In the public imagination, homelessness looks like the man in soiled clothes sleeping on top of a subway grate or the woman peering out of a tent from under a highway overpass. But in cities and towns that have the highest concentrations of homelessness, many — and sometimes a majority — of those who do not live in shelters are in cars, not on the streets, according to the annual census known as the “point in time count.”
In Los Angeles County, for example, two-thirds are living in vehicles. In San Mateo County, which includes part of Silicon Valley, its even more — 71 percent.
“The American dream of owning a home is dead unless you make a gazillion dollars,”
Such a fucking Democratic approach. Means testing to sleeping in your car.
If you don’t have a job, are you allowed to sleep under your car?
Used to be able to sleep all over at least NEAR Frisco, but probably never actually in town. I’ve spent voluntary nights in my van to catch first chair all over that county. There was a community of vandwellers 20 years ago and The Knowledge was passed around for where to avoid.
Sounds like more and more local employees can’t hack the obscene rent in Summit County and the drive from Copper Mountain et. al. to Leadville is done by the bulk of the ski industry employees, because Leadville is much cheaper than Summit.
Thankfully, nobody ever becomes homeless due to losing their job and struggling to find a new one. Robust social safety nets have ensured that the only people who find themselves homeless are lazy pieces of shit who are actively trying to be in their situation. They prey upon people’s generosity by begging in the streets and raking in 6 figures.
Big fat fucking /s because holy shit, I’ve actually encountered people who believe bullshit like that. I lived in my car for a little while, but thankfully I still had a job and there was a shower I could use at work. Only an absolute fucking ghoul would prey upon the unhoused.
Big fat fucking /s because holy shit, I’ve actually encountered people who believe bullshit like that.
My mom hasn’t worked in a decade. Survives off of snap and my dad’s SSDI survivor benefits. She STILL buys the whole welfare queen narrative. “They live ten, twelve to a house, ain’t none of them got jobs, but they all got nice cars!”
Guess they’re just smarter than you, ma. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Guess they’re just smarter than you
Perfect. I said something similar the last time this sort of rhetoric came out of a coworker’s mouth. Literally what I said about begging on the streets and making 6 figures was what he said. I said “that’s not happening, at least not for more than maybe up to 5 people, and if you don’t believe me then why don’t you just do that instead of working harder and making less?” The response was some bullshit about not wanting to be a drain on society and how he would feel bad taking money he didn’t earn. And yet his goal is to buy a few houses and rent them out so his housing is paid for by other people. Pointing out the irony to him would be a waste of breath.
My mom hasn’t worked in a decade. Survives off of snap and my dad’s SSDI survivor benefits. She STILL buys the whole welfare queen narrative.
Of course she does. She is said welfare queen. I’m sure she’d try to explain how it’s not the same thing, but the reality is that she believes that she’s earned (there’s that word again) what she’s receiving, implying that others haven’t. I would have trouble maintaining a close relationship with somebody who holds these beliefs.
