How often do the homeless starve?

DEFTLEFTHAND

It would be nigh on impossible to starve to death in this country. A body can survive over two months without eating food.

It would have to be an intentional act by the person.

trixiebust

johndefterios wrote: »

I've been wondering this. My girlfriend says she's been seeing a lot more homeless people sleeping outside. I don't judge but I've always wondered something. How can people be homeless for years and still alive? Wouldn't having no job and no food mean they'd "expire" in a few months?

What a stupid question.

ohnonotgmail

FelaniaMump wrote: »

Some will, MOST will not

FelaniaMump wrote: »

I didn't say most I said some. People come in and out of the system and drift in and out of support. Someone who was on SW and in a hostel one winter maybe outside both of those supports by the next. It's far from a static group.

that looks like you saying most to me.

topper75

FelaniaMump wrote: »

You're not that hero! Most people already take more out of the pot than they put in, you're not paying to get homeless people off the street or feed them. You can try and feel the warm and fuzzies all you like, but hero you are not. If you want to be, go volunteer at your local homeless services, raise some money, actually interact with people and do some real good. Don't sit there telling yourself the fiver a week you pay in USC is doing the job for you....

Sorry Felania but that money taken from me on my payslip is real, and it is not a fiver. Please don't be silly in that regard.

My point, and I admit I probably didn't make it directly enough, is that you can tax me for a fairer society or you can ask me to contribute charitably to people directly in the street/agencies working for those in the street.

But don't ask me to do both. Because that is just taking the urine out of people.

So which is it? What is wrong with our welfare system where you believe I need to also buy food for people out of work?

Those of a leftist persuasion would often point with envy at the social systems in Scandinavia, supported by high tax. A Swedish colleague here is still aghast at the lax system we have for welfare where you can sign on indefinitely. Sweden pays generously when you find yourself out of work. But if you are still out of work after 2 years - you get nothing.

corner of hells

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

that looks like you saying most to me.

Damn you.... Damn you to hell ruining a good thread .

FelaniaMump

topper75 wrote: »

My point, and I admit I probably didn't make it directly enough, is that you can tax me for a fairer society or you can ask me to contribute charitably to people directly in the street/agencies working for those in the street.

But don't ask me to do both. Because that is just taking the urine out of people.

Gosh, really? Many of us do both, gladly. You can choose not to, of course, but calling yourself a hero for paying your legally owed taxes that only really benefit yourself anyway while doing so is a little much, don't you think?

This "I pay my tax so its taking the piss out of me asking me to donate to charity" stance, not very heroic, I think even you have to agree...

mikemac2

Some people in Ireland starved to death in the 1920's. It was hushed up as it would be an international embarrassment for the Free State to be shown as so incompetent.

Top man Fin Dwyer has a good article on it
https://irishhistorypodcast.ie/1925-irelands-forgotten-famine/

Minster for Finance Ernst Blythe went down in history as the man who cut the old age pension

In 20 years nobody will remember Paschal Donohue but Blythe gets into school books. Well at least he did when I did the leaving cert and I'm not that old

Paddy Cow

FelaniaMump wrote: »

Gosh, really? Many of us do both, gladly. You can choose not to, of course, but calling yourself a hero for paying your legally owed taxes that only really benefit yourself anyway while doing so is a little much, don't you think?

This "I pay my tax so its taking the piss out of me asking me to donate to charity" stance, not very heroic, I think even you have to agree...

In an earlier post he eluded to Victorian times where people either worked or starved. In this day and age we have social protection, which people pay for out of their taxes. He wasn't saying that he is a hero for paying taxes. It may have been poorly constructed but I can see his point - if you pay taxes, you shouldn't have to feel like you have to donate to the homeless.

Some people do get a hero complex out of helping the homeless - there's numerous videos on Youtube and humblebragging posts on facebook from people who video themselves helping someone out. No I'm not going to post links because there something I've come across but don't save to my computer in case I need them in an online discussion. But they do exist.

In the beginning of this discussion I was with you as I agreed with you that homeless people don't have a residence so I questioned how they would get social welfare. Someone posted that they could register at a hostel. You kept repeating that they would be too mentally ill/alcohol dependant to get their post at a fixed address.

After numerous posts you said that you work with homeless so I couldn't understand why you were dragging out the argument when you have first hand experience. You kept asking what payment an alcoholic could receive. Even I, with no real experience knows that it would be disability.

I honestly don't get where you are coming from. You say you have first hand experience of working with homeless people and as such you could educate people like me. I freely admit I don't understand the complexity of it. I gave my 2cent and was open to correction. This thread is an opportunity for you to tell everyone how hard homeless people actually struggle on a day to day basis but so far all I've seen is someone sniping at other posts and looking for an argument.

skooterblue2

yourdeadwright wrote: »

The may not die from hunger but lack of good food certainly can contribute deaths of homeless people ,

Its not rocket science , if you took two men with homes and had one eating healthy food every day and one eating what the homeless eat who do you think will live longer ?

Another aspect of it, is that you much more calories a day to survive. You are out in the element with no quality sleep (to rest the liver) and you must keep mobile and warm. Whatever mental health problems homeless people have they are exacerbated by these extra strains. I wouldn't wish these conditions on my worst enemy. It makes them more cranky, depressed and argumentative.

topper75

FelaniaMump wrote: »

Gosh, really? Many of us do both, gladly. You can choose not to, of course, but calling yourself a hero for paying your legally owed taxes that only really benefit yourself anyway while doing so is a little much, don't you think?

This "I pay my tax so its taking the piss out of me asking me to donate to charity" stance, not very heroic, I think even you have to agree...

So any answer to my question? I'll try again - what in particular is wrong with the social welfare system here that we also have to buy food for people?

Fiftyfilthy

Graces7 wrote: »

Many refuse to sleep in the hostels because of drug use therein. They are not always safe places.

Nonsense. The majority if not all homeless people on the actual streets are addicts themselves. They use this excuse to gain more sympathy but the real reason they dont want to stay in hostels are:

They are convicted child molesters (high % on the streets)
They owe people money
They are banned as they shoot up on the premises

Remember the "nice" guy from appollo house who claimed to live on the streets as it was safer than the drug taking hostels?

Convicted paedo, aids spreader and drug taker.

Yet the liberals will believe anything........

Fiftyfilthy

FelaniaMump wrote: »

It's difficult if not impossible to claim regular social welfare payments if you do not have an address, or a bank account, or the mental capability to understand and follow the rules of claiming.
What social welfare payment do you think a mentally ill alcoholic who sleeps under a bridge can claim exactly? And how would they do it?

They can and do. Can claim from the GPO , merchants quay

Harry Palmr

Oh look, here's response to the OPs call.