Suburbanites are becoming the new face of homelessness in America

[Newest Reality]

People look at me and say, ‘You’re not homeless,’” says Rita Sharratt, a 57-year-old grandmother of three. “And I look right at them and say, ‘Yes I am.’”

Sharratt is sitting at a table at the New Life Evangelistic Center , a homeless shelter in the heart of downtown St Louis. New Life is a 25-minute drive from Bridgeton, Missouri, the quiet suburban town where Sharratt lived until 2013. In her former life, Sharratt was a telecommunications specialist, earning an average of $50,000-$60,000 a year. In 2000 her husband fell ill, and as his health worsened she quit her job to care for him full time. They lived off his retirement money and Social Security until February 2012, when he passed away.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/suburbanites-are-becoming-the-new-face-of-homelessness-in-america/

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Okay. Posted a blub about this

ugly issue some years back. Lived out of our Travel Trailer for 8 months while house hunting and making that purchase. We did long term in a couple of R/V parks,and,what jumped out right from the get go was the number Couples and Families that called the Park home. Either they lost their home in the housing crash or lost their jobs as a result of the Housing crash. With destroyed Credit and not being able to replace their source of income,the alternative was a free R/V or a really cheap one and living in a Park or being homeless. Another thing we found was the number folks who has to do a Bankruptcy due to medical bills. In that time frame,we only experienced on couple who may or may not worked the system to their advantage and in saying that,each and every person we met were either working one full time or a couple of part time jobs just to pay the lot rent which by the way was less than six hundred a month,on take care of their family unit. The only folks that carried any type of Insurance were those who were covered by SSDI or under Medicade and Medicare.

And yes there were many who loved the R/V life style,and they tended to be very financially healed. But in that group there are many who live what we call a Nomad life of Up North for the Summer and to the Desert for the Winter. They do find Part time jobs at both ends to augment their fixed income to make ends meet. This Group are so vulnerable to forces they can not control like illness or a disaster. The only so called media that has every covered these folks has been independent journalists and then they have to sell their product to another broadcast source.

[KamaAina]

2. A couple of years ago, Palo Alto, CA actually banned sleeping in cars

they did, however, come to their senses a year later.

[KamaAina]

3. This may explain why my proposal to GreaterGood for "The Homeless Site" went nowhere

Three replies to a homelessness thread. At DU.

[Newest Reality]

5. Yes, it is not often in the limelight...

Being in the situation is stark and my experience in it has been quite overwhelming and life changing.

It is not a comfortable topic for various reasons, and I understand that fully. The more it becomes a potential for people the more they would naturally want to put the topic off or avoid it. There is not much at all in the way of resources or means for people who are out of the system, so to speak. With that in mind, the subject becomes even more abhorrent. Though it may be an increasing crises for people who never would have imagined being homeless, the media pays more attention to other matters, in general.

So, being aware of it might give more attention to the problem and bring some real solutions for more people, but right now, I think many people feel powerless or confused by the issues of homelessness, especially so if they have not been through it.

There are so many factors involved, too. You lose friends, even family sometimes. People don't want to be close to it. You lose many freedoms that are involved with having a home and income, (though there are plenty of working homeless people). You lose your stuff, even keepsakes and mementos. Your sense of the future turns into worry and futility as you wonder where you will be next, or how you make it through the day. Your present can be more tense and certainly a more narrow experience than you may have been used to. You lose social validation and can even become an "untouchable" in a sense, depending on how you are surviving and keeping your mental and emotional state up.

In a capitalist culture, the means of survival when you are homeless can be severe, dire. You get down to a mode and state of mind that is largely based on survival and basic needs. Often, things you liked doing are no longer possible because of no finances or a place where you can do them.

It is nothing like going back to nature and living simply learning new skills to live of the land and becoming self-sufficient. In many places, it can be more like being a sewer rat on the prowl, especially in the eyes of other people who judge you for your situation.

It is life changing, as I said. It is not a subject that people feel comfortable with, even though more and more people are on the verge or going there now.

[dembotoz]

4. very real problem where i live

friend of mine has an open offer to move in with me.
will know if shows up at the end of the month.

she is about that age.....partially disabled--back problems so employment not really an option.
she does not get enuf on ssi to pay rent.

i am her last resort....we will see.

but she has a circle of friends all in the same damn boat....
not bullshit. i met a couple of them....

It has opened my eyes real damn wide.

the big issue with my place is she has a dog that is larger than i can have due to condo association so anything with me would be temp at best....

[closeupready]

6. Problem that needs solutions. K&R

[dembotoz]

7. deserves a kick