Definition of Homeless????
This is a test to see if this will work I've never used this function before. So here's the deal this page is supposed to be in a function called a book. Any member is free to access this page and make their own modifications to the text and leave a log message explaining any changes that they have made so let's try and find out what the homelessnations definition of homeless is.
Ok so this is the definition of homelessness as found on wikipedia the online user generated encyclopedia. i was wondering what people thought of this?
Definition of homeless
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines the term "homeless" or "homeless individual or homeless person" as -- (1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and (2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is: A) supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); B) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or C) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodations for human beings.
Other names for Homelessness
Street sleeper in a major city
The term most often used in the late twentieth century is "homeless". However, other terms include: vagrant, tramp, hobo (U.S.), transient, bum (U.S.), bagman/bagwoman, sturdy beggar, or the wandering poor. The term '(of) No Fixed Abode' (NFA) is used in legal circumstances.
More recently, many advocates and individuals who have experienced homelessness prefer using the term “houseless†to reflect more accurately the fact that the problem resides not with the lack of a home, which carries with it connotations including propinquity to family and other meta-physical notions, but with the more concrete problem of not having a house or apartment in which to live.
In different languages, the term for homelessness reveals the cultural and societal perception and classification of a homeless person:
Spanish: "persona sin hogar" (person without a home)
French: "Sans domicile fixe" (SDF, without a fixed domicile)
German: "obdachlos" (without a roof above)
Italian: "Senzatetto" (without a roof)
Portuguese: "sem-teto" (without a roof) or "Pessoa sem abrigo" (person without a shelter)
Slovene: "brezdomec" (a person without a home)
Voluntary Homelessness
Voluntary Homelessness is also known as nomadism. Some choose Homelessness as a lifestyle, preferring it to a settlement with society's norms. Nomads have existed throughout history.
- Printer-friendly version
- Login or register to post comments
If you are a citizen you are a citizen.
You may be unhoused but this city/province/country/planet/galaxy/universe is YOUR HOME.
It's illegal to live on public ground or private property without express permission of the OWNER [in the case of "public" just how public is that?].
What are people who can't afford housing supposed to do? Levitate?
If you have no job you are UN employed...if you have no house you are UN housed.
Cripes. It's endless.
we are monkeys and it's crazy to think you are not the mind and eyes of God
First the term home must be defined and that really depends upon your social and geographical place in life. A tent is my home when I am in wilderness. A friends house is my home when I'm on the road. The home I choose to live in today keeps me dry and warm with some of the creature comforts that I enjoy. For me a place on a concret slab in a basement is not a home. The definition of a person 'at risk of becoming homeless' as defined by the recent 'Homeless Needs Survey' conducted in Victoria, BC is: "Anyone who spends more than %50 of their income on rent." This would include most people on welfare since the cost of rental far exceeds the amount provided by the government. Many people working at minimum wage would also be at risk. This survey cost $200,000 plus donations and volunteer hours but did not result in a single home.
Exactly Richard.
$200,000 is a helluva down payment.
Or a co-op house that will house four people.
"Anyone who spends more than %50 of their income on rent."--that also includes everyone who works at a McJob which is more than 50% of the population.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Squatting laws ARE a solution. It will drive DOWN the ridiculous cost of housing to affordability very very quickly as well as provide fast solutions. And that's only ONE possibility. Add in a few more goodies like some social housing, co-ops and overturn the camping bans and it won't be long before there's enough housing.
Take a look around your city. On my block alone there are over a HUNDRED EMPTY UNITS. There is NO "housing shortage"--there's a shortage of political will.
In most cities landlords can write off the cost of an empty unit at rental price. So if a shithole is $1,000 per month--he can write that off by NOT renting it for $800. In fact, to many landlords, this is standard business practise. And you wonder why there isn't enough housing??? Take away that tax advantage as well as a few other "priveleges" that corporations are entitled to [including government welfare, the size of which is staggering. After all, how many millions went into Conrad Black to keep him afloat while he stole money from his shareholders and board?]
Somebody please drop some tax activist sharks in the pool willya?
____________________________
Londo Mollari: But this… this, this, this is like… being nibbled to death by, uh… Pah! What are those Earth creatures called? Feathers, long bill, webbed feet… go "quack".
Vir Cotto: Cats.
Londo Mollari: Cats! I'm being nibbled to death by cats.
Homelessness is a continuim with tenants on one end who are subject to getting spilled out into the streets for many reasons & gentrification is the blatantly obvious offense we're subjected to right now.
I did not see "coucher" on the list and this is people who are forced to bunk in with family and friends, due to many circumstances or they would be essentially "homeless". Many children are returning to parent's houses, this is also homeless. In Calgary we use the term street person for the more permanent or "choose to be" or homeless for those that are working but cannot afford housing.
Labels are not very helpful to me. Generalizing and putting people into a box doesn't reflect each of our individual situations. We are each in unique situations, yes?
Okay, here are some words...
Homeless - without a sense, "a feeling" of home. Lost. I want to go home, but I can't. Home does not exist for me anymore.
Shelterless - without canvas. without a roof, tent, canopy, and protection from the physcial elements. And I still have a sense of home it's just that I am without any shelter.
Houseless - without a house. without a house to live and stay in.
Nomad - a gypsy, traveller, vagabond - I create and bring my shelter and sense of home with me wherever I go.
Well,
I considered being houseless a certain privilege. There are
lots of cool places to sleep in the city or otherwise.Living thus
is the wanderer 'treated' to safe and comfortable places
to sleep under the stars. Unfortunately that includes so frequently
living under the weather that the surviving the earth becomes a priority
in life. This inscribes a certain wisdom in the houseless population .
Frequently a spirit of resourceful survivalism acompanies the situation
of houselessness such that life is spontaneous yet balanced by greater
patterns. Ultimately , location and architecture govern the reality.
Thanks for saying it, n3u7
I'm not sure I'd qualify living at home with one's parents/relatives [sometimes it is a choice if the rent is cheap and the company good *smile*] always as a form of "unhoused".
Although in some cases, yes that is the problem.
Couch surfers who cannot afford some form of accomodation are definetely "unhoused" in my view particularly if they really *do* want a place of their own.
"Squatters" to me are not "homeless"--they have a home, for sure--it just doesn't meet the legal standard of tenancy which puts them at risk of being "unhoused".
In a country where there is 6 acres of land per person--I can't tell you how much it disgusts me that people are left to die on the streets.
Maybe I'm having a "stupid" day. Or maybe I'm brewing a thought...could be anything.
I'm having a problem with the whole IDEA of the way we approach "homelessness".
Now, all of the proposed solutions still leave the poor at permanent risk. Social housing, shelters etc. only exist by the sufferance and support of the RAP [Rich & Powerful]
What stops that risk is only one thing. LAND.
Because with legal title [if the law was not so restrictive] you could live on it, build on it, sleep on it, drink on it, use drugs on it or anything else you damned well pleased short of hurt someone else. Then, when you move on through the big door of white light [or whatever] you could pass it along to the next person who needs it.
Another possibility is to set aside tracts of PUBLIC land--where the poor can make their own lives and communities. And please, no one tell me you can't build a house for yourself because if you can total 10x10=? you can build a cabin with your friends out of reno scrap. 100 people did it in Tent City [which didn't have tents]
Maybe we aren't "homeless" at all--maybe we are LANDLESS.
You're having a brilliant day! What you say is right on! And you say it magnificently! Setting aside tracts of land would be cool, that's what I suggested in my rant about reacting normally to abnormal circumstances, I suggested an island so we'd be out of sight, no one would have to see us& we wouldn't have to see anyone who doesn't like us. We wouldn't bother anyone, we'd be on our own. I'm sure if the p's that be are as smart as they believe they are, they'd be able to make money without tormenting us in the process.
My thoughts about squatting, although I like the idea is not feasible in that I don't have the energy to fight for squatting rights. Deferred gratification really has no relevance for me, I'm burnt out. But I just happened on the title of a book I'd love to get my hands on by Anders Corr "No Tresspassing-Squatting, Rent-Strikes & Land Struggles World Wide", South End Press, 1999. Insofar as I know, there's squatting in N.Y. as well as in the Neitherlands but it's not hassle free.
I consider myself a landless peasant, but homeless as well. I'm not certain I've any legitimate right to be here, even though I'm not a direct decendent of the colonists.
Ratz--I despise this system [not the website] because I just crashed it again *sigh*
Anyway! *blush* for the compliments--thank you...
I used to say in Tent City "I'm landless not homeless"--thank you for reminding me of that!
The reason Tent City lasted as long as it did was because we were out of everyone's way on a piece of contaminated land. Home Depot didn't want the public thrashing they would get if they tossed us off. We didn't cost the taxpayers a dime. Inevitably, the City of Toronto put major pressure on Home Depot to turf us, and turf us they did. The global uproar shocked even me and I was on squatter's email trees across the world. The mayor made an idiot out of himself in a number of important ways then voila! a housing supplement [don't even get me started on how stupid, inefficient and costly THAT is]. Nobody ever writes that true story because the ending is NOT happy and is expensive. But hell, the media soaks it up. And there's four acres of empty land by the waterfront that we could house a hundred people or more on in less than three months with a pick up truck to pick up renovation scraps. Thus recycling garbage as well.
"Legitimate right" is conferred not by the government or corporations. It's conferred in my opinion, by the original inhabitants and the people who live here. The Native believe is that all races were supposed to live here and work out their differences in harmony. Well the poor seem to be doing just fine by all accounts but the corporate rich are viciously tearing the social fabric apart like rabid dogs over the last scrap of meat.
I get the burnt out part. I really do. These days I don't "get out there" much.
However, I see my role now more as a cranky old advisor. How do you get what you want? What legislation will get what you want? How to you stop wasting energy on the mickey mouse battles the Nobles keep scamming you with [such as shutting one shelter] and get on the REAL struggles--changing the legislation so that people don't have to be homeless at all?
When I see a real battle in this war where there's going to be major legislative change I might jump back in. I refuse these days [as an old warhorse I believe I've earned that right!] to engage in skirmishes that are ultimately pointless. Wars of attrition inevitably lose unless the conquorer has a fall-back position and in this case there isn't one.
When someone gets a plan to bottleneck the larger force I will be the first one to get my ass kicked on the side of the underdog.
By that I mean--a real dug out position of changing legislation so that we can house ourselves, we have access to land or permanent solutions, not government hand-outs that can be used to jerk our chains some more!
You're too much! Thanks for the post, it makes me feel a little more normal again.
If you feel "normal" now--I must've frigged that right up *laff*
Chalk one up for the Nomads,
But the deffinition fails to mention "Squatters" .
When squatting,(sorry, I know that sounds nasty) sometimes it is in a place that IS intended for people to take up residence, it's just been abbandoned or otherwise neglected.
Stay warm and dry, or die trying!
-Joey @sshole
I'm with ya on the squatters, there Joey.
Maybe we should have a hockey team. Go SQUATTERS GO!
Ok, as far as I understand, and to keep it simple, homeless , i thought, was when a person does not have a place to call their own space (however small) to be able to store their stuff and stay as long as they want without having to leave or deal with any one elses schedule and can do as they please (provided it isnt illegal and follows the house rules of course). Ya and there are many more couch surfers yet they usually have to follow other persons in the house etc schedule or can only stay a limited time dependent on OTHER people. The main thing is it is TEMPORARY HOUSING and the person is at the obligation of others. when a person is NOT homeless, the place is permanent, not temporary, and they can move whenever they want and store their stuff etc without worry about other people. oh ya, also being out of harsh weather conditions comes into play too and providing for safety and security and privacy.
Good points, all of them.
Is this what you are saying? That acceptable housing means a high level of safety, privacy and control for the people who live there?
What we say about others David we say about ourselves.
Apes & monkeys adhere to doctrines rather than thinking for themselves. Anyone can absorb a doctrine, but so what. I prefer to encourage people to think for themselves.
Before one pontificates, I believe it is wise to be familiar (on an intuitive level) with what one is attempting to convey. A wise person is also willing to face his or her fears which requires effort and hard work & one must be very patient with oneself. Here's your opportunity to apply the patience you constantly exhort us to exert. If I were you, I'd also bear in mind that most of us crawl before we can walk. A little bit of humility also goes a long way i.e.if you want anyone to take you seriously.
I've also found that resolving ones fears considerably reduces internal conflict & eventually translates into internal peace, a condition you said you rarely experience (in another post).
I trust you are willing to digest my wisdom with at least a modicum of the patience you've exhorted others to endure.
We're 'lovebots'.
Figure out where your happiness comes from, then step towards it.
Because I know it I must say it is pride that kills and to best convey that I suggest that pride is sin because fate is real.
Patience be with you because it is the meaning of life and I'm not a hack.
peace
Homelessness is what the capitalist system does to you when you have no money. Usually accompanying homelessness are other symptoms of poverty, like starvation, having to rely on soup kitchens, food line-ups, food banks, and shelters to survive in a heartless, cutthroat, competition-based political system like capitalist democracy (which, in itself, is an oxymoron). Social democracy, with its inherent redistribution of wealth, is much more humane. In social democratic countries, there are much less incidences of homelessness.
That is true. One need only look at different European systems where there is more control on corporate power such as Sweden, Holland, Denmark, even England for all its' problems--it is still less degraded than the USA and Canada.
Understand fate and you will have self-knowledge. Patience be with me... who is you...