Treatment of homeless people

evercloserunion · 23-05-2011 04:33AM #1

Was on the way home from the pub tonight, and we were walking down one of the back streets in Temple Bar behind a group of 4 people (3 guys and a girl), think they were French or something and fairly drunk I guess. There was a homeless guy asleep in a doorway, and the girl stumbled up to him, leaned over and started shouting something I couldn't make out, the others joined in. When the guy woke up and turned around, one of the guys pulled out a camera and took a picture of him, laughing away.

I didn't really know what to do, I just started talking to my girlfriend at a high volume about how it wasn't on, they heard me, threw me a few dirty looks and moved on. I felt ashamed, despite having nothing to do with it.

My girlfriend then told me that when she was getting a taxi the other day, there was a guy on the phone (also drunk I think) at a phone box when a homeless guy came up to ask him for change. The guy on the phone decked him and shouted something at him.

How can someone treat the most vulnerable people in society like this, even when drunk? I was utterly disgusted and ashamed. There was absolutely no threat to any of these people, no reason to act like they did except pure scumbaggery. What kind of person do you have to be to think this kind of behaviour is acceptable or fun?

Naikon · 23-05-2011 04:39AM

Some people are just utter *****. Best to ignore them and cut the homeless person some slack. Anything really. It's easy to laugh when you aren't living on the street. Hopefully their day will come.

LighterGuy · 23-05-2011 04:45AM

evercloserunion wrote: »

How can someone treat the most vulnerable people in society like this, even when drunk?

Because your average person is an as*hole when they want to be and dont see anything wrong with it sadly.
See these people you mention... talk to them individually you would most likely think they are decent alright people. Put them together in a group ... different story. Im pretty sure if questioned why they did that they would say "for a laugh" - but more realistically if you asked why they did it they would tell you to f**k off.

later12 · 23-05-2011 04:53AM

It's very wet and windy tonight where I am and I don't care what kind of personal problems an individual has: drugs, alcohol, psychiatric, or financial; there is no excuse for making life more difficult for an individual who is out in this weather, sleeping in a doorway, with nowhere else to turn.

I was sitting in my warm, dry apartment tonight listening to the dulcet Lilian Smith on Radio 1, as always, and she was remarking about how the faces of the homeless change from first you see them, to how you might see them after six months when they become more hopeless, more pale, and more disinterested. There are some desperate faces on the pavement every morning as I make my way to work and it always makes me glad, perhaps even in a selfish way, that I was born into a stable family and had the good fortune to land on my feet in everything I did.

And even when I thought I was getting a bad time of it with losing a job or failing an exam, I have never known that sort of bankrupt destitution, with nobody left who cared about me. That must be an absolutely horrible feeling and those young people tonight, in the sober light of day, should be thankful it is not something they have to live with.

Bit of a cliché, I grant you, but it doesn't hurt to remember that there but for the grace of God go you and I.

pragmatic1 · 23-05-2011 05:00AM

With the amount of ghost estates around the country lying empty, no one should be homeless. People that treat the homeless and other vunerable groups like **** are just plain scum. Tells a lot about a persons character.

JONJO THE MISER · 23-05-2011 05:02AM

im

Buceph · 23-05-2011 05:07AM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

With the amount of ghost estates around the country lying empty, no one should be homeless. People that treat the homeless and other vunerable groups like **** are just plain scum. Tells a lot about a persons character.

I've met a fair few homeless people, from either hanging around city centre parks as a teenager, or being brought around by people I knew involved with The Simon Community. Some homeless (not all) are homeless by "sort of" choice. I met a few who you would classify as itinerants, travelling from city to city. They'd stay with friends, stay in squats and some times sleep on the streets. They often had an idealogical opposition to living in a house/home. Most of them had alcohol problems and mental issues, but they steadfastly refused any attempts to get them into social housing or the equivalent. They were the minority, but they were very proud of who they were and didn't want to get help from anyone.

Very sad cases, and of course there are many more people who need direct help.

tenchi-fan · 23-05-2011 05:16AM

The guy talking on the phone possibly did the homeless guy a huge favour. We should go around throwing buckets of water over the homeless.

The people who treat the homeless worst of all are people who give them small change. It's showy, they'll have a warm mushy feel like you get from giving a dog a biscuit, but because it keeps the homeless on the street it's the opposite of charity.

But could you imagine presenting St Vincent de Paul with a novelty-sized cheque for the price of a can of Druids Cider?

jill_valentine · 23-05-2011 05:17AM

I saw a crowd of f*cking rugby tough guys on Wexford Street making a laugh of homeless dude a while back, and it made my stomach churn. The dude wasn't doing anything to provoke them, and there they were there teasing him and posing around him for each other's camera phones.

Honestly, at the time, I wasn't really sure what I should have done, and they got bored and wandered off shortly after anyway;, but I'd be lying if I hadn't spent an idle minute or two since imagining how satisfying it would have been to slap the Nivea for Men right off their big fat Heino swollen faces.

What the hell is wrong with somebody, that they'd find that sh*te funny?

Icarus152 · 23-05-2011 05:24AM

tenchi-fan wrote: »

The guy talking on the phone possibly did the homeless guy a huge favour. We should go around throwing buckets of water over the homeless.

The people who treat the homeless worst of all are people who give them small change. It's showy, they'll have a warm mushy feel like you get from giving a dog a biscuit, but because it keeps the homeless on the street it's the opposite of charity.

But could you imagine presenting St Vincent de Paul with a novelty-sized cheque for the price of a can of Druids Cider?

lolwut?

Turpentine · 23-05-2011 05:24AM

tenchi-fan wrote: »

The guy talking on the phone possibly did the homeless guy a huge favour. We should go around throwing buckets of water over the homeless.

The people who treat the homeless worst of all are people who give them small change. It's showy, they'll have a warm mushy feel like you get from giving a dog a biscuit, but because it keeps the homeless on the street it's the opposite of charity.

But could you imagine presenting St Vincent de Paul with a novelty-sized cheque for the price of a can of Druids Cider?

Jaysis, I hope that's just the sauce talking.

While I can understand your point about the charity of others encouraging pan-handling, I think you might be being a little harsh.

mgmt · 23-05-2011 06:38AM

tenchi-fan wrote: »

The guy talking on the phone possibly did the homeless guy a huge favour. We should go around throwing buckets of water over the homeless.

The people who treat the homeless worst of all are people who give them small change. It's showy, they'll have a warm mushy feel like you get from giving a dog a biscuit, but because it keeps the homeless on the street it's the opposite of charity.

+1

That's what they do in London. The council goes around and hoses down the street at night, if the homeless happen to be there so be it

Dyr · 23-05-2011 08:37AM

evercloserunion wrote: »

My girlfriend then told me that when she was getting a taxi the other day, there was a guy on the phone (also drunk I think) at a phone box when a homeless guy came up to ask him for change. The guy on the phone decked him and shouted something at him.

You're mixing homeless people up with begging junkies methinks.

JohnMarston · 23-05-2011 09:19AM

Ireland gives millions to overseas aid to other countries, to help people we've never met. Obviously helping the irish homeless isn't as important as looking good to the international community.

tenchi-fan · 23-05-2011 09:26AM

JohnMarston wrote: »

Ireland gives millions to overseas aid to other countries, to help people we've never met. Obviously helping the irish homeless isn't as important as looking good to the international community.

The homeless get their benefits, if they go hungry it's because they squandered them on drink and drugs. And don't believe anyone who says homeless people don't claim benefits , they can find an address to use on their welfare claim.

23-05-2011 09:29AM

It's hard to differentiate between homeless junkies and genuine homeless.. Some people have a lot of hate for junkies because of the crimes they commit.
I don't even understand how anyone ends up homeless in Ireland to be fair.. I was never bad to them and bought them food the odd time. But I'm far from feeling sorry for them because it's entirely their fault. No one elses.

I feel sorry for homeless people over here because the government support isn't there. It's a genuine issue unlike homeless in Ireland which really is a farce.

TaraFoxglove · 23-05-2011 09:31AM

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't even understand how anyone ends up homeless in Ireland to be fair.. I was never bad to them and bought them food the odd time. But I'm far from feeling sorry for them because it's entirely their fault. No one elses.

Mental illness can see someone end up on the street pretty quickly. Could happen to anyone.

23-05-2011 09:34AM

TaraFoxglove wrote: »

Mental illness can see someone end up on the street pretty quickly. Could happen to anyone.

Don't they get picked up my the guards within a few days and then put into the proper channels.

I don't remember any mentally ill homeless in Galway.

themadchef · 23-05-2011 09:36AM

Bambi wrote: »

You're mixing homeless people up with begging junkies methinks.

Probably is but, where do you draw the "pity line"? Are some types of homeless people more deserving of it than others? I'm sure even the most hard core junkies didint have a mighty upbringing, or can find some place to apportion the blame as to why their life is the way it is.

Treatment of homelss people, i mean should we not point a very angry figure towards our government? Even when the piss pot was lined with gold there were people on the streets. (Yes, some will still choose to be there, but in general, little was ever done)

Rehab, life skills, clean and safe living environment, training and help to find work. Where is the support? Where are the centres? Those that are trying to help are losing funding by the day.

We can pass by these guys, and throw them a sandwich or a few quid thinking "but for the grace of God, there go i" but at the end of the day the homeless are not fit to fight for themselves. Too low, too broken, too ashamed to, out of their heads, and we're quite happy to walk by so long as we dont get to feel bad about it. Watching people pick on the homeless makes us feel bad, so it means we cant turn a blind eye for a second. We are happy to be blind, it's easier that way.

TaraFoxglove · 23-05-2011 09:37AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't they get picked up my the guards within a few days and then put into the proper channels.

I don't remember any mentally ill homeless in Galway.

Mental illness is one of the leading causes of homelessness. Did you have an in-depth discussion with every homeless person in Galway?

tenchi-fan · 23-05-2011 09:38AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't they get picked up my the guards within a few days and then put into the proper channels.

I don't remember any mentally ill homeless in Galway.

i think we're talking along the lines of "depression is a mental illness" "alcoholism is a mental illness".. etc etc

My view, some people just can't fit into society.

Do they even need to beg? no idea. I just know if some one is mentally ill, just because they ask for money does not need its good for them to receive it.

They'll just spend it on drink or drugs.

Or soup..

I saw a newspaper article on the life of a junkie. "I don't always by drugs with it.. sometimes I buy soup"

WindSock · 23-05-2011 09:49AM

Those foreigners have no right to treat our homeless that way. They are reserved for us to maltreat.

23-05-2011 09:56AM

tenchi-fan wrote: »

They'll just spend it on drink or drugs.

So what? Many addicts on the street don't choose to spend it on such things, they need to, especially with regards to alcohol as withdrawal from it can be fatal. I don't think getting appropriate help is very easy considering their circumstances.

The only thing is I wish they'd be more honest about it.

The King of Moo · 23-05-2011 09:59AM

To me, people who mistreat the homeless, like people who mistreat animals (not equating the homeless with animals!

), are generally incredibly insecure and/or self-loathing, and can only make themselves feel in any way worthwhile by picking on someone or something they see as being so far beneath them there's no risk of them coming out second-best, so they can score themselves a little victory.
The number of stories I've heard of "lads" pi**ing on homeless people "for a laugh" is absolutely sickening.

stovelid · 23-05-2011 10:15AM

Some homeless people have no doubt supposedly "brought it on themselves" through addiction and whatever but I could never look at anybody on the street and gloat and sermonize before heading home to a nice house and a warm bed. Just not in me to do so.

cocoa · 23-05-2011 10:18AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pjrVohm2nE

JohnMarston · 23-05-2011 10:27AM

tenchi-fan wrote: »

The homeless get their benefits, if they go hungry it's because they squandered them on drink and drugs. And don't believe anyone who says homeless people don't claim benefits , they can find an address to use on their welfare claim.

Thats a good point actually

ebixa82 · 23-05-2011 10:29AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't they get picked up my the guards within a few days and then put into the proper channels.

I don't remember any mentally ill homeless in Galway.

How the fcuk would you know if they had a mental illness or not?

stovelid · 23-05-2011 10:36AM

ebixa82 wrote: »

How the fcuk would you know if they had a mental illness or not?

On-the-spot psychological tests and questionnaires. I don't part with a cent unless they complete it.

ebixa82 · 23-05-2011 10:36AM

Although underfunded and stretched to the last, homeless services in Ireland are relatively good thanks to the likes of Simon, Focus and Salvation Army. Most people will find a bed in some homeless shelter, hostel etc.

For most of these, the person has to book themselves in by a certain time, and are usually not allowed into the shelter until the evening, hence they spend their day with nothing to do and so often sit in a spot and beg.

There is only ever a small number of homeless people who actually sleep rough. Very often they have gotten to fcuked up on drink or heroin that day to sort out a room for themselves. Often, they'll be so fcuked that they'd sleep through anything anyways...

ebixa82 · 23-05-2011 10:44AM

stovelid wrote: »

On-the-spot psychological tests and questionnaires. I don't part with a cent unless they complete it.

But if they can complete it that means they don't have any psychiatric illnesses and so must be an addict. Bit of a catch 22!

Treatment of homeless people

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