Why do people become homeless?
 

Do you have any idea why people become homeless?

I thought the reasons were.. loss of jobs, huge debt, drug/alcohol & mental problems, unexpected expense, etc.

But isn't there funding available for people who do not have a job, and aren't disabled people entitled for disability benefits?

I was wondering because someone said something like "oh well if I lose my job, I'll just let government take care of myself" and I was like "so why do people become homeless?" and he was like "because they don't know the system"

Is this true?? :confused:

So say you lose your job today, or get into huge debt due to unexpected medical bill or whatever, and can't afford to pay rent & food...would you become homeless or no? I'm just curious.

I was homeless as a teenager for a couple years as my father and brother were too difficult to live with (Both super fucking beta and I couldn't have girls over) and my mother's house in White Rock had absolutely nothing but a bed for me to sleep in. A bored teenager is a troublesome teenager. I had no friends in that neighborhood so I couch-surfed in Vancouver and eventually landed a minimum wage job and found a room to rent while I got on my feet.

Grade 9 education baby, woo!!!

Often a reason people become homeless is because the mean streets are still more kind than their own family

So if i get fired from my job, therefore no EI, would the government step in with welfare? Or because i am a young able bodied man i "shouldn't have a problem finding a job" therefore I'd be told to get lost.

In all reality I'd be homeless in a month if i got fired. $25/hour and definitely still paycheque to paycheque

... so basically you had two homes

lol. well you suck at managing money.

Two homes, no parenting


The divorce destroyed my family. My mother eventually killed herself, my brother stole from me constantly and my father was never really around. Life was hell growing up which resulted in me wanting to enjoy a carefree, #FreeSpirit existence as an adult!

I make in the looooow 5 figures a month/high 4 figures and I'm cheque to cheque too, a fun life is expensive!

well not all of us have the desire to drink and do coke every night of the week...

But how long would you stay homeless for? You can find a shitty job at minimum wage, pay 400-500 for a room somewhere, eat instant noodles everyday and you'd still be able to survive no? I'd say it's pretty hard to be/stay homeless in this country if your willing to work and you have SOME sense of money management.

yeah $25/hr is far from minimum wage.. if you work full time, $25/hr x 1,920hr = $48,000/year before tax

oh wait, but the poverty line is $20.10/hr so.. You should make at least $20.10/h to live here | Vancouver 24 hrs

You should make your own reality show!

You'd be surprised at how healthy my lifestyle actually is now...

Gastown Bachelor

$750 / 160ft² - Gastown Bachelor (90 Alexander )

I pay $2150 for 1000sq ft, the poor get fucked so hard

Most homeless suffer from addiction or mental illness.

Edit
I didnt find much in this video

Canada's Welfare System and Living Income Guaranteed?
_youtube.com/watch?v=8s-w9Mgte_k

but welfare is being denied to the needy... I guess the worse case scenarios are men stealing and ending up in prison to do cheap labour for food... or women selling sex for food which has its own dangers and problems.
http://i.imgur.com/GmB3ZQH.jpg
PDF - http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...67720277,d.aWw

the first educated post in this thread....


the worst part about our welfare system is the assholes and lowlifes that don't actual need it and steal from the system taking away the money that should actually go to helping those in need

+1

I do volunteer work 1-2 times a month downtown and you'll be shocked how many people who are homeless actually held good paying jobs, came from loving homes but life took a really bad turn either in the form of drugs or their mental issues got so bad that people around them basically disowned them.

I actually met a guy a few months back who was introduced to me by one of the people who run the shelters in downtown. This guy, who's in his in mid 40's, worked for a large oil company in Alberta a few years back, he told me he made well over six figures, had a wife and two kids and basically got caught up with bad company and got hooked on coke which lead into other drugs like heroin.

He told me within a span of 6 months of doing drugs he put himself into massive debt, lost his job, wife filed for divorce, took his kids and left him with nothing. He's basically a shell of the person he use to be because he has a out of control drug addition problem and he's tried to get treatment but he gets turned away or it's for a short term. His entire family including his own parents disowned him. He'll probably never hold a steady job again because there's not enough treatment centres to provide help for these people and without a support system like family or friends it's near impossible to break a serious drug problem.

and why should the poor live in downtown? if you're poor, you live within your means and work hard to become un-poor.

i'm sorry if living int he burbs in a basement suite near transit sucks and you can't have a car and all the nice things, but life is tough, so you work hard to be able to have a nicer life - people are way too entitled these days.

Wow, depressing.

S#it. I wouldn't know what to do if I was homeless tomorrow.

They probably live downtown because it is close to their work so they don't need to own a car. Everything is in walking/bike distance. Why pay a monthly car payment + insurance + gas if you don't need to? Most people for those places usually only go home to their suite to shit shower shave and sleep, other than that, they're out doing something.

thread started by timpo, most responses by multicartual..

:inout:

Government assistance is pretty dismal. Low cost housing is fairly cheap, but if you live beyond your means it's still too expensive. Drug's will do that, booze will do that. Too much spare time will do that. Not to mention, a clever homeless dude can make some pretty decent coin on the streets :p

Are there no jobs in the burbs? Find a job at McDonald's/restaurant and rent as close as possible to there. Walk/bike to work. Eat minimal spend nothing. How hard was that? We're talking about people about to become homeless right? You shouldn't be out doing shit, pay for some cheap wifi and surf the net all day. I honestly think for a normal, none drug addicted person to become homeless in this country for long is very difficult.