Tent City?

[G-DDT]

I have been watching this thread with interest. I would suggest people keep in mind that the purpose of a "shelter" is to provide temporary relief to those who fall on hard times. It is NOT meant to provide hotel like amenities for months on end. Getting "kicked-out" at 6am is simply a measure to encourage job hunting and not sleeping in until noon. Again, the purpose of these shelters, and how the shelters would benefit, is to provide a roof and meal while you get your things back in order.

It is shame that the members of the Tent City do actually have housing and are using the tents to attract attention and to con good-heated people out of money, food and compassion. Are the members with housing offering their homes to the others to keep them out of the cold?

Yes. This is true about being temporary shelter. Yet, it also about storage of goods. It also is about getting hygienically maintained. It also being in a safe environment to compose, repose, and reconstitute oneself if they've been on the streets [[or road) for some time [[this especially happens if there is only one shelter in the area and there happens to be a waiting list or lottery draw to get in).
Seems there are a lot of folks who think themselves "experts" about they way these situations work, but I notice most of them do not even live within Wayne County. Again, these are all matters you find out hitting the ground running [[or better still trying to swim to stay from sinking). Hostile weather conditions are an inevitability, personal matters, health matters, legal matters-these will cut into employment search [[and time on a computer in the library is limited). Fact is, most of the homeless are physically incapable of work, are physically qualified for disability, and can only wait until their housing situation comes up for them. They are "kicked out" into the open and elements. God forbid, you even spike the ire of someone who has a grudge against you throughout the course of your honest and abiding dealings of keeping to oneself [[there are jailbirds who "never left jail"-as compared to the ones who are truly rehabilitated and on the beam-and I'm not talking Jim, either-they try to get you into schemes). They may think you would make an attractive element they can pimp off to someone. They notice you have food and want you to get into a food stamp scheme, even though you "eat every dollar" of your foodstamps-due to food intolerance and blood sugar issues-and you don't get caught up in that. Some blow their stack because you won't sit in a church parking lot with them and watch them smoke crack [[old Dorm Residence mate from Louisville-tried that on me-he later attacked me at a day-shelter. The staff thought it was a fight between two crackheads, and turned it on me.), or maybe because you just won't put salad dressing on your salad. I don't know. The fact is, you are vulnerable out there, the cops are not going to help you, and now you have no choice but to go out of your way to avoid those folks. Also, holidays are not a holiday for the homeless. Everything is closed; it is windy and stark, and you have nowhere-literally nowhere and nothing to do for hours. Can't blame most folks who work for facilities who just want to be with their families.