed possessions? At the moment I have no house- but I live with a friend. It is only “fixed” as long as I pay 225 dollars a month. I have no TV, though. Does that make me TV less? or VCR less, or X-Box less? Momentarily I am also phone credit less and that really stings.
The term homeless puts such a disgusting ring to a modern problem. Sure there are druggies and mental people on the street living in cardboard boxes, who choose to employ their condition because it’s comfortable for them. And maybe these people in their capacity are truly home-less- lacking any concern for the nucleus that makes a family a family. But the rest of us who end up transient by sudden job loss, relocation, sickness or other circumstances will never be truly homeless. We desperately desire that concrete security of a roof, a normal bathroom, shower, kitchen- totally independent of others, but are temporarily unable to get a leg up so do so.
For an incredible eye on real faces of homelessness go to :
http://www.funatiq.com/not-so-funny/american-homeless
And check out what Habitat for Humaniaty does to help bring families back having both a house and a home at http://www.habitat.org/
or better yet go see for yourself- Volunteer to help build something. You never know when it could be you looking for that place to hang your hat.
