Homeless With $25

[Lil Red]

[url="http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0211/p13s02-wmgn.html"]Article here[/url]

My question, do you think this is a fair experiment?

[prose]

What would be unfair about it?

[Lil Red]

considering the fact that he was healthy (no mental or physical issues), and had no drugs or alcohol problems. and most homeless do have some combination of those issues.

[KnightofChrist]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1462559' date='Feb 14 2008, 06:31 PM']considering the fact that he was healthy (no mental or physical issues), and had no drugs or alcohol problems. and most homeless do have some combination of those issues.[/quote]


Yeah and I think of his bachelor's degree.

But then I think of people like Father John Corapi, who did have problems with drugs and alcohol. Who was able by the grace of God to become something much more. Alot of it must have to do with the will of the person, and the will of others to help that person. And of course the will of God.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='KnightofChrist' post='1462562' date='Feb 14 2008, 03:35 PM']Yeah and I think of his bachelor's degree.[/quote]
he says he didn't use it

[KnightofChrist]

wow... I missed that...

[CatherineM]

I saw a show on Oprah once where they gave a homeless guy $100,000, and he ended up back homeless again. It was based on a documentary. The issues involved were fascinating.

[Benedicite07]

For a young, white, healthy male with a credit card in his pocket to equate his ability to "escape" poverty with the lived reality of the working poor and the homeless is utterly ridiculous. For one thing, the wages he earned working in male-dominated professions like construction and day labor are higher than what women can earn waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms, which is what the book "Nickel and Dimed" documents. But more to the point, he had something few homeless people have -- boundless self confidence -- or he wouldn't have attempted his experiment in the first place. Living in poverty for years takes away your hope and your belief that better things are possible, and that is the greatest obstacle faced by those living in poverty.

[Jaime]

Well I'm not comfortable rippin on the kid. I think what he did took some juevos. Sure there's a difference knowing you have a safety net. That you can pick up and go to your parent's home anytime

But he was still living homeless for quite some time.

I don't know if it was fair or unfair. I do find it very interesting and I give the kid kudos

[Lil Red]

i guess something else i thought of that he really didn't have to deal with: crushing debt. many homeless are also living under a cloud of debt and bad credit.

[cmotherofpirl]

No it wasn't fair, because in the back of his mind he knew he could walk away to a good life anytime he wanted. He had hope.

[Deb]

He did what he set out to do but, his statement that anyone can do that is really arrogant. He doesn't look at the very core of some of these people's problems. Not everyone lived the reality that he did for the first 20 some years of their life. They were not instilled with the values, morals, work ethics that he was given.
I have met many homeless with mental illness, lifetimes of severe physical abuse and of course addictions they used to escape from the horror of their lives. One has to be mentally capable to climb up the ladder and sadly, there are many of our brothers and sisters who are not in that catagory.
I give the guy credit. He ran away from home and accomplished what he did. He also knew he could go back any time and he could use his emergency credit card if he had to. Like if he was beat up and had to go to a hospital. He knew his bills would be paid.

[cmotherofpirl]

Exactly!

[farglefeezlebut]

[quote name='Benedicite07' post='1462600' date='Feb 15 2008, 12:33 AM']For a young, white, healthy male with a credit card in his pocket to equate his ability to "escape" poverty with the lived reality of the working poor and the homeless is utterly ridiculous. For one thing, the wages he earned working in male-dominated professions like construction and day labor are higher than what women can earn waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms, which is what the book "Nickel and Dimed" documents. But more to the point, he had something few homeless people have -- boundless self confidence -- or he wouldn't have attempted his experiment in the first place. Living in poverty for years takes away your hope and your belief that better things are possible, and that is the greatest obstacle faced by those living in poverty.[/quote]

I agree. According to the article:

[i][b]So what did you tell people when they asked what you were doing? [/b]

That was the only touchy part of my story. I had this great back story on how I was escaping my druggy mom and going to live with my alcoholic dad. Things just fell apart, and there I was at the homeless shelter. I really embellished this fabricated story and told it to anyone who would listen.

The interesting thing is that nobody really cared.... It wasn't so much as where we were coming from, it was where we were going. [/i]

The fact is that if that had REALLY been his life then he would have had a much bigger mountain to climb. He probably wouldn't have been as physically healthy. He certainly wouldn't have been as mentally healthy. He would have been more likely to have drug/alcohol problems himself. He probably wouldn't have had the confidence and ability to articulate himself which he got from his stable background and college education. I'm not denying that he worked hard. I'm not denying that what he did took some guts. And I believe it would be possible for someone who had genuinely come from that kind of background to get off the streets. But they would probably need help.

[-I---Love]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1463354' date='Feb 15 2008, 12:12 PM']No it wasn't fair, because in the back of his mind he knew he could walk away to a good life anytime he wanted. He had hope.[/quote]

I totally agree. And as others have said, he had confidence, etc. that originated from his well to do background.

Nevertheless I like the experiment, give him kudos, etc., but the article makes things seem too simple and makes it seem like this is possible for everyone to do.

As someone else mentioned, a construction job, etc. makes much more than jobs females can only usually get (waiting tables, etc.).

Thanks for posting this.

[CatherineM]

Here in winter the shelters are overflowing. I would be concerned that my experiment would take a space that someone else truly needed. One who didn't have a credit card in their pocket.

[fides quarens intellectum]

i don't like how we are portraying the homeless on the whole as incompetent. Yes, many have physical/mental/drug issues, but there is a substantial segment of the homeless population who came upon some bad times and are now on the streets as a result. By the grace of God, there is hope for them to do the same thing that this guy did.

Admittedly, he may be a little overly optimistic for saying anyone can do what he did, but let's not rush to say the whole project was unfair - the fact is, he didn't use the credit card or go home - he never had to.

[corban711]

[quote name='fides quarens intellectum' post='1465143' date='Feb 18 2008, 01:46 PM']i don't like how we are portraying the homeless on the whole as incompetent. Yes, many have physical/mental/drug issues, but there is a substantial segment of the homeless population who came upon some bad times and are now on the streets as a result. By the grace of God, there is hope for them to do the same thing that this guy did.

Admittedly, he may be a little overly optimistic for saying anyone can do what he did, but let's not rush to say the whole project was unfair - the fact is, he didn't use the credit card or go home - he never had to.[/quote]


i totally agree. many homeless do have really messed up lives but there are some that hit upon hard times that really could do what this guy did in my opinion. it would be tough. i think its awesome that he tried this. at the very least, he will have a much deeper appreciation for life and the gifts he has been given. and he probably sees the humanity of the homeless much more clearly than the average person through this having spent so much time with them in shelters. plus, he probably took a lot of bad mouthing from his family and friends for trying this. i think its pretty cool that he even dared try it in the first place.

[prose]

[quote name='fides quarens intellectum' post='1465143' date='Feb 18 2008, 11:46 AM']i don't like how we are portraying the homeless on the whole as incompetent. Yes, many have physical/mental/drug issues, but there is a substantial segment of the homeless population who came upon some bad times and are now on the streets as a result. By the grace of God, there is hope for them to do the same thing that this guy did.

Admittedly, he may be a little overly optimistic for saying anyone can do what he did, but let's not rush to say the whole project was unfair - the fact is, he didn't use the credit card or go home - he never had to.[/quote]

I think it is funny that so many people look at homeless people and just ASSUME that they have addictions and/or mental illness. There are many homeless that do not have this problem.

For instance, in Vancouver (major urban center):

[quote]Health conditions were very common among the
homeless, with 74% of those counted having one
or more health conditions (i.e., addiction, medical
condition, mental illness, and/or physical disability).
§ Addiction was the most common health condition.
Almost half of the homeless who responded to this
question reported problems with addiction. The
share of street homeless reporting addiction (53%)
was higher than the share of the sheltered homeless
(43%).[/quote]

Now, if you say 74% have a severe enough problem to never get gainful employment, then there are 26% that are perfectly healthy and capable of it, like the person in the experiment.

I would guess that of that 74%, several are not severe enough that they are unable to form some sort of decent life for themselves. This is where we, as stewards, come in. We should be helping the ones that just need a little support to get to a place where they are self sufficient.

I don't think it was an unfair experiment. I think this guy had more advantages than the average homeless person, no doubt. But he was showing that it is not entirely impossible to succeed. He had saved more in that time than I have!

I guess I think what he did made for an interesting book, and a good thread topic, but his "experiment" is not proof of reality.

[ardillacid]

I can't believe people are raging on this guy for this. Wow, he proved that in America there truly is opportunity, and people are offended. You just can't win.