2/13/2006
...With a Single Step
Welcome, as it were. I never really thought I'd have anything of importance to relate. I mean, after all, there are others out there with lives far more exciting than mine will lever be. Or so I thought. Yet, here we are. Turns out lately I've plenty to relate, but time enough for that in a moment.
So why am I here, what am I doing, and all of that?
Well, after looking about the web for a blog that highlighted my current problem from the perspective of someone actually going through it, I didn't see one. So I figured I'd better be the one to do it.
The problem here is homelessness.
No, not the Dickensian "are there no workhouses?" type of homeless, and not the Reaganesque "the homeless are homeless by choice" type of homeless. You see, homelessness is more complex, more intricate than that.
See, in Greensboro, NC, the homeless shelters are putting people on waiting lists instead of trying to find them someplace decent to stay the night or the week. The city Housing Authority is putting people trying to get into public housing on waiting lists, and they aren't even taking Section 8 anymore. What this means is anybody in Greensboro without some sort of income, or family in town, or even a car is boned. Meanwhile, the agencies and organizations dedicated to combatting homelessness are busy talking at each other and talking around the people that actually need the help.
Over the next few posts, I'll be bringing you up to speed on a perennial problem in America from the eyes of someone who's actually living the nightmare. I'm hoping that my words can convey the subtle horror my family's life has become and help others see that homeless people are not just objects of scorn, pity or comedy, but could be any of you -- yess, even milllionaires -- given a certain set of circumstances that take place at a certain time. And I hope (perhaps vainly) that I can prod a few officials into shutting up and actually doing something for a change.
Next: The Dark Chain. The set of circumstances that resulted in this fate, and a recap of events that has occurred since.
So why am I here, what am I doing, and all of that?
Well, after looking about the web for a blog that highlighted my current problem from the perspective of someone actually going through it, I didn't see one. So I figured I'd better be the one to do it.
The problem here is homelessness.
No, not the Dickensian "are there no workhouses?" type of homeless, and not the Reaganesque "the homeless are homeless by choice" type of homeless. You see, homelessness is more complex, more intricate than that.
See, in Greensboro, NC, the homeless shelters are putting people on waiting lists instead of trying to find them someplace decent to stay the night or the week. The city Housing Authority is putting people trying to get into public housing on waiting lists, and they aren't even taking Section 8 anymore. What this means is anybody in Greensboro without some sort of income, or family in town, or even a car is boned. Meanwhile, the agencies and organizations dedicated to combatting homelessness are busy talking at each other and talking around the people that actually need the help.
Over the next few posts, I'll be bringing you up to speed on a perennial problem in America from the eyes of someone who's actually living the nightmare. I'm hoping that my words can convey the subtle horror my family's life has become and help others see that homeless people are not just objects of scorn, pity or comedy, but could be any of you -- yess, even milllionaires -- given a certain set of circumstances that take place at a certain time. And I hope (perhaps vainly) that I can prod a few officials into shutting up and actually doing something for a change.
Next: The Dark Chain. The set of circumstances that resulted in this fate, and a recap of events that has occurred since.
# posted by Cybermancer @ 1:17 PM 
