Comments on: Orlando: Please Do Not Feed The Homeless

Law Limits Feeding Large Groups Of People In Parks

[jasperlily]

gabbysmomrs

You are absolutely right on the mark on all counts.

[themooniac]

How pitiful. Orlando's one place that won't be seeing a dime of my money. One classy city - treats their homeless like the plaque...don't ever visit a city that only treats you well if you have $$$ to give them. You got a homeless problem in Florida try helping people with a hand up not a kick in the pants. 8,500 homeless people in a city of 200,000?? There must be something wrong with the political/economic leadership in Orlando...

[oh2sail]

My city (San Francisco) has a population of 800,000, 4 times the population of Orlando's 200,000. Last year our "care not cash" program put 1,000 homeless people into housing. And according to this article, Orlando housed... 22? People sneer about "San Francisco values"... I am bursting with pride with the decency and tolerance of our beliefs.

[feelfree1]

drew30319,

Re: "We CAN feed the homeless and do every day. Across the nation through various charities funded by your tax dollars and private donations."

You are cllearly falling well short of meeting the need. There are still a lot of hungry Americans out there. It is understandable that some people would not choose to be bainwashed with religious dogma, just to get something to eat.

Orlando is trying to eliminate charitable groups like "Food Not Bombs", shown in the picture- a group that does not rely on tax dollars and that does not judge people before they will give them food.

Orlando leaders are attacking a valuable community service for no good reason- a service which local officials are obviously failing to address themselves.

[gramto7]

I just canceled out from going there...they can help themselves...because I won't.
Posted by karlagolay

You are about worthless! The area hit by the storms is NOT in Orlando! They have nothing to do with the laws passed in Orlando. None of the counties mentioned are Orange County which is Orlando's county. You should be ashamed to declare yourself a "highly trained disaster relief" anything!

[drew30319-2009]

mamab9: We CAN feed the homeless and do every day. Across the nation through various charities funded by your tax dollars and private donations.

Many of the homeless refuse to go to these charities because of the rules they impose:

* no alcohol
* no drugs
* no crime

This is the real issue. The "hard core" of the homeless have (at a very high percentage) mental illness(es) and/or substance abuse issues that make being "homeless" their only option.

Remember. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

I tried (for years) to help my ex-girlfriend's father (who was habitually homeless). Every opportunity given him he squandered and ruined. He opted to instead live a life filled with drugs and alcohol.

His addictions killed him last year.

[tom_gwynn]

The problems that homeless people bring to communities is not small and should not be discounted. Many of these people are mentally ill in one form or another, and they do make non-homeless people feel unsafe. People don't go to where they feel unsafe, so a large homeless population can bring instant blight to an area. The homeless show up, the customers move out, shops close, drug dealers and prostitutes move in. Real estate values go down, tax rolls decrease, services are cut, jobs disappear, making even more homeless. It's a vicious circle. That's what the city of Orlando is fighting. That said though, this ordinance is clearly unconstitutional and should be struck down.

[mamab9]

why shouldnt we be able to feed the homeless if we choose to? our tax money is being used to feed those on welfare everyday and some of those live in government housing we pay for also... they are the lucky ones they have a HOME. its sure not against the law to help feed them ! i earn my money i will spend it on whomever i choose.

[drew30319-2009]

http://www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov/facts/facts_question_1.asp

* Most%u2014about 80%%u2014exit from homelessness within about 2%u20133 weeks. They often have more personal, social, and economic resources to draw on than people who are homeless for longer periods of time.

* About 10% are homeless for up to two months, with housing availability and affordability adding to the time they are homeless.

* Another group of about 10% is homeless on a chronic, protracted basis%u2014as long as 7%u20138 months in a two-year period. Disabilities associated with mental illnesses and substance use are common. On any given night, this group can account for up to 50% of those seeking emergency shelter.

There are also several individual risk factors that may increase people%u2019s vulnerability to becoming homeless and experiencing homelessness on a longer basis.8

* Untreated mental illness can cause individuals to become paranoid, anxious, or depressed, making it difficult or impossible to maintain employment, pay bills, or keep supportive social relationships.

* Substance abuse can drain financial resources, erode supportive social relationships, and can also make exiting from homelessness extremely difficult.

* Co-occurring disorders. Individuals with co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders are among the most difficult to stably house and treat due to the limited availability of integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment in most localities.

[vancouverboo]

Keeping the *** from marriage is what Christianity is about in the US these days. And they're so much holier than you or I.

[gabbysmomrs]

So where are these people to go? Anywhere but here. Anywhere but within our sight or hearing. How are they supposed to stay alive if we don't allow them to be fed? It seems clear that a lot of people really don't care if they stay alive.

Have none of us been without at some time in our lives? If not, you are very fortunate. Many more than you would ever think have been there. And many more of us are only a paycheck, Social Security check, or Disability payment away. Oddly, there are those of us who feel that people in those situations are somehow not deserving...or are to blame. Remember, there but for the Grace of God.

Some of the homeless are on the streets by choice, yes, but most are not. They are often not employable; and they have no means access to a place to call home and they are starving. If no one can feed them the garbage cans of the community will be the only option for them. And so, you think, they will move away from our backyard. Everyone is someone's brother, sister, daughter, son, father, mother. How can we do this to our fellow human beings?

Please remember, There but for the grace of God go I or someone dear to me.

[mnelsonix]

Hmm...Jesus would not approve

[gramto7]

My brother has been, several years ago, a homeless person in the city of Orlando. It is a place where a person is afraid to go to the shelter for fear of being robbed, assaulted, or outright killed.

The hell of it was that he was employed at the time. You just cannot find reasonably priced housing in the area to rent for someone making minimum wage or a little above.

Once he was returning from Disney, where he worked through a personnel pool, to the pool office. After he got onto the office grounds, he was mugged and so badly assaulted that he had to have rods and screws to piece together his arm together and he now has seizures from the head trauma.

He will never be homeless again if I can help it. He now lives with me!

[fascistusa]

Let's ask exxon/Mobile to help with a share of that 50 billion dollar profit.

Hell, maybe a dollar or two can come out of the War Corporate Profit Machine, I mean, the Iraq War.

The measuse of an evil, fascist, sick, tyranny of the rich is best measured by how Prisoners and the Homeless are treated.

AMERICA IS A HORRIFIC, SICK FASCIST TYRANNY.

WAKE UP!!!

[jasperlily]

So what part of "love one another" do these Cities' governments not understand? If people want to follow that teaching and show compassion to others, on religious grounds, how can the Cities prevent it, even legally? If they don't want the hungry fed by anyone, do the Cities provide them with food? And shelter? If people start removing the dead bodies of the people who have starved to death, will the Cities enact a law that requires the bodies to just lie there and rot on the street?

What a totally evil empire they are creating in those places.

I realize panhandlers, especially organized, can be a real problem. Not having food is also a problem. What are the cities doing about the problem of people not getting any food? If they don't help to resolve the problem (hunger and shelter) then they are part of the problem. And they are obviously making it a bigger problem, judging by those statistics. The ever-increasing lack of compassion amongst us today is sickening...... and frightening when they actually pass laws against compassion and mercy. They will get theirs in due time but that doesn't help those in need now.

[feelfree1]

The Bush League terrorists have been after "Food, Not Bombs" for quite a while now.

Apparently, voluntarily feeding poor hungry people is a threat to our national interests.

[laneff]

Homelessness is a disease, one that the city fathers of this country choose to ignore. Every city in this country has its share of homeless folk. Homeless due to joblessness, infirmity, mental instability or the callous actions of someone with more money than God. Now, in place of ignoring homelessness, the city fathers choose to bury it or ban it. It's a good bet, if the city council members had to live one week on the streets without ready access to homeless shelters, bathrooms, beds and warmth of any form, they'd see precisely the need that corporations, cities, counties, states and governments are flat out ignoring in this world. FDR did a unique and unfathomed thing for the homeless, the jobless, he created jobs, funds, possibilities. The problem, government funds are beyond strained, beyond capacity, because we haven't invented a way to ensure that jobs can transition based on economic circumstances of people, places and corporations.
Thankfully, in the time period where my husband and I were homeless, jobless, we had others willing to assist even for a short time period. There are thousands of men, women, and children living on the streets, who have no one. Several philosophers and theologians elude to the idea, if you ignore that which is easily seen, your ignorance shall be your downfall. Peace, prosperity and comfort are attainable, if we realize we can deliver it one hungry person at a time.

[murielcc]

To each action there is a reaction. ponder and pray