Misconceptions About the Homeless
I often hear or read statements about the homeless that are, at best, misleading and often outrageous nonsense. These are some of them.
Is this really typical of homeless people, or just the few who stand out?
Panhandlers Are Homeless
It's a common conception that if you see someone panhandling (begging) that they are homeless. Actually, most panhandlers are not homeless. For many it's just an easy way to get money, often for drugs. Most panhandlers have somewhere to live, and some live very well.
Of the homeless I have been familiar with, very few will panhandle regularly. Some will when they haven't been able to even get a day-labor job for over a week, and then just to get a few bucks. Those who really panhandle regularly, and get good at it, can make over a hundred dollars a day, and therefore don't have to live on the street. 
I saw one article that stated that 90% fo the homeless [in that city] panhandled. That's an easy conclusion if you assume that the panhandlers you see are the total homeless population, and ignore the other 98%. Most homeless people don't make it obvious that they are homeless, don't dress up like bums, and don't degrade themselves by begging.
The Government or Charitable Organizations will help them if they only ask.
Government funding is limited, and that is even more true with private organizations. Donations for private organizations that try to help the homeless has been spread out even thinner in recent years, with people losing their homes from hurricanes and floods, and a rapidly increasing number of homeless.
Charities are having to turn away more people all the time. Where I live there isn't shelter space for even 10% of those in need. Simply getting shoes to wear is difficult.
It' becoming more common for local city governments to come up with new restrictions aimed at closing down soup-kitchens and other assistance specifically to run the homeless out of town (and into someone elses jurisdiction).
They should be put in Mental Institutions.
It's true that perhaps a third of homeless people have mental problems, some significant enough to prevent them from maintaining jobs or dealing with life situations. Many do get help on an outpatient basis but still can't afford housing or maintain work.
Legally, only those who are a threat to themselves or others can be forced into mental care institutions. The days when anyone acting strange was locked up are long over.
They're living on Welfare.
Nationally, only about 20% of the homeless get some government payments. With the exception of women with children there is very little aid available where I live (Florida), aside from food stamps (which you must qualify for by seeking work and doing public service). If a person works even part-time it may disqualify them from any assistance, even though they can't even afford a rental room.
Many homeless have serious physical or mental problems but still get nothing in government assistance. Many have been turned down so many times that they have given up all hope.
It's their own fault.
It's true that many people are homeless as a result of making wrong choices in life, but many have problems, such as with health, that they did not cause. How many people plan to get cancer or arthritis?
A substantial percentage of the working U.S. population is only a couple paychecks away from being homeless. How many people make a deliberate choice to be homeless?
Homeless people are criminals.
The rate of serious crime by the homeless is not much different than the general population. It's true that many homeless frequently face time in the county jail due to minor violations such as open-intoxicants, trespassing, and so on. Most drug addicts have money and homes. Do you really think the multi-billion dollar drug trade in the U.S. is funded by homeless people?
If the media covers a crime and the accused is homeless, they point that out in the headlines. When a homeless person is assaulted and robbed it usually doesn't even get in the paper.
All they need to do is get a job.
Just getting a job won't get anyone off the street. Maintaining a job that pays enough to afford housing and other living expenses is what is necessary. Being without housing, transportation, food, and other necessities makes it nearly impossible to become established enough to maintain any kind of meaningful work. A significant percentage of homeless people can't maintain jobs due to physical or mental problems.
Homeless people steal shopping carts.
While I ocassionally see a homeless person on the street with a shopping cart, and some of these are old rusty ones from stores that don't exist anymore, 98% or more of the carts are abandoned at bus stops, apartments, or homes. These were used and abandoned by people taking groceries home (homeless people don't have homes). Many times I've seen people, who were aparently capable of carrying their groceries, going down the street with a shopping cart from the store. I saw dozens of carts abandoned at one apartment complex.
Homeless people get all their medical care for free.
I'ts true that if anyone, homeless or not, goes into an emergency room with a potentially life-threatening problem that they will get medical attention. There are some local government agencies that provide limited medical assistance for those who can clearly not afford it. This is for low income, and often illegal aliens, as well as homeless people.
If a person has a problem such as partial paralysis or severe back pain which prevents them from working they are unlikely to get anything more than some asprins. Even if surgery could fix the problem for a few thousand dollars, there is no assistance. The person may eventually be able to get on disability, but nothing to correct the problem. The government would rather pay out hundreds of thousands in disability checks than correct the problem for a few thousand and have the person go back to work.
www.homelessamerican.com                              HOMEPAGE
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