Dear People of Substance

Dear people of substance,

       Most of us without a home did not choose this life.  We did not make bad choices we just lacked opportunities that many of you had. Many of us are sick, disabled, elderly, and poor. Some of us have even fought and been wounded in Wars for you.  Agencies that are there to help the homeless are just flat out under funded and over stretched,  there are more mouths at the table than there is food.   We have family, jobs, and try to hold it together even with many of you looking down your nose and resenting us for our mere existence.  Imagine how hard it is to hold down a job when you have no home to go to at night no idea where you’re going to park your car or RV so that you can sleep and try to get your kids to school in the morning, once that’s done you must get ready and get to work often times having to drive your home and keep it a secret so you can keep your job.  If you don’t have a job trying to get a job is practically impossible; you need an address you need to be able to receive mail, calls clean up, and look presentable in order to you have to find places where you can use a bathroom to do this.

        If you are disabled and are trying to find a home you probably will never get housing, apartments are expensive and they expect you to make 2 to 2 and a half times the rent in order to qualify.  Low income housing has incredibly long waiting lists and incredibly hard criteria. If you do get accepted into regular housing you will probably be renting from a slumlord who takes advantage of you and come up with every reason to take more and more of your very limited benefits.  In these places that you are paying exorbitant amounts, for you will find that you are living in a place that is not fit for human habitation,  repairs will not be done,  and if you argue with them you will find yourself evicted. This of course is illegal however the law can only protect those who can afford to access it (court costs, that after filing and winning, the landlord will be responsible for but you will have to pay up front) as person of limited means you cannot. 

Next comes the problem of being able to pay your bills you don’t get enough to pay rent, bills, and, buy the basic necessities. Many times you have to choose between toilet paper and toothpaste or food and clothing.  This problem is only exacerbated if you have a family.  

   I know in our society that we believe one is only poor because they don’t work hard enough.  There are many reasons there isn’t enough money.  Cost of living has far exceeded minimum wages and social security benefits (retirement and disabled).  Many states penalize the disabled by counting each penny against food benefits so there is never enough food or rent and bill money.  The disabled are not just gaming the system as many seem to believe; they have to go through thorough screening and rescreening to receive benefits.  Many people on tanf are not gaming the system either that is a myth,  many are middle aged single mothers that their husbands left and now have to figure out a system they looked down on before.  They never thought they would be there. 

      Without education they still have to live hand to mouth and never will be able to live on their feet again.  Getting child support and fair alimony proves very difficult in the system we live in, many just won’t pay and others find ways to get out of it all together.  Agencies that are suppose to help the poor get employment are not interested in if you get a living wage just that you get a job.  

  The poor are judged for having children yet services like Planned Parenthood and Health Departments that provide birth control get their funding slashed each year.  Which do people want birth control or women with another baby each year.  Of course the poor could just stop having sex but so could the rich(it isn’t going to happen basic human instincts). 

   Tolerance should be a basic human instinct but unfortunately it isn’t and we choose to hate and to judge one another.  We judge on so many superficial levels: economics, race, religion, sexuality, our identities, and even how we look.  It is sad that although we are all homosapiens we are not all Human Beings. Chose to be a Human Being.