Is homelessness a choice?

Often times, when I see homeless people, I think to myself, "What in the world could a person possibly do to their family and friends that is so bad that they get abandoned and have no where to turn?"

Of course, being Pisces, then my compassion kicks in and I'll stop to buy them a sandwich and a drink, anyway .. but, still, this thought crosses my mind.

Does anybody else think about that?

And, another thing .. it's one thing for an adult to become homeless for various reasons, most times it appears to be from an alcohol addiction, for this is the choice of the adult. But, when it really infuriates me is when they have children.

How in the world can an adult subject their children to such conditions? I couldn't imagine, even in my worst nightmare, having my son live on the streets .. hungry, cold, frightened.

It just seems so incomprehensible to me .. so, if a person is ill, and they find theirselves on the streets, they don't have family to aid them? Or, is it their family can't tolerate that they are ill and don't want to help them?

"A homeless lady I once spoke to went through how she became an alcoholic over time. She'd had a high powered job and a wonderful life but the drinking got out of control and eventually she lost everything"

By everything .. you mean her family, also?
I would commit my family member into rehab before I would allow them on the streets. I don't know .. maybe I'm not getting the full picture here. Or, looking at it backwards (which I've been known to do, lol), but, I can't see how this happens to a person .. unless, they have absolutely no friends or family members.

Perhaps, they have no friends because they took advantage of them all?

"he plunged into depression and ended up losing everything. AFter spending several months on friends couches and floors he ended up on the streets. He could not understand that there could be a way back to real life."

So, what you mean here is that because of his depression (illness) he didn't realize that there are always options open? When you say he lost everything .. you mean his family, also?

I don't know .. maybe it's just my rising in Leo, and it makes me too overly protective of my family.

Thinking here that we need some kind of real programmes out here to aid these people, then .. if they cannot find their way. We have shelters, and they can get free food .. but, is that really helping them, or just enabling them to continue feeling shunned from society?

"I drank and took drugs in an attempt to forget about it but that just created even more problems. So I ran away from the problems. Once I'd left home I knew I could never go back."


Do you have contact with your family now, Dreamer? Just curious if you ever faced whatever it was that made you feel as though you had to numb yourself from the truth of it? I'm not asking what it was .. just curious if this is still haunting you.

So, I guess this is one angle I haven't considered. I've been looking at it from the perspective of the family protecting each other and how could a family member allow one of their own on the streets.

But, here is another side .. what if it's something within the family that made a person run? Choose the streets over home because it's better.

Sorry you had this torment in your youth, dreamer 😢

Thank you, though, for giving me another perspective on this in which to ponder 🙂

That's wonderful, dreamer .. that you found peace. 🙂

"Lost in a dream. I don't know which way to go."

So, if we give money to people on the streets because our hearts just can't bear not to give when we have something to spare .. are we actually enabling them to continue in their rut, instead of actually helping them?

Second .. do they want help? From DK's experience .. many don't want help. So, what do we do? We can't let them stay there.

There's always hope 🙂 How do we get them so to see this?

Alot of people say "Why would anyone choose the live like that?" & maybe even sneer up...Now, I am admitting, some are homeless due to negative & self-destroying decisions, but not all them. Really, it is just a result of a untimely event for more than some. For instance, some people are homeless because of nature-related causes that destroyed their homes, families, & businesses, they were abuise at a certain point in their lives and had no other place to call 'home' from their "home", or some were former-foster children & was ejected out of their home as some as they turned legal age. And these people that are homeless because of this reasons own degrees &/or special talents. Take Tyler Perry for one.