Time’s a Wastin’

One thing people do end up with on the streets is an abundance of time just hanging on their hands. It’s a common problem, but one most people will seek to fill with something. It frequently leads them to drug use as a form of escapism, some go to libraries and read to pass the time, many go nuts from what is possibly the strangest from of isolation imaginable. In many cities it’s possible, (at times even desirable, but that’s another article) to be completely alone in a huge crowd.

Nevertheless, for those so inclined there are some ways to pass the time that are better than others, and some of them drastically impact the outcome of the next season of one’s life. Here’s a few:

Get closer to God. There’s plenty of time to read, and the Bible is a great place to start. I highly recommend Dr. Horner’s Bible Reading System. It divides the Bible into ten lists of related texts as follows:

 – The Gospels –  Every day’s reading starts with the main event. Jesus and his teachings set the framework through which the rest of the scripture is interpreted.

 – The Pentateuch – The first five books of the Bible from Adam to Moses, a time before even Judaism with many important lessons. Some may take them literally while others view them as colored by poetic license, but their immense value in instructing the spirit is immeasurable.

 – The Pauline Epistles – Paul’s poetic style has reached the hearts of many, and history’s quirks have made him the author of a significant portion of the New Testament.

 – The New Testament – Not including Acts this list is for the rest of the Apostles’ works. They are sadly few, but what remains of the writing of those who sat at Jesus’ feet teaches enduring lessons.

 – Wisdom – Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

– Psalms – Whether of Joy or Sadness the psalms give great insight into relationship with God.

 – Proverbs – This book is separated from the other list of Wisdom because that keeps it (and them) being read more often. This system works by rote learning to better absorb the Word.

 – History – A personal favorite. The adventures of David, Solomon, and Elijah are entertaining and instructive. They lead by example even in these times that seem so far removed from their own.

 – The Prophets – Sometimes too mysterious to fully grasp, they still manage to inspire, instruct and warn of dangers, to those willing to put in the time.

-Acts – Many have questioned separating Acts, as in this system that causes it to be emphasized (like Proverbs). When asked about it Dr. Horner’s answer was something like ‘If you don’t know why you should read Acts everyday, you haven’t been reading Acts.’ It’s surprising how many people think Paul was Judas’ replacement among the 12 disciples of Jesus (the answer is in the first chapter).

The idea of the system is to read one chapter from each section each day. If you skip a day, don’t sweat it. If the bookmarks get lout of place, who cares? It constantly challenges one to consider what is being taught by pairing different sections together in each day’s reading. I highly recommend coffee and being fully awake when undertaking this, as even though it’s only ten chapters it’s surprisingly taxing, mentally, to jump around. Don’t get distracted, plow ahead through the material and meditate if needed afterward.

 

Get Smarter. There are lots of free educational tools. Many of them like Khan Academy and Coursera can help one achieve valuable job skills that may come in handy. Some have certified MOOCs that give certifications from some of the best universities in the world. Others just help you get the skills, possibly the best actually help you with a portfolio of work that demonstrates your value to future employers.

The Job Hunt. – I’ve mentioned before that I’m not against working, I just haven’t made  much money at it. One of the advantages however, of already being at the bottom of the barrel is that if you take your time and just put in applications at every job that sounds like something you’d want to do; you may get hired at a high paying, very interesting, or highly rewarding/fulfilling job. I actually got on teaching chess and coaching dodgeball with third graders once by this method. The money wasn’t great, but it was an invaluable look into the educational system (SPOILER: it’s broken), and a rewarding experience to help build up future generations. Not necessarily the kind of thing you have a chance to even look at under other circumstances.

See the World – This is hard to do when you’re “ballin’ on a budget” but seeing the world for what it really is makes for a valuable, if painful form of personal growth. Other sights, like the beach, are often great stress relievers, and things you may not always have time for. Travel options are slimmer when poor, but still better than a sedentary existence. Some people still “ride the rails” but it’s dangerous and highly illegal these days. People still do it. Ditto Hitchhiking.

Learn a skill. – “The only skill is learning.” I don’t know who said it, but it’s true. Learn to juggle, learn an instrument (make money busking!), learn chess, learn a language, learn coding, it doesn’t matter. There is always something new to learn, and it’s one of the best things you can do for your future, even if you don’t use. You can keep that learning muscle sharp

There are occasionally free music festivals, art shows, and street fairs and other events. Any of these can be a good use of time. Being poor doesn’t have to be (though it frequently is) a complete disconnect form being able to enjoy oneself.

 

 

Picture This

Imagine being homeless. Living most days, not really looking your best, because you have more immediate concerns. “Don’t worry about it,” you tell yourself, “it’s temporary.”

Then someone sticks a camera in your face.

I was actually reading an article the other day about chefs banning picture taking in their restaurant. The disturbing of other guests was given as one reason, but another was definitely listed. Proprietors of restaurants want control of their own public image. They don’t want to be forever represented online by a crappy cellphone picture, taken by a rank amateur, in bad light with shoddy equipment. They work too hard to make meals look appetizing to want someone ruining it in one click of a button.

Now imagine you are on your way off the streets. You just got a call for an interview for a decent job. You get all cleaned up, your resume is ready to go. Your sparkling new suit is set for your first day, and you show up and someone is telling you “there was a problem” or some similarly vague (HR departments are notoriously vague about such things) excuse why you suddenly didn’t get the job.

We are fast approaching facial recognition software that will be able to crawl the web for every picture of a person that has ever been taken. Facebook is already capable of automatically tagging people, and notoriously bad at letting people UNDO this action from pictures they don’t want representing them. Bad light, bad hair day, the most difficult parts of your life? Doesn’t matter, it’s all getting splattered in front of potential social contacts, employers, romantic interests, etc. and once it hits the internet it’s a practical impossibility for it to ever disappear.

Creating one more hurdle for people to jump when trying to get off the streets is not helping anyone. I’ve personally had photographers try to get right up in my face without any kind of permission. The most brazen jerkwad actually held his iPhone four inches from my face as I told him I didn’t want to be on his youtube account. Another identified himself as a cop, “Hey buddy get up! Park’s closed.” When I looked up in confusion, trying to figure out what he was talking about he snapped a picture.

There are plenty of things to take a picture of without sticking it in someone’s face. If you really want their picture, ask.

Otherwise

Um, NO. Episode 1

It’s time for a new segment, I call it, “Um, NO.”

 

Think of it as an homage to “Thatz not Okay.”

 

This week I want to talk to my fellow outdoorsmen about a subject near and dear to us all.

 

PANDHANDLING IN RESTAURANTS.

 

Um, NO.

 

This is disturbing to many patrons, to the point that it is in fact the reason many establishments look askance at me when I walk in the door with one too many bags. Why anyone would think that a restaurant is an appropriate place to beg for change is beyond me. People like to eat their meals in a low stress environment, not to mention, if they have change at all it’s covered in germs (all cash money is notorious as a disease vector) and should definitely not be touched between bites of a cheeseburger and fries.

 

It’s rude, it’s off-putting, it could actually make someone sick, this is just a no-go all the way around.

 

But, people are hungry, broke, etc. Yeah, and they may fly a sign, or just take a nap in the park. Or hit up a soup kitchen. Or even just grab a chair, because a significant amount of time someone will see such a person sitting there, and offer them the extra item from a combo meal, or even offer to buy them something outright. There’s just really no need to get in someone’s face 99% of the time.

 

Of course, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” you say. That’s fixable, when the people who cause such a blight on civility see that those who meekly get whatever they need without resorting to such rudeness, many will give up on this tactic when they catch on.

 

“But what would you do in that situation?” – I would pray about it. No seriously, Lots of people wonder why I don’t resort to begging on the corner and I can honestly say it’s because God has been good to me. I may not know where it’s going to come from, but I rarely miss a meal, and don’t have to resort to these kinds of measures. It’s not a caviar buffet, but pizza is not that hard to come by in Manhattan.

 

Moreover, you’re going to need help getting your life together eventually, and that kind of help is not typically forthcoming from the welfare system. You may as well get used to asking god for the things you need, or it’s going to be an even longer, harder, road out of hell.

 

“Ask of your Father who is in Heaven in secret, and He will reward you openly.” – Jesus of Nazareth

 

Ask A Bum

Today we have a special segment, we call: Ask a Bum.

 

I’m 16 & I’m trying to flee my abusive parents. Social services hasn’t been helpful. I currently plan on, when I have enough $$ to go to the nearest county, to use their apartment transitional living program. Any sort of tips or anything??? Thx a lot!

 

No problem 16. First, a couple of things. From what country, to what country? It matters. This s definitely a “check your local listings” situation. If you plan to flee to the U.S. for example, you will have a tougher time of it before you are 18, and in some cases 21. If you plan to flee from the U.S. you may need a passport. Etc.

 

“When I have enough money.” This is a thing I have uttered or thought many times. Rarely does the day ever come when you have enough money to justify the situation. Most people wait until their situation is so desperate that they have no other options. Take a tip from Admiral Akbar: “It’s a Trap!!!” There are, of course,those situations where you have more reason to think you will have extra money in a few years (the German program of giving money to young adults, for example), or maybe you are planning on robbing a bank? I don’t know. But most of the time waiting until you “can afford it” is just procrastinating.

 

It’s not always possible to deal with abuse head on, but have you considered it? What kind of abuse are we talking about? If it’s sexual assault, you need to get out sooner, not later. If it’s serious physical abuse waiting until you end up hospitalized or with a broken leg/ankle and unable to walk away at all, is no good. If it’s emotional abuse, time to do some soul-searching. Is this really abuse? If it’s not really that bad, you may be about to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, and burn a bridge behind you in the process. Don’t do that lightly.

 

So overall some questions to ask in assessing this situation:

 

Is this permanent? Are you going to burn a bridge you can never recover from if you go forward with this plan?

 

Are you confident of jumping legal hurdles? Citizenship and immigration, age of majority, navigating your new nation’s welfare system. For many being homeless amounts to a full time job of paperwork and bureaucracy. I’ve seen it eat people alive when I did intakes at a shelter I volunteered at. Know EXACTLY what is required of you and how you will meet that requirement every step of the way.

 

Can you afford it? I know, waiting until you have the money is a trap, I just said that, but rushing headlong into poverty is not fun, and may not be smart. Can you get enough money to get yourself through? An extra part time job, a rich uncle, some kind of support from an abuse counselling service, internet fundraising is dodgy, but there are campaigns to help people, even individuals, ask around. At least have some idea of how you are going to pay for this transition. I just saw an article detailing someone’s run from a country in Africa to the U.S. through 18 countries and $15,000 and that’s not unusual. That was a war refugee, but don’t be surprised if your endeavor costs just as much.

 

What kind of support do you have? You need people. Friends, family, The good Lord above, you can’t function with zero network. Many have tried, and many have spiraled into madness, depression, and destitution. Are you going to leave your comfort zone at the other end of this ride and make new friends? What if that plan fails? Are you going to be near friends or family when you get there? Are you going to have any friends or family where you are helping you leave?

 

What’s your endgame? Plans change, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a plan. “transitional apartment program” sounds great, but here’s the thing: What are you transitioning to? School? Career? How do you get on your feet again? I picked NYC because I wanted to write, and the publishers are here. I like to play chess, and this is one of the best places on Earth to do that (it’s practically free, and lets you take your brain to the gym when you just need to kill time anyway). I suck at social networking, but there are so many people here I can’t help but meet some new folks here and there. It’s not necessarily ideal, but it has some excellent points. Also important, for me personally anyway, and probably for you as well, the light at the end of the tunnel helps you keep going through the long dark nights. Having a vision or goal you are working toward will help keep you focused and get back on your feet, because it’s a quagmire out here.

 

“When you’re going through hell, KEEP GOING.” – Winston Churchill

Adjust, Adapt, Assimilate

Sometimes people find themselves suddenly homeless, as in unexpected evictions, but most of the time people kind of see it coming. It’s nerve wracking, and mostly that’s the worst part. Nevertheless, there are always those “firsts”. The first time you sleep on a sidewalk, or outside at all, it’s a bit strange. You quickly realize why people sleep on cardboard (hint:concrete is hard). But this stage is important because people are creatures of habit. These early adjustments are mostly mental, and lead some as far as suicide, others to drink and drugs. It’s easy to overlook the importance of adapting well to new surroundings in spite of the immediate problems.

The first time someone solves a problem, they often grab the easiest, quickest, or cheapest solutions, not the optimal. It really snowballs later when they repeat the same solution for the same recurring problem. Getting an apartment requires an upfront cost, but is still frequently cheaper than a hotel. The hotel as a solution is usually much more attainable and lures people in. But as each month goes by, these families (yes, in some places whole families move every three weeks to a new hotel) get further behind financially. The traps of the poor that seem to offer help to problems often exacerbate them further.

Food is a universal need. The responsible thing to do is go to the store, buy cheap, healthy food, go home, prepare it, and consume it. Poor people may even get food stamps to help do this, so what’s the hold up? Going to the store requires some form of transportation; healthy food is at a premium these days so it’s rarely cheap; there may not be a home at all, let alone a fully equipped kitchen; they may or may not have ever been taught to prepare healthy meals; etc.

So many homeless people buy their meals at restaurants and hope they can hang out, maybe even charge a phone, use the wifi, or even write a blog post  (ask me how I know this…). This means a 25 cent bowl of oatmeal is costing them $3.95. Basic nutrition starts to become a heavy expense, making soup kitchens a lifesaver for many.  Some of them do a great job of making nutritious food available, but in the end, it creates a lack of control of ones life that sadly serves to institutionalize many who will go right back to jail or prison, and only notice an improvement in the availability of hygiene and healthcare.

Establishing a routine when circumstances change is something people do automatically, but many do not do conscientiously. Improving that routine to better take advantage of potential opportunities is something that simply doesn’t happen on accident. It’s important to find and add improvements, even small ones, to improve the chances of finding full employment, functional housing, basic necessities, and social and professional networks.

Stay safe out there.

 

 

Where We Go From Here

I get asked from time to time, “what would you do to solve homelessness?” Or even, “what makes people be homeless?” Well, the reasons are strangely unique, but of course there are some similarities. Poverty is one of course. Someone once said, “Poverty is a prison sentence for a crime you never committed.” It often feels that way.

 

But lots of people are broke, yet living indoors, what makes them live outside? Well, it usually amounts to a few things, lack of money, lack of social network, lack of a viable job market, lack of healthcare, lack of [insert lacking thing]…Really, there’s a piece missing and they can’t find it.

 

It was many years ago, I actually quit a minimum wage job to resituate myself, thinking to get a better job, an apartment, and a new girlfriend. I quit to find the time to do these things, and promptly did nothing productive for the next year. This was 2002-03 and was a rough lesson in bad job markets. Since that’s not a lesson I have any control over, it would be repeated again. People are sometimes surprised to learn I don’t look very hard for a job and don’t really expect one to come find me, but in that same area unemployment hit 26% within a few years of that, and that’s the measurable rate of unemployment, not even real unemployment.

 

I was planning to get a better paying job in order to get an apartment, no job, no apartment, no new girlfriend, and in the midst of it no school either though for unrelated reasons.

 

The irony of getting shafted by the economy while studying finance (and by extension, the economy) wasn’t lost on me, but that didn’t solve any of my problems either.

 

A sample size of one doesn’t give us much of the broader picture. I’ve spoken with many people, some have been forthcoming with their own tales.

 

Drugs are a common theme, but not as certain as many would think. They often serve as a timefiller for the recently homeless, who think that they are only killing time while they wait out a slump. Our society just isn’t set up to get them out of a slump, it’s set up more like a monopoly game (the game is actually modeled on our own economic system to give people a glimpse of capitalism’s true nature). So they sink deeper and deeper and more join them in the pits.

 

Health issues. I’ve known many who struggle with illness and injury who are also poor. Sometimes it’s an inability to deal with the psychological issues of missing a limb, but I also know a cab driver who quit working so he would qualify for Medicaid. Without it he couldn’t go to the hospital for diabetes meds or his other ailments.

 

One-thing-after-another-syndrome. I would describe my “descent into madness” this way. It’s not that opportunities never came my way. It’s that they often found me with just shy of what was needed to take hold of them. When I had a proper car and license I lacked insurance so couldn’t take a driving job, eventually I let my license laps but by then I had an EMT certification – and no way to get my license back, so no ambulance job. The adults in my life (like high school guidance counselors) helped keep me out of college maybe even thinking they were saving me from an uncertain future, but I’ve been offered countless opportunities that require a four year degree (ANY four year degree), so of course those are out.

 

Minimum wage sinking ships: Of course, from time to time I have succumbed to the siren song of “working for a living”. I’m not actually against working, I’ve just never been able to make any money at it. Invariably, my parents or a friend help me get a place to stay to “get on my feet”. I take a minimum wage job that takes between 50-60% of my take-home pay just for the cheapest rent I can find. Start adding in things like utilities, gasoline, insurance, food, even the delusion of a social life, and you can not only forget about savings, you simply won’t be able to pay your bills. In fact, you won’t be able to weather those inevitable mishaps. I lost my license over a seatbelt violation, with no driver’s license an EMT certification is useless. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

Domestic abuse: I’ve not had to deal with this personally, and luckily there are shelters set up just for abused women and their children. Nevertheless women running from crazy exes with child in tow are a real problem. It’s a tragedy even when it goes right. It’s even worse when many are found through social media posts that say something like “Lost child please repost” – only to find out later it was the abusive ex boyfriend who plans to kill the woman who kidnapped his child that posted the original missing poster.

Convicts: Hey, who doesn’t love giving the best opportunities in the office to the recently incarcerated? There are plenty of incidents of criminals hiding out in the streets, it happens so often undercover cops use it as a cover story. Many are faking it just to try and get “street cred”. With a poor job market for everyone, either theseget to the front of the line through their parole officers’ connections (which means someone else is not getting a job) or return to crime to support themselves. It’s usually one of the more difficult demographics to deal with, not least of all because being poor has been criminalized to the point that many living in the streets pick up a criminal record one way or another. This only serves to make it more difficult to sort out who’s who later. This demographic may pose a real threat to others, making them even harder to assist.

Crazy and inebriated: Many people end up homeless for a night or two because they are too blitzed to get themselves back home. They may or may not make a stop at a jail or hospital on the way back. This blog is more or less named for this demographic. They rarely pose a serious threat except to themselves, though caution is frequently warranted. This is often the most entertaining demographic to people watch (they may even buy you a drink!). They occur more frequently in certain areas and favor nicer weather.

Crazy and off their meds: A significant portion of the homeless population are the feebleminded or even dangerously psychotic. Whether autistic, schizophrenic or other diagnoses this group may actually shun help, for various reasons. Often in need of basic things like clothing, food, and blankets, they may not even know what options are available to them (like soup kitchens, shelter programs, etc.) and are almost certainly not equipped to select the best option for themselves. They also probably don’t trust others to do it for them.

All in all, I’ve come up with a few things:

 

Easy access is exactly that: Many programs reach a lot of people because all you need to do is walk in the door. You wait your turn, you get your food, you go about your day. Some facilities have showers, toiletries, etc. but if you want to find an opportunity that won’t lead you right back to being homeless, you need the flexibility that most programs don’t afford you.  It’s a catch-22 best avoided, and soup kitchens are a better option than a welfare to work program for exactly that reason.

There’s no magic bullet: Many people say they are going to eradicate homelessness. This usually comes in the form of harassing them until they hide better so voters will stop complaining about the homeless. Police harassment is not the answer to poverty, opportunity is. A better job market doesn’t create itself though, and sweeping a problem under the rug is much easier than facing tough economic choices.

Focus on the long term: Many people try to fix an urgent problem instead of an important one. Emergency food programs can even be helpful, but long term help just doesn’t exist. Most attempts to build a back-to-work program for homeless people just don’t function as promised. Constantly urging people to worry only about short term problems is futile, and “get a job” seems like a great idea, until you actually try to pick yourself up by your minimum wage bootstraps.

 

Prologue

The fall of 2004 was not a great time. I found myself living in my car, in Ohio, selling blood plasma to put gas in the tank and buying the cheapest food I could find from the clearance rack of a local grocery store’s bakery. It was getting colder every night and I had a trip to make to St. Louis.

 

Arriving there, I attended my cousin’s wedding, and decided I definitely didn’t want to go back East. I was already pointed West, and believe it or not made it all the way to Seal Beach, CA with only $100 worth of gas. I put my last $5 in the tank in Vegas. You wouldn’t believe the sense of relief as I crested the mountains and got to point downhill again. I stopped at a mall and asked for directions to “the beach”.

 

A local working at a cell phone kiosk was nice enough to draw me a map. he told me to take “the 10”. Travel tip: interstates are referred to as “70”, and “75”, but, “the 10” and “the 101”. It actually threw me for a curve, but he soon set me straight on the local method of referring to roads (important if you need directions!), and I was off to “the beach”.

 

I parked, ignoring the signs that restrict parking in the most nonsensical manner possible, and walked out onto the beach. The sun was shining beautifully as I stepped between the palm trees and saw the sparkling Pacific for the first time. I took off my shoes to feel the sand between my toes and thanked God that I had made it this far. I’d had my doubts every time the engine groaned, but somehow, I was here.

 

I listened to the gulls cry, and the waves crash just sitting there for at least an hour. I saw a pier, and walked up and down it, smelling the salty sea, and listening the boards creak and groan. I saw a guy, obviously homeless sleeping with his bike and huddling under a blanket. I decided I should get a job, so I didn’t end up like that. Funny how life works, ain’t it?

Where’s the Fucking Cocaine?

I’ll never forget that night in early June on a corner just outside the Times Square district in Manhattan. I was sitting in a chair watching the nightlife, swatting an occasional mosquito amidst the skyscrapers. A portly guy in a business suit was yelling at the occasional tourist and being a belligerent drunk.

He spent the next half hour harassing tourists, none of the dozen people in the area thought much of his drunken ranting and raving. Then he amazed us all.

At the top of his lungs he screamed, “WHERE’S THE FUCKING COCAINE?!?!” Then proceeded to walk right into traffic on Sixth Avenue and Kung Fu kicked a taxi going 35 mph right in the headlight. He actually walked off on that foot somehow, still barely noticing his own limp as several of us stared at each other in bewilderment.

But that’s just another Saturday night in the City.