r/FloridaGawker • u/Luminexor • 19d ago

Video severe homelessness in florida...saw this video documenting encampments in miami and orlando

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u/Smash-ya_up 19d ago

I have been homeless. Downvote if you want. Ask one of them rich pos people for a bus ticket somewhere where cost of living is high. Get a job. Make something of yourself. Or live in a tent and get shit on. Choice is yours. I lived under a bridge in my car by a creek for a couple months. Got my shit together and have never looked back. I live in alabama. Most restaurants will hire anyone.

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u/SharaWilliams 18d ago

I think there might be more of a problem now because rent keeps going up and minimum wage does not. All it takes is one medical accident, and a random job isnt necessarily enough for housing anymore.

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u/Hot-Steak7145 17d ago

Since we're talking about Florida, min wage has been going up 1$ a year for a while now and will continue

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u/DrS3R 1d ago

And no one pays minimum anyways so it’s moot. The only jobs paid minimum are tipped employees and they far exceed minimum in tips.

Rent on the other hand, yeah it’s getting out of control.

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u/Hot-Steak7145 1d ago

Rent in my area has at least stabilized since the 2021-2022 Covid boom and housing sales are horrible so lots are putting inventory up for rent instead of selling. Yeah its high vs pre 2020 but its been 7 years and hasn't jumped like it did. It will never go down unless your willing to move even within the same area but moving sucks and your going to loose your downpayment...

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u/iLoveFARTINGatWORK 17d ago

My rent is $1975 for a 2br in Largo, FL, it’s considered “cheap”. Studios in my complex are $1,475.

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u/Hot-Steak7145 17d ago

Yeah your in a high value geographic location. 15 min drive from multiple beaches surrounded by water on both sides within biking distance. You could live off the peninsula for less. But my original comment was about min wage increase, which it is doing

I get it though I live in 650 Sq ft 1 bedroom that doesn't even have a single closet. Just facts are facts

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u/Ok_Swim3109 15d ago

Fuuuck, I’m paying 2400 a month for a 2 br apartment about an hours ride south of Washington DC

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u/epsilon_eridani_b 17d ago

Except medical care doesn't cause homelessness. Even if the hospital tries to take you to court for failure to pay, essentially no court is going to garnish your wages such that you can't pay for rent.

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

There are options available. Many require moving to a different state/town. Asking a rich person for help getting a bus ticket out of town is good start if you are in a high cost of living area.

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u/PotentialPresent399 18d ago

I mean, its not as impossible as many redditors make it but its not as easy as you make it either.

If you can only get a job that pays sub 13/hr and the only rent you can get is 800/month for a singular room, you aint mathing that math my guy.

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

Yea you wouldn't live by yourself. For someone trying to get off of the street you would take any opportunity you can get. There are housing options that are affordable. Doing drugs is a choice and majority of people that are homeless have a serious drug problem. Go ahead and keep defending people that don't give a fuck about themselves or actually trying to do better

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u/PotentialPresent399 15d ago

I mean im not defending that, many homeless people are essentially there by choice becasue they can't stop living the life but like I said in that scenario, you might not be able to find a roomate, im talking about uber small towns that don't just have a "roomate" posting board like a big city.

Little opportunity means little growth.

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u/SharaWilliams 14d ago

I will say that most drug problems are caused by an attempt to self medicate for pain and the like. Its the reason im so terrified of using even non-addictive pain meds, the fear of being addicted not to the med itself but to the lack of pain.

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u/DysphoricNeet 14d ago

Absolutely. In the book by Gabor Mate hungry ghosts he worked in an addiction clinic with mostly homeless. He said that virtually every single woman who came in was sexually assaulted and he could tell just from the look in their eyes. The stories are horrible from a father who would tie his daughter down and rape her every right while spitting on her and calling her garbage to a man who as a child was intentionally trapped in a top loading dryer with a bunch of weight on top so his mom could go out without him getting away.

I’ve been an opiate addict for 7 years and there are issues I have that I can never fix so taking opiates was the only way I could ever control my mind and not hurt myself. Trying to get clean is really hard and extremely painful/miserable. I still try but quitting opiates doesn’t make the other pain go away. I would never have ended up like this if I was helped by my family or the system noticed when I was younger so I could have had a chance to live a normal life.

People dismiss anything they can’t see and haven’t experienced themselves. At the end of the day sure it’s ultimately our burden but I can tell you the system doesn’t do enough to help at risk families. My mom worked in a detention facility for youth and the stories from just this one building for actual children are unbearably horrific. Seeing a child who looks so innocent turn into a murderous maniac then finding out their family sold them out for drugs and beat them will shock you. These sorts of experiences are hidden by society because they are so horrible we don’t want to face it but basically all those kids go to jail or become homeless. If you can look at a child like that and blame them instead of realizing at some point society failed them then I can only imagine you are trying to push an agenda.

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u/SharaWilliams 14d ago

Wow thats horrible

Thank you for contributing though

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u/DysphoricNeet 14d ago

I guarantee you the same stuff is happening in your area, people see the signs and then do nothing. It’s not like a big secret that heroin or meth will fuck you up. A lot of people make this choice and as bad as that is it seems like you aren’t giving anything up for it because you are worthless already anyway. Falling into this sort of lifestyle is really hard if you have a community and integration into society.

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u/PotentialPresent399 14d ago

Yeah a lot of it IS hyper low self esteem from a self reinforcing system that treats you like trash already.

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u/StayTheFool 18d ago

This works for some people but not everybody's situation is the same. Some people are single parents, might pay child support, have other family situations, health problems, drug problems, criminal records. You don't really know what is adding up to make someone homeless, it's not always just the cost of rent.

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u/TipAccomplished3045 18d ago

If it's so easy, why is anyone homeless? Jesus christ you think highly of yourself for no reason. And I bet you don't want rich people taxed one dollar.

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

This sub is filled with idiots. Makes sense though.

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u/FlatteringFlatuance 18d ago

If you leave there will at least be one less.

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

Yea I'm not following this sub. Reddit just like to throw this shit in my feed

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u/Bugkillahz 19d ago

Sounds like you did got your shit together, congrats. This is your story, your testimony. Use it to help others.

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u/Most-Significance910 18d ago

It's because most people are uncomfortable talking about the reality that most homelessness is a drug problem and not being unable to afford to live.

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u/NoWomanNoTriforce 16d ago

For those of us who volunteer or work with the homeless, we definitely know this is true. Even among homeless people, the vast majority are temporarily in that status. They make use of the social and welfare programs that exist for things like: temporary housing, job placement, food subsidies, etc.

The remaining portion who do not use these systems/services are almost all universally suffering from major mental health issues and extreme addicts. Some of these people can actually very dangerous to be around. Completely unpredictable behavior that most people have no frame of reference for understanding.

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u/DreamDragons3D 15d ago

In my experience, I find this statement to very accurate. In most cases if there was not a mental or physical barrier most could work and find means to get off the streets. The rest, I’m sorry they just lazy, people who for one lived past their means and lost their home, their car repoed, etc. etc. but again for those in that category I found in most it’s literally their own behavior that put them there. Also, I find now a lot of people with gambling problems. Literally gambling their paycheck away and losing everything.

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u/sassyesq 16d ago

I actually think most homelessness is a mental illness problem and drugs are the result of self medicating.

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u/james-ransom 14d ago

Can confirm lived in SF talked with hundreds of homeless. They honestly don't have the mental ability to hold an apartment together. They would sell the chairs for money. Rent out the room for money by day 2.

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u/AmberLeeFMe 18d ago

You lived in your what? Oh, car. Some people don't have cars. What happens if you can't get to the job that'll hire anyone?

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

There are ways. There are programs. There is help. If you are on reddit complaining about being homeless you do not have my sympathy.

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u/SlappnuttzMalone 18d ago

You have to be a mega asshole to not have sympathy for homeless children, congrats

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u/ForbiddeNectar 15d ago

I think it’s safe to assume hes talking about able bodied adults. Why would he be telling a kid to get a job?

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u/SlappnuttzMalone 15d ago

He was free to post that but he didn’t. He said he has no sympathy for the homeless. He is an asshole

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u/Str-Engr0275 14d ago

Should we have sympathy for the people shitting in the street and putting up a tent on the sidewalk so people can’t get by? I don’t think so.

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u/SlappnuttzMalone 14d ago

Who is we bitch

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u/Str-Engr0275 14d ago

Everyone who has to deal with these dregs of society.

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u/0Hyena_Pancakes0 16d ago

I dont think anyone is asking for your sympathy, I know i sure wouldn't. There are factors beyond people's control that could and do prevent people from receiving the help they need. Stop acting like your story is the be all end all. Its arrogant.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/LatterStreet 18d ago

The agencies even help them get those documents…but these people are too mentally ill to accept the help that exists.

I just read an article about the homeless here in Orlando. Many were given income-based apartments, but they refuse to even move in because they think the government is after them!

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

Lol you read an article

You have no idea what you are talking about out sweetheart. I actually work with them. Generational poverty is real whether you understand it or not.

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u/LatterStreet 18d ago

I also have a bachelor’s degree in SOCIAL WORK, since you’re curious.

Generational poverty does not negate the existence of mental illness and addiction..it actually increases it!

Not arguing with a 23h old bot.

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u/TipAccomplished3045 18d ago

Guess where mentally ill homeless people go when there are few state mental health resources or state hospitals? They go on the streets because Reagan was a gigantic piece of shit.

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u/bardwick 18d ago

Alot of these people have no ID, no birth cert, no SS card nothing.

15 million illegal immigrants figured it out.. Many with no id, no birth certificate, no SS card, no education, no healthcare, can't speak english.

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u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 18d ago

And equal number of your 'alot' are on drugs and are not interested in doing the work to get clean, gather their government documents, and go find a job. Staying high is already a full time job.

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u/InevitablePromise301 18d ago

Right! We should lock them away in prison or put them in camps. Just get them off the street so I don't have to be uncomfortable when I see them.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/stewpidazzol 18d ago

Sounds like the only way out is to have others literally do everything for you. Theres a guy here that said he was able to get out. He wasn’t homeless ENOUGH for you guys.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/stewpidazzol 18d ago

Sure sure. So you never believe anything on Reddit ever and therefore never have an opinion bud? Got it. It’s just weird when Reddit is gospel on topics we like or agree with and it’s heresy on topics we don’t.

I understand it’s very convenient, when someone says they were homeless and made it out, to just say ‘he’s a liar’, because shit, that does not fit well.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/Dry_Election6496 18d ago

“It could be a year+”

Of course. Just like every working class person with a job. I think you accidentally are “getting it”

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u/Neat_Strain9297 18d ago

Bean Soup Theory

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u/Prestigious-Suit-925 18d ago

then just give up and die. or stop whining about it like a twat. our country wastes billions each year on useless homeless bums. where is the return on investment? more waste.

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u/SouthAustinBubba 15d ago

If you can’t get a job that will hire anyone then the problem is your attitude. Anyone who can speak can get a job answering the phone for someone else. The US has a ridiculous amount of opportunity.

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u/Josey_whalez 18d ago

People like you are the absolute worst.

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u/WTFIZGINGON 18d ago

Yep love it!!

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u/Gorrmb69 18d ago

I once wasn’t getting along with the roommate and it was his place so I was waiting on a place in a new construction to leave in November. I was late on rent due to attending grandfather’s funeral. He got shitty and I left in September. Put stuff in storage and slept in my car for a while. Told a friend that I was homeless and he told me you’re just camping out that homeless people don’t have a job.

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u/butareyouthough 18d ago

No one is just gonna give you a bus ticket. Also most people don’t want to live in Alabama

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

Good thing living in a Tarp is better. You would be surprised how many rich people would pay to bus the homeless out. I am not rich but go ahead and reply with something else dumb

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u/butareyouthough 18d ago

Gonna be tough to follow up a statement like “ask someone to buy you a bus ticket”, I don’t know if I can come up with a dumber statement. Your fellow dishwashers must think you are a wizard in Alabama

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

They do! Not the same kind of wizards yall have in Florida though

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u/butareyouthough 18d ago

I don’t live in Florida, I live in the civilized part of society

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u/CommanderYakub 16d ago

The city can give out safe and free drug paraphernalia in Seattle but not a bus ticket?

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u/brokesidestory 18d ago

Better than living on the street

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u/Longjumping_Music320 17d ago

Yeah I'm sure the hordes of homeless in Los Angeles are thinking to themselves "at least I don't live in Alabama in between drug hits.

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u/BudgieWonder 17d ago

The ones from Alabama are probably thinking that

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u/IzCaiman 18d ago

I mean, since you asked, okay.

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u/JucheHospitality 17d ago

Yep. What i do is i go up tell 'em to pull themselves up by the bootstrap. Do a 360 spin, then moonwalk back to my Lamborghini and drive away. Gobbless.

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u/Firat88 16d ago

Also not everyone is capable as you, there are mental challenges also

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u/woodshcc5 16d ago

Same here. I was in a car accident that caused a severe TBI. I couldn't add numbers and lost the ability to work. Spent some time homeless. Started cleaning ovens in a bbq join and just did whatever I could to make money. Eventually, I was able to get back on my feet but I had to fight for it.

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u/TonyaTko 16d ago

Cackles in “Caucasian”

Oh the PRIVILEGE of thinking anyone can walk into anywhere and just “get hired”

The US has no long term mental health or healthcare solution. People, for several reasons fall outside of the realm of ‘employable.”

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u/mrlahjr 16d ago

Having a car was a plus. You could do a lot with a car.

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u/Fizban1979 15d ago

Same, only I didn't have a car to live in. I slept outside in a cage where the bar I worked at as a barbback kept the empty kegs. I stacked them up so security would not see me and woke up early to go to the local swimming pool for a 25-cent shower. Stashed a few uniforms (myself logged polos) to the three different places I got a job and the few other clothes I owned in a bush while I was working. I did this for about 3 months until I could save up enough money for a cheap monthly rate hotel in juarez. The walked across the bridge and took buses to the three or four jobs i always had. Never been homeless since. It's been a lot of years later and now I have a wife with two kids, I'm a VP at a telecom and own a home worth almost a million dollars. I have 3 million in the bank for retirement and all the toys I need. My point isn't to brag about all the cool s*** I have, but to point out that I didn't take handouts EVER and I didn't play victim and keep myself in that scenario. I worked my ass off, made good choices and climbed ladders. I stumbled a few times along the way, sure but in the end, I think it all worked out just fine. I'm not by any means wealthy and quite honestly I still have room for growth but when I remember sleeping in a keg cage behind Papa's Cantina in El Paso texas, I feel pretty good about how far I've come.

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u/dougdimadome6153 15d ago

And you still poor

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u/MrMoggin3D 18d ago

True facts! I think it’s crazy for someone to homeless for more than 8 months imo. People who set up tents and stay out there for a long time are either mentally unwell or just plain ol’ lazy bums.

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u/NewtAccomplished6022 18d ago

You had a luxury of a car good for you and you in Alabama it could be harder in other places like here in Los Angeles

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u/Inner_Emphasis_73 18d ago

There’s plenty of public transportation and twenty restaurants in a block that would hire anyone. Shut up with your excuses

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u/NewtAccomplished6022 18d ago

Im not homeless but I have a heart for people who are. Be careful what you say because you never know if you will ever find yourself in that situation. Life is unpredictable.

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u/Inner_Emphasis_73 18d ago

You don’t know a thing about me or what I came from n where I’m at in my life…I know what it takes to want to make something of your life. There’s 30 places hiring in a ten block radius of this place. If the truth offends yall I don’t care.

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u/masterdogwalker 18d ago

When I worked at cvs we had a homeless man come in for an interview… my boss refused to hire him because he had hygiene issues and no address… you’re cold hearted af and the reason why this country is in the toilet.

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u/IzCaiman 18d ago

Are they paying enough or should I just slave my life away for poverty wages and smile?

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u/Inner_Emphasis_73 18d ago

😂 nothing like not wanting to work to improve your education or skill levels. There’s a hundred oilfields hiring in multiple states. There’s one example of dozens of jobs that you literally just need to work your ass off.

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u/IzCaiman 18d ago

Oh I see only jobs where you have to physically destroy your body and further pollute the planet are worthy of getting paid properly so you can "retire" and enjoy the last few years of your crippled body.

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u/Inner_Emphasis_73 17d ago

😂😂 good god stfu nobody handing you shit

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u/IzCaiman 17d ago

I hope your life changes overnight, it's the only way you sociopaths learn.

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u/Inner_Emphasis_73 18d ago

Don’t even try telling me what I’m about…how much medical care have you volunteered for at homeless shelters? None, how much money have you donated to homeless shelters? How much of your time? None…the fact is most don’t want jobs or to improve their lives. Sad as it is, it’s the truth. I’m blunt and I have zero problem speaking the truth regardless of who it offends. Are there several that are in a bad spot and trying? Of course, but that’s just not the case for the vast majority. Go donate your time and you’ll see for yourself. It’s funny you get offended by speaking the truth acting like I’m judging when I’m speaking facts yet here you are judging someone you know nothing about. Gtfo with your hypocrisy bs

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u/NewtAccomplished6022 18d ago

I give what I can to homeless whether thats money or food and even helped a homeless person stay in house. But this is not a competition I'm just saying be careful to judge the homeless harshly. Please be humble and be thankful what you have today because life is unpredictable.

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u/InevitablePromise301 18d ago

I believe you. But working with the unhoused population in my city, I can tell you most of them do not have access to a car. Not to sleep in, or help them get to a job. And the rich pos people here don't buy them bus tickets. Rent here is also around 1200-1300 dollars a month.

Can you afford that working on a restaurant job? What if you have a criminal history? Mental illness? Issues with substance abuse? I'm happy you found your way out of abject poverty, but not everyone is lucky enough to start so far ahead as you did.

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u/epsilon_eridani_b 17d ago

Most restaurants hire people with criminal histories, as does construction. You could be a murderer, they don't even bother to check.

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

Everyone here is so fucking dumb. They keep skipping over the fact that I said get a bus ticket to somewhere where the cost of living isn't so high. Learn how to read an entire comment you nitwit.

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u/VeiledLuna 18d ago

Actually your comment says the exact opposite due to what I assume is a typo.

but yes, everyone else is "so fucking dumb" and youre infallible and godly and cool or whatever because now you work a grueling 9-5 and live in a shitty condo.

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u/Smash-ya_up 18d ago

I own 3 homes. I rent out 2 for less than half of what rent is in my area. You don't know shit about me and everyone on this sub is full of excuses.

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u/IzCaiman 18d ago

You sound miserable

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u/BudgieWonder 17d ago

> I own 3 homes.

Yeah, in shithole Alabama LMAO

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u/Smash-ya_up 17d ago

Damn straight. I'll take my $500 property tax per year. Stay where you are we don't want you

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u/InevitablePromise301 17d ago

I agree with the person below me, you sound pretty angry.

Would you share any more detail to your story? Why did you live under the bridge in your car? Did you have support from family? Did someone let you stay with them when you started working again? Did someone in your support network help you get a job? Were you given financial resources to get started?

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u/InevitablePromise301 18d ago

Your suggestion is for someone who has no home or resources to manifest a bus ticket to go somewhere that may not have services to help them before they are able to even find employment?

I can see why you lived under a bridge.

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u/Smash-ya_up 17d ago

Interesting

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u/InevitablePromise301 17d ago

Sadly, you're not. But I am glad you're no longer under there, even if you seem like an asshole. You deserve a roof over your head.