I’m about to voice a rather loud and perhaps offensive-to-some opinion. I apologize if this post hurts any feelings, and by all means feel free to enlighten me if you have an opposing point of view (but please note, if you can’t keep it civil, I’ll just delete it so why bother being nasty?).
Today a friend’s daughter and her baby checked in to a homeless shelter. Now, ordinarily my heart would be breaking for this young woman and her baby. I would offer her space in my home to camp out. But, well, not this time because she WANTS to stay at the shelter. In this instance the young woman opted to move out of her mother’s home and into a shelter, calling it, “a good opportunity for,” her and for her baby.
Say what?
In what alternate reality is a homeless shelter viewed as a good opportunity? Unless you’re living in horrendous conditions, such as on the street or in a home where you’re being mistreated, a homeless shelter shouldn’t be considered a step up.
This brat isn’t being mistreated. She wasn’t thrown out onto the street, either, and her mother claims to be an advocate for the homeless. By all intents and purposes, this child grew up sheltered and spoiled, but apparently there is a program in place that if you’re “homeless” for a span of time, the state will help you move into an apartment of your own. So, basically she is stealing two beds from the shelter and using this as a means to better her situation. I mean, who wouldn’t love a brand new apartment on state dollars? And to hell with the battered women/children who literally have nothing, nowhere and no one – first come, first served, right? Let ‘em sleep in the snow, because this girl WILL get her new place.
I can’t help but hope that my tax dollars might be spent on people who actually need it, but this sure isn’t setting my mind at ease.
I guess my vision of what homeless means is different than some. I believe that if you have a family who loves you and is willing to let you stay with them, you aren’t exactly the lady pushing a shopping cart full of all her worldly possessions down Colfax. I believe that if you’re texting all your newfound “homeless” status updates on Facebook with your f*cking iPhone, you’re not “needy.” I believe that you don’t take shelter space from someone who really is in need simply because you’re too lazy/stupid/self-entitled to even try to get an actual job.
