Hobos Afloat

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

So we end up with the f&%ktard in the article high on crack, living right next door to anyone's grandparents, shooting arrows at them.

You know I told you a week ago while we sailing to give the gang kids down the block $20 to break the guys knees!

I can not help if you are going to ignore my advise.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Don L

You know I told you a week ago while we sailing to give the gang kids down the block $20 to break the guys knees!

I can not help if you are going to ignore my advise.

Didn't know you were THAT kind of Don!

[Kenomac]

Don L,

It looks like we're going to be boat bum neighbors in Salem Harbor beginning next April. I'm looking forward to it. Had a great time!

Ken

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by minaret

Didn't know you were THAT kind of Don!

You are right, I told him to give the $20 to me and I would do it myself.

[captain58sailin]

Well in the next year, I'll be cutting the lines and becoming one of "them". I won't be anchored indefinitely in some area, but will have no visible means of income. I have paid school taxes all of my adult life, yet never had a child in school. And from what I have seen produced by that system, I should be getting a refund check. It has been interesting to read all the different opinions here. I'll be happy when I finally earn enough to become a bum.

[zeehag]

i have been here in mexico 2 years now, plus a coupla months----the worst derelict boats i have seen have been in marinas, left there by gringos who couldnt hack it.
some folks here sleep on the beach --is hard to tell who is and is not with money. no one gives a damn. is awesome here.
i may remain here a tad longer as i am finding the best repairs here in mainland tropical mexico.

[Sylenos]

OH PLEASE. I haven't read the entire 21 pages of this thread, and I realize it is a bit old, but I will comment on this anyhow since I have seen more than a few people in the early pages assuming government handouts make everything roses and rainbows for the homeless.

For one thing... that "government assistance" has so many freaking hoops to jump through, a HUGE percentage of people that actually NEED the assistance are turned away or have so many underlying restrictions that it is simply easier to just stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign and beg for enough cash to get supper or fuel for a vehicle to get somewhere else so the cops stop hassling them for random reasons. Those that DO get govt assistance usually have a load of children - and they have those children to get the assistance. You get more $$ from the state if you have more children, up to 6 in this state I believe, it may be 4, but still more kids = more money. Single person, under the age of 30, with a disability? You're screwed. I can only imagine how insanely annoying it must be for seniors in the same situation.

Food stamps, ok, another "help" from the government, but if you get any other type of assistance, depending on your state, you might end up with a whopping $16 in food stamps - or less. I knew a lady in California that got $3 and some change in food stamps every month. Yay, she can buy a box of ramen noodles!

Disability is another, and it varies largely from state to state. Around here the "average" can be anywhere from $700 to $914 a month. That's much less than I used to make in a weeks work prior to my company outsourcing to Mexico and putting over 5,000 people out of a dang good job, just after Christmas, in the same area of the state. Those people were like a herd of cattle all trying for any available job. The bigger fish made it, the smaller fish ended up in situations they didn't want to end up in.

Some states also have "financial aid" in general, which is a ONE TIME monetary assistance which can vary in how much you get, depending on what it may be for. Usually they only accept applications on that if you need to make an emergency payment on electric bills before it gets shut off - approval is largely decided by your individual case worker when you apply. If you need to buy a small used $600 lunker of a car to get back and forth to job interviews? Good luck getting approved, they consider that a non-necessity. You'd have better luck stealing a cow and riding it back and forth.

Here's a little task for those of you looking down on the homeless/hobos/bums, whatever you choose to call people down on their luck. Do some REAL research on the availability of rental places - pick a state, any state; apartments, trailers, small houses, even motel rooms... and tell me how many you find that would work for someone on a low fixed monthly income.
Be sure to take into account whether or not they have deposits (first and last months rent), electricity included or not (any elec deposits?), what about water, sewage, etc. Don't forget to take into account the cost of a persons food, usually bought for an entire month at once since they usually only get one monthly payment from the government. As well as fuel to get to/from the store, or some cash for a taxi, city bus tickets or some cash for a friend to freight your ass out there.
Oh, and be sure the rental places even accept government funds as a valid form of income for monthly rent - some places DO NOT consider it a valid income and will NOT take a renters chance on you. They want cash or money orders, and most forms of government assistance do not allow you to withdraw cash in large amounts from ATMs. You have to use a govt issued little plastic card which, depending on where you go, may or may not be considered a credit card to be used for purchasing money orders.

It is seriously not as easy as you may think. Hence why vehicles bounce around from Wal-Mart parking lot to Wal-Mart parking lot. Why RV's end up in any available place they can find. And why people end up living aboard on boats you high society beach-home owners or fancy s/v or yacht owners look down on as trashing up your fancy views/neighborhoods.

It's very easy to be sitting on your high horse thinking how easy it must be to live on hand-outs from the government. "Oh boy, those people must have a damn good and easy life. Don't even have to work for a single thing. What lazy worthless moochers they are." BS.
You have no clue until you have been there... or are currently there... or in my case, have very recently climbed out of that hole.

I do not speak for ALL homeless. However, I do NOT think you should lump ALL homeless in together as worthless members of society, that get drunk and drugged up every chance they get. A very large number of them have never touched drugs, do not get drunk, and would jump on pretty much any job that may be offered to them in an attempt to get out of the situation they are currently in.

[nosinglesource]

Originally Posted by minaret

I think equating a persons ability to pay taxes with their right (or the lack thereof) to be on the water is nuts. The government does not own the land or water, much as they like to believe they do. Nobody does. I pay loads of taxes, and I'm perfectly happy to share my space with whoever, as long as they aren't mucking it up. And I don't need authorities to enforce that for me, I'm perfectly capable of speaking my own mind.


In the last couple of months I've given a homeless man a job, taught him a trade, helped him buy a boat and fix it up, found him a live aboard slip for cheap, taught him to sail, etc. Another homeless guy off the streets. I've done it many times before and will again. Sometimes it sticks, sometimes it doesnt. Im pretty good at picking them. This country needs way more advocacy for the homeless, we are much too affluent a nation to have the problems we do. I have an informal sailing program for homeless vets as well, a close friend who has been homeless off and on for the last twenty years introduces me to candidates from his VA housing. Took him twenty years of hassle to begin to get his due from the VA. Shameful how we treat our vets. So many are on the streets.

You're a good guy, Minaret.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Sylenos

A very large number of them have never touched drugs, do not get drunk, and would jump on pretty much any job that may be offered to them in an attempt to get out of the situation they are currently in.

Welcome to CF.

Thanks for your input and congratulations on "pulling yourself out".

I would only disagree slightly saying that while I agree it is a large number I do not agree that it is a large percentage.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Sylenos

A very large number of them have never touched drugs, do not get drunk, and would jump on pretty much any job that may be offered to them in an attempt to get out of the situation they are currently in.

To be fair, not everyone on CF comes from the USA - lots of places around the world with very different attitudes to the unemployed / homeless etc.

Over here pretty much accepted that some will always "game" the system - but also accepted as completely stupid to write a social support system for everyone around the minority of f#ckwits......that only makes sense if the real objective is to provide SFA for everyone who needs help as some sort of political / moral / religious crusade .

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Over here pretty much accepted that some will always "game" the system - but also accepted as completely stupid to write a social support system for everyone around the minority of f#ckwits......that only makes sense if the real objective is to provide SFA for everyone who needs help as some sort of political / moral / religious crusade .

I tried to google that and got;

Acronym Definition
SFA Super Furry Animals (Welsh band)
SFA Office of Student Financial Assistance (US Department of Education)
SFA Société Française des Antioxydants (French: French Society of Antioxidants; Paris, France)
SFA Sciences Fondamentales et Appliquées (French: Fundamental and Applied Sciences; various universities)
SFA Student / Farmworker Alliance
SFA Société Française d'Acoustique (French: French Acoustical Society; est. 1948)
SFA Société Française d'Alcoologie (French: French Society of Alcoholism; est. 1978)
SFA Syndicat Français des Artistes Interprètes (French: French Union of Performance Artists; est. 1958)
SFA Sweet Fanny Adams
SFA Société Française d'Arthroscopie (French: French Society of Arthroscopy)
SFA Société Française d'Arboriculture (French: French Society of Arboriculture; est. 1997)
SFA Secrétariat Franco-Allemand (French: Franco-German Secretariat; young professionals training)
SFA Société Française des Architectes (French: French Society of Architects; Paris, France)
SFA Survey Feedback Action
SFA Strong-Field Approximation
SFA Support Forces Antarctica
SFA Sfax, Tunisia - Sfax Airport (Airport Code)
SFA Silica Fume Association
SFA Small Fine Arm
SFA Seminal Fluid Analysis
SFA Saskatchewan Forestry Association
SFA Spectral Flame Analyzers
SFA Society of Filipino Archivists
SFA Service Factor Amps (motor rating)
SFA Security Fault Analysis
SFA Scholarship Fund of Alexandria
SFA Société Française d'Aquarelle (French: French Watercolor Society; est. 2003)
SFA Saskatchewan Fencing Association
SFA Sweep Frequency Analyzer
SFA Southeastern Fisheries Association, Inc.
SFA Support Facility Annex (US Army)
SFA Single Failure Analysis
SFA Slime Forest Adventure computer game)
SFA Substance-Field Analysis
SFA Software Fault Analysis
SFA Special Foreign Activities
SFA Stetson Futbol Association (DeLand, Florida)
SFA Standard Fuel Assembly
SFA Stature-For-Age
SFA Spectral Flame Analyzer
SFA Syndicated Facility Agreement
SFA Set Functional Address
SFA Sachs Freeman and Associates
SFA Salary, Fringe and Associates
SFA Sweet Freak All (polite form)
SFA Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (Canada)
SFA Scandinavian Festival Association (Junction City, OR)
SFA Student Financial Assistance (universities)
SFA Sales Force Analysis
SFA Success Factor Analysis
SFA Space Flight Awareness (NASA)
SFA Success For All (educational foundation)
SFA Southern Foodways Alliance
SFA Sales Force Automation
SFA Scottish Football Association
SFA Scottish Friendly Assurance
SFA Search For Assistance
SFA Securities and Futures Authority
SFA StarFleet Academy (Star Trek)
SFA State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois)
SFA Street Fighter Alpha (game)
SFA Stuttering Foundation of America
SFA Special Forces Association
SFA Standard Form of Agreement (Royal Institute of British Architects)
SFA Saks Fifth Avenue (department store)
SFA Strategic Fund Adviser (USAA)
SFA Security Force Assistance
SFA Stands for Anything (band)
SFA State Fund Agriculture (Bulgaria)
SFA Scouting for All (Petaluma, CA)
SFA Senior Field Agent
SFA Society for the Arts (Phoenix, AZ)
SFA Steel Framing Alliance
SFA Super Furry Animals (Welsh rock band)
SFA Star Fox Assault (Gamecube game)
SFA Starved for Attention
SFA Stephen F. Austin State University (Texas)
SFA Science Fiction Association (various organizations)
SFA Section of Fine Arts
SFA Scientific Atlanta, Inc. (stock symbol)
SFA Safety First Aid (various locations)
SFA Saturated Fatty Acid
SFA Small Firms Association (Ireland)
SFA Stochastic Frontier Analysis (economics)
SFA Superior First Aid (Anarchy Online gaming)
SFA Single Frequency Approach
SFA Senior Fiscal Analyst
SFA Skills Funding Agency
SFA Society of Financial Analysts (various locations)
SFA State Forestry Administration
SFA Six Flags America
SFA Snack Food Association
SFA Solid Front Axle
SFA Superficial Femoral Artery
SFA Standard First Aid (certification)
SFA Segmented Flow Analysis
SFA Star Fox Adventures (video game)

Submit a new definition.
Add new acronym

Maybe you could add a definition for me - or find an appropriate emoticon.

[Travelnik]

Usually:
SFA Sweet Freak All (but not the polite form)
or
SFA Sweet Fanny Adams (same thing, more polite)

[o_q]

Originally Posted by markpierce

A bit of soap and scrubbing will clean their boats. They're just to darned lazy.

All the calories they lose cleaning must be replenished with food they can't buy.

[o_q]

Originally Posted by minaret

The government does not own the land or water, much as they like to believe they do.

in some places, the government does own the land despite you owning property on it.

[nosinglesource]

To people in Canada (or the States? Not sure how it works there..) who *think* they own their land, and yes, I have been known to refer to myself as a "landowner", I am fond of saying, "You think you own your land? Stop paying your property taxes and see how long you still think so.."