Thread: homeless dropping dead like flies!

The homeless have their homes and food they try to grow destroyed, which forces them to live in crowded cities in an attempt to survive.

Do you really think that most homeless CHOOSE to live on the streets? That most of them ar drunks, drug-users, or mentally ill? Studies form "better" economic times have generally shown that one third of those leaving on the streets neither have mental illness nor any substance abuse problems.

It is time that society stops blaming the homeless for being homeless, or seeing homelessness as some unfortunate condition, a problem with no one to blame for, like some sort of natural disaster. Is there any doubt that homelessness makes people sick and often leads to death?

Here is just a fraction of the people that have been killed by the conspiring of their goverments at all levels.

"Anchorage police today identified a man found dead in the woods behind Blockbuster video store near a South Anchorage bike trail Sept. 22."

"Another man has been found dead at an Anchorage homeless camp, bringing to 23 the toll of men and women who were homeless or otherwise familiar with street life who have died outdoors around the city in just over a year." If a serial killer had killed 23 people, you can be sure several branches of law enforcement would be devoting hundreds of thousands of dollars with of resources trying to end the killings. But when it is only homeless people dying, who really cares?

Why is it that the police destroy the meager shelters of the homeless, and then when it gets really cold, the community makes a half-hearted attempt to come of with some sort of temporary emergency shelter solution?

"Anchorage police have identified the man found dead at the Anchorage Recycling Center on June 14 as 66-year-old John Smith of Anchorage. Smith's body was found in a pile of cardboard at the Rosewood Street facility. It appeared that he had been dead for a while, police said at the time." He must have died of old age! Homeless people certainly do have a short life expectancy!

"No foul play was suspected in Smith's death." This is just a way of getting around having to say that he probably died of being homeless and that is the end of it. Middle class people do not just suddenly die for no reason like this.

"The cause of his death is still pending results from the medical examiner's office,police said." This exact same quote is found in hundreds of articles about homeless deaths. There has never once been any follow up. One might think it should be alarming that so many people are mysteriously dying... but wait! they are homeless people; no need to worry!

"More than 20 homeless or semi-homeless people have been found dead outdoors since May 2009. Most were intoxicated when they died." Note how the article said "most", which means that some of them were not intoxicated. How did these, otherwise normal people just fall over and die? Does the fact that some of them were intoxicated just explain away their deaths. Oh, they were intoxicated ! They made a bad decission that caused themselves to die!

Lots of people get intoxicated, virtually none (except the homeless for some inexplicable reason) die from being intoxicated. Yet most readers simply brush common sense aside. Few people in our society have even the slightest care for the homeless. When they do, it is just a superficial gesture of caring, like volunteering at a soup kitchen. Do you really think homeless people, who have nothing but time on their hands, need a volunteer?

Homeless people also die in hot climates:

Homeless die in Arizona heat wave
By Joe Anthony July 26, 2005
"In Phoenix, Arizona last week at least 21 people, 14 of whom have been identified as homeless, have died from exposure to extreme temperatures in excess of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Centigrade). In addition, at least 13 undocumented immigrants have died trying to cross the desert region on the Arizona-Mexico border. Temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees in Phoenix for weeks on end, with 14 days in July having highs of 110 degrees or more.

The conditions in Phoenix are part of a larger heat wave that has swept across much of the United States, with temperatures in Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Washington D.C. and scores of other cities reaching record highs anywhere between 100-120 degrees. The extreme heat has been particularly severe and prolonged in the southwest region of the country. While the deaths in Phoenix have drawn the most attention, there have undoubtedly been many heat-related deaths in other cities throughout the country.

At least 200 heat records have been broken this month in different parts of the country. Parts of 23 states have been under heat advisory at some point during the month. Over the weekend, Chicago experienced temperatures not seen since the 1995 heat wave that killed hundreds. Three heat-related deaths have been reported so far.

While the homeless are considered to be at the highest risk for death due to prolonged heat exposure, anyone who works outdoors or does not have a cooling system in their home is also considered at risk, particularly the elderly.

While the official death toll for last week currently stands at 21, the Arizona Republic stated Sunday that it “is probably only a small portion of the true figure, according to experts. The actual number is probably much higher, a number not captured in statistics because heat is either not listed on the death certificate or listed only as a contributing factor.”

A total of 21 heat-related deaths in Phoenix for one week in July is particularly alarming considering that the total number of heat-related deaths throughout the entire previous year was 34.

The number of homeless who have died in Phoenix is due in large part to the fact that the city does not have sufficient homeless shelters to allow people to escape from the blistering heat. Central Arizona Shelter Services is equipped to accommodate 520 people. Including other shelters there are only 1,600 beds available in the country, while the number of homeless people in the county is estimated at 10-12,000. Many of the beds are available only in the winter.

The bodies of the homeless were found in dirt lots, vehicles, and between buildings. Police and others who volunteered to bring water to homeless people found that some were too weak to move. Some homeless people have taken to swimming in canals to stay cool during the day.

The extent of the situation facing the city’s homeless was captured by Stephanie Farwig, assistant development director of the Phoenix Rescue Mission, who told AFP, “They [the homeless] don’t have the protection from the sun nor the liquids that they need...when the temperature is 115 degrees F, the pavement is 130 degrees and people’s feet are burned even through their shoes.”

Eric Klinenberg, a sociology professor at New York University and author of the book Heatwave, which covers the 1995 Chicago heatwave that took the lives of hundreds in that city, told the Arizona Republic, “They’re the invisible people...the elderly, the poor, or in your case, the homeless. They’re not the people we normally talk about...heat waves pinpoint the most vulnerable in society.”

City officials have scrambled to say they have taken steps to deal with the problem, but it has become apparent that a lack of preparation and a failure to address the situation of the homeless in Phoenix for years has exacerbated the effects of the heat wave. Since the 1990s, the city government in conjunction with major corporations based in the city have implemented plans to renovate downtown Phoenix and create a “business friendly” environment. Similar plans have been developed in downtown Tempe, a city adjoining Phoenix. In both areas, the homeless are seen largely as a nuisance, either to be ignored if possible or driven out altogether when their presence conflicts with the long-term business plan.

The discrepancy between the total 1,600 available spaces for homeless individuals and the actual number of homeless cannot be explained away by a lack of resources—not when the meager facilities that do exist are in the shadows of real estate valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It can only be explained by a lack of any will or desire to take the homeless and their situation seriously.

Working families that cannot afford air-conditioning in their homes and vehicles are also at risk, and even those who have cooling systems have to worry about possible brownouts and blackouts. The intense heat wave coincides with the beginning of the monsoon season. Last week a severe storm knocked out power lines providing energy to 47,000 homes in the greater Phoenix area, prompting local firefighters, paramedics and volunteers to distribute bottled water in some of the affected neighborhoods.

Local utility providers have stated that the heat wave has placed a strain on energy supplies, although they claim that there is enough energy to supply Phoenix and surrounding cities. Nevertheless, energy prices are expected to rise with the increasing demand."

Heat Wave Testing Arizona Homeless Relief Effort
PHOENIX, Arizona July 2009
"Arizona's recent extreme temperatures are straining the resources of cities, churches and nonprofit organizations as they work to provide heat relief to the state's growing homeless population. Tempe vice mayor Shana Ellis chairs a regional committee overseeing the effort. She says it's not just the days above 110 degrees, but also the 90-degree nights that cause dehydration - and worse. On the streets, people's bodies do not have a chance to cool off. People can get extreme heat illnesses when that low temperature doesn't really go low.

In 2005, the Phoenix area had at least 30 heat-related deaths in July alone. So far this year, Ellis says, there have been only two, but she cautions that water donations will be needed through September. We're encouraging people to take water with them so they can stay hydrated during the day. Not just one or two bottles here or one or two bottles there - we're asking them to take four or five bottles at a time. Landrum says they have other needs, in addition to water, such as sun block and hats. 'They need bus tickets, outer light clothing, neckerchiefs. People think of water when they donate, but other items are needed just as much.'

Ellis, chair of the Maricopa Association of Governments Committee on Homelessness, says all 76 Phoenix-area hydration stations are stocked with bottled water, but that may change as the extreme heat continues. 'We are giving that water out quite quickly, so we definitely are accepting donations for the next few months.'"

3 homeless men found dead in Phoenix
by Kyle Daly - July 19, 2010 The Arizona Republic
"Authorities are unsure if scorching temperatures played a role in the deaths of three homeless people men in as many days.
One body was found in central Phoenix on Saturday about 5:30 p.m. when temperatures hovered around 108 degrees. Two others were found near a charity – one on Sunday, the other on Monday. Phoenix police said the man found Saturday might have been a victim of the flu. A friend found the man's body outside near Tonto and Third streets, a few blocks east of Central Park.Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said the friend told officers the man was complaining of illness prior to his death. There were no visible signs of trauma, Crump said, and it has not been determined if heat played a role in his sickness or death. Authorities believe the man was between 55 and 65 years old, and his name could not be confirmed. The next body was found Sunday near 35th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road near a homeless charity. Authorities said there were no signs of trauma, and it was unclear if heat was the cause.

A third person was again found near the charity Monday evening, fire officials said. That person was discovered with another transient who was released following examination by paramedics. Again, authorities were unsure if heat was the cause of death, but said it was at least a 'contributing factor.' On all three days, the National Weather Service reported highs of about 110 degrees."

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, 37 million Americans—one in eight—lived below the federal poverty line in 2005, defined as an annual income of $19,971 for a family of four. Studies of a minimally decent standard of living routinely find that the typical cost is twice as high as the poverty line or higher. Ninety million Americans—nearly one-third of the nation—have household incomes below twice the poverty line, a figure far larger than the official number of 37 million in poverty.
Yet despite being an issue that directly or indirectly affects a huge chunk of the U.S. population, poverty and inequality receive astonishingly little coverage on nightly network newscasts. An exhaustive search of weeknight news broadcasts on CBS, NBC and ABC found that with rare exceptions, such as the aftermath of Katrina, poverty and the poor seldom even appear on the evening news—and when they do, they are relegated mostly to merely speaking in platitudes about their hardships.

In the small handful of stories which addressed this issue, poverty was discussed solely by experts, with no poor people appearing on-screen at all. One thing that is clear from coverage is that if you are poor and want to get on the nightly news, it helps to be either elderly or in the armed forces, presumably because of these poor are more "deserving".

Overall, both the scarcity and the content of network news coverage conveys the sense that poverty is a problem mostly to be worried about on holidays, when it affects those whose poverty is considered shameful, or during natural disasters.

In several Western countries being poor is a stigma. In a culture which celebrates individuality and the goal of giving everyone an equal opportunity to make it suceed, those in poverty are often blamed for their own situation.

The poor are typically live in different neigborhoods and cities, out of sight and away from the ordinary lives of middle class people.

Let's see. I'm a drunk, I haven't seen a dentist in 35 years, my doctor visits are limited to government health services, I sell my food stamps to buy booze. And, my god, I'n mot healthy.

Amazing.

Oh, and I should mention a shocki8ng concept. We all drop dead. Everyone. Always has, always will.

Originally Posted by PatrickT

Let's see. I'm a drunk, I haven't seen a dentist in 35 years, my doctor visits are limited to government health services, I sell my food stamps to buy booze. And, my god, I'n mot healthy.

Amazing.

I fight to the Death over things like a Pack of Marlborough Reds & a stolen Bicycle or sleeping bag ... ( Homeless mans fate)

Is the title of this thread a pun? Seriously.. homeless... flies... just saying.

Republicans are such coldhearted bas**rds

If I was homeless, I would look for a viable path to my death. Most likely many homeless people have the same idea. An old age of 66 helps, I guess. Isn't it possible that they actually wanted to die? (Although dying from frost bites or getting "saved" at the expence of amputating frozen extremities is even worse.)

Originally Posted by psdophdem

Republicans are such coldhearted bas**rds

Cold-hearted...not. A helping hand is given, the helping hand then is withdrawn. it doesn't stay there forever. It's sad they are homeless and there are programs that churches offer. many of them ignore the programs and don't really want the help. Some do and those eventually become productive citizens. Ya' can't help everyone as an individual. Your church can though and I know mine does, everyday and every night.

Doesn’t blame the police... they are only doing what the mayor tell them to do. The mayor is pressured into doing something about the homeless in a lot of cities, including mine because local business lose money when pan handlers and the bums filth inhibits their customers from wanting to do business there.

First people need to educated themselves, and then maybe a real solution can be made. In some cities , churches and the county work together to make tent cities for the homeless and here volunteers can help to feed cloth them.

I have helped homeless and not all of them are bums and trash, there are some that move to the area and then lose their jobs and has no family or nothing and they end up on the street with kids.

Growing up being a conservitive , I was tought that when you do well for youself, do something for someone else in need. Today, the republican party is full of spoiled, selfish peaces of (*)(*)(*)(*) who hide behind Jesus and preach social values but never act on them. God knows, they preach Jesus in one hand and sin in the other.