WV Holds Highest Chronic Homelessness inA Nation - WBOY-TV

This just took me by surprise. I would have thought we had one of the lowest in the country.

I don't like to call them homeless. Most of them choose this life, They should be called "Urban Outdoorsmen."

URBAN OUTDOORSMEN? is that like being an economic vegetarian?(can't afford to eat meat?.. As usual razor, quick and good. Keep amilin :)

We're all homeless every time we leave our house, lol. I didn't think we had many either. You are right Razor sadly...First time I ever 'encountered' a homeless person was back when Wendy's in town had a salad bar. We were sitting there eating 1 night when a homeless man came in begging for change from everyone so he could buy a hamburger. The manager came out and tried to force him to leave. A group of teenagers were sitting there eating, and they were nice enough to put together there money so they could buy the man a hamburger of his choice. He kept refusing this...saying he wanted McDonalds instead. They said they wouldn't give him money but they would buy the food for him. They bought the burger, gave it to him, he said Thank you and left. Shortly later we decided to leave, and right outside the door was the hamburger thrown on the ground untouched. I learned at that point that most people choose to live that way and let there addictions control there actions. Ever since then I've held no remorse for the homeless. Hard thing to witness for the first time being so young.

I have tried to personally help many homeless people get back on the right track. 90% of the time I have been disappointed by their reaction, and they have ended up right back where they started.

You must have more patience than me Razor. You are a kind soul.

We also have to consider the issues with the dilapidated homes in wv which cause individuals who are trying to get help with housing to be on a waiting list for months on end. Sometimes the list is so long that their situation changes were they are homeless or jobless and can not be found to be put into adequate housing. Or when found they have no job to pay the landlord their portion and that causes issues which stops them from getting a contract signed.

"Chronic homelessness is long-term or repeated homelessness of a person with a disability. Many chronically homeless people have a serious mental illness like schizophrenia and/or alcohol or drug addiction. Most people who experience chronic homelessness have been in treatment programs, sometimes on dozens of occasions."

"The vast majority of people who experience chronic homelessness interact with multiple service systems, providing an opportunity to prevent their homelessness in the first place. Promising prevention strategies focus on people who are leaving hospitals, psychiatric facilities, substance abuse treatment programs, prisons, and jails."

"Rural Homelessness
Many people think of homelessness as strictly an urban phenomenon because homeless people are greater in number and are more visible in urban areas, but homelessness is pervasive in rural areas. The number of people who experience rural homelessness is unknown, but the last national count of homeless people found that 9 percent of homeless people live in rural areas"

That is on National Alliance to End Homelessness website.. I thought I'd post it just so people can see the categories of homelessness.

I have to agree with razor in that some are homeless because they choose to be. It's a lifestyle for them that they are comfortable with. I never understood that.

There are a lot of people here in Doddridge live in what most wouldn't even call a hunting cabin, no plumbing and an outhouse. Most of us would consider that homeless by our standards of living. The people I know that live that way, do it by choice.

Homeless people looking for help from HUD will often be turned down for numerous reasons. HUD employees in Clarksburg, WV do not need a good reason to turn down homeless people from receiving help with homelessness. Also, Clarksburg DHHR rarely helps people who apply for rent assistance even though funds are available. The government continues to be oppressive rather than compassionate toward the homeless. DHHR would rather justify reasons for removing children from good homes than to help homeless people to survive the ravages of winter.

i think we should round up the homeless and turn them into slaves. you know, make them wash our cars, clean our houses, rub our feet after a long day at work....but maybe not cook our food. we can put them on leashes and lead them around like pets and be cool. we can auction them off in front of the court house and use the money to build bridges and highways and schools for our youth. i think this would cure the homeless problem in west virginia.

We make our life what it is, it is called a choice. These people choose to be homeless, you can not help people who don't want help.

Hey Hermann you sound like my ex wife and in laws with statements like this ? what gives ! why waste the time to buy the leash and feed them ? just shoot them and toss them in a ditch !!

we are all one paycheck away from homelessness,because of voting practices over the last 30 years!

son, i am half a paycheck away from homelessness at this point. viva america!

hermann wrote:

i think we should round up the homeless and turn them into slaves. you know, make them wash our cars, clean our houses, rub our feet after a long day at work....but maybe not cook our food. we can put them on leashes and lead them around like pets and be cool. we can auction them off in front of the court house and use the money to build bridges and highways and schools for our youth. i think this would cure the homeless problem in west virginia.

One word describes this post....epic. I was laughing out loud.

we could also fly in a bunch of army surplus quonset huts and set them out on saltwell road. we will stack the formerly-homeless up in them, and they can live to serve the every whim of the upper-class charlespointers. we will bring in robert guillaume to train them all in the finer points of bridgeport suburbian etiquette and butlery. if there ever happens to be a formerly-homeless uprising, the fbi center is right there to pull another waco on their collective asses.

OUR we could just drop them off on James street and Columbia street in West union and then send them to Central Station to get there DRUGS and if they get busted before they get back to west union then they dont have to transport them that far to reginal jail just a few feet away ??or why not clean them up and send them to IRAQ ??

In response to your comment Hermann that you think homeless people should be slaves, you are a joke and need to be homeless for awhile and see if you might learn to keep your trap shut. You have no ethics or soul. You will probably be a homeless person held on a leash in your next life. Karma has a funny way of catching up to you.

John Smith, although I don't find those other posters and their comments amusing, I do think they were making a feeble attempt at humor. Very feeble. And yes I do believe in Karma and you are right.

The nurse that posted had tried to be helpful and express the many different reasons for homelessness but no one even commented, which means they didn't even look at her suggested reading.

The reasons for being homeless are vast, and every reason is sad, and not a point of attempted humor.