Americas malls of shame

I am commenting on an article that appears in todays cnn.com link http://www.cnn.com/... if John Edwards' only price for his endorsement of presumptive Democratic nominee Obama was to arrange a tour of poor areas for his campaign, then I believe Obama should be thanking him.    I present this issue for discussion, and the homeless women in this article and in their cars tonight for everyone to burn into their souls.

I read this article today in CNN.com and it literally broke my heart.  I cannot read it without tears streaming down my face.  link http://www.cnn.com/...

This woman works at a local mall. Apparently many other workers at this and other area malls call the area parking lots home.

I would LOVE to see Barack go to these poor, homeless, hard working single women and lift them up and give them hope.  (Excerpt)

(Barbara) Harvey now works part time for $8 an hour, and she draws Social Security to help make ends meet. But she still cannot afford an apartment, and so every night she pulls into a gated parking lot to sleep in her car, along with other women who find themselves in a similar predicament.  Watch women who live in their cars »

There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness...

Not in our country, please dear Americans, let's stop this now.  My soul weeps.

I live in Wisconsin.  Is there anyway someone from the Obama camp could reach out and give hope to these and other poor souls?  This is a tailor made opportunity to connect with the folks on the margin, and a supportive gesture could go a long ways to a group of folks that Obama has a 'media' problem with at the very least.

Peace to you all.

•  tips for the homeless

  by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:43:16 PM PDT

  •  The homeless also have problems

    trying to vote if they are so inclined.

    by snackdoodle on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:44:37 PM PDT

•  I saw this woman in a story

  on TV--I haven't been able to shake her from my mind.  It is heartbreaking and so many of us are not that far from where these women are.  She didn't want to give up her dogs and that makes it harder to find shelter.  

  by PoliSigh on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:47:51 PM PDT

  •  I saw the same story, they indicated her daughter

    had to find a place with friends. The mother was living in her car with two dogs.

    My question is, why not move to an area with lower rents and other possible job opportunities?  She has a base SS check each month, but rents in her area start at $1600 a month for a studio.

    She works part-time for $8.00 an hour.  She worked as a notary on mortgage loans before that fell apart.  If the daughter is working, why aren't they working together to find a place?

    I just had a lot of questions.  I make decent money for where I live, but would not be able to start to live in sunny southern cal without a big pay increase. There just has to be more to the story.

    by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:53:23 PM PDT

    •  She is likely holding on to the job she has

      It is extremely difficult to apply for a job elsewhere if you have no address and no phone

      by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:56:02 PM PDT

      •  It surprises me even on Dkos that some people

        have a hard time rationalizing homelessness. I had an diary on my homeless brother and I got a kossack questioning my brothers real problems.  

        Kossacks, accept that there are homeless in America and it is not their fault

        by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:59:25 PM PDT

        •  A slow slide down, an impossible climb back up

          You don't just wake up one day homeless. You missed some work because of illness, so your check is a bit short so you can't quite make the rent. Next week you get some overtime, but it isn't enough to cover the balance of rent and the late fees. The next week your hours are actually reduced so your check is smaller than usual. And the car breaks down. Eventually you are homeless.

          Now, getting back up out of that situation: You'll need first and last month's rent plus deposit.  Fees to start up utilities. Meanwhile you have to keep the car going - now it's your home as well as your transportation. You aren't paying rent and utility bills; but you also can't buy and prepare economical meals. You aren't sleeping well, and your grooming deteriorates. The supervisor isn't picking you for the plum assignments or the overtime anymore.

          by Catte Nappe on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:25:18 PM PDT

          •  Your comment gave me chills

            you described it perfectly. Thank you.

            by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:40:12 PM PDT

            •  I have the mixed blessing

              Of having had a career working with low income families and homeless individuals. The "bad" is seeing some of the situations people end up in, despite their best efforts. The "good" is sometimes being able to help do something about it.

              by Catte Nappe on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:51:22 PM PDT

        •  Homeless?Understand? I'm from New Orleans!

          I sympathize with the homeless.... We've BEEN THERE...and the lady who couldn't take her dogs... God We've all been there too(Katrina victims)

          But, unfortunatley--- ravaged New Orleans is forgotten as well.

          Btw, my first support went to Edwards (because of his genuine wife, Elizabeth)... then to Hillary-- then to Obama... (never could vote- because I was an Independent in a closed primary...but I just registered Democrat-- after all these years)

          Now it's Democratic ticket all the way-- no matter who Obama picks.

          by KjunLady on Sun May 25, 2008 at 12:30:18 PM PDT

      •  Its extremely difficult to do a number of things

        like get Food Stamps. Virtually all social programs require an address to get.

        by snackdoodle on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:02:08 PM PDT

      •  True, but do they have any extended family

        elsewhere that might be able to help with housing for the short haul?

        It doesn't sound like the woman is without skills or has some deep-seated problems that would preclude her from getting a job, she just lives in the very high-rent district.

        by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:04:05 PM PDT

        •  Importer, I gotta call you on this stuff

          Why don't you talk to her, and any number of other women in the 12 TWELVE other parking lots that have been set up to handle this human crisis. Obviously, speculating about why she should have done this or that is just bullshit so you don't have to face the truth-IT SUCKS TO BE WORKING POOR .

          You try to give something up with the fear of losing what little you have.  It's real.  And try growing a heart.  Why hammer the people who have nothing?  

          by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:10:21 PM PDT

          •  I'm not hammering anyone. I have been left

            holding the bag more than once and had to make some big lurching changes in my life to survive.  

            I'm trying to suggest that trying to live in Santa Barbara on a part-time $8.00 an hour job is going to get you nowhere. If a person has to move to start providing themselves with a home, then that's kind of what they have to do.  Having a 7-800 a month SS check is better than nothing and could help her to get somewhere.

            IT SUCKS TO BE WORKING POOR

            It does suck, so why wouldn't you do anything and everything you could to change that.  She wasn't one of the "working poor", she had a decent job that she lost and then subsequently lost her home.

            If she is paralyzed by fear, then she will stay in her parking lot.  It is not heartless to hope people can improve their condition.  What is heartless is to just accept that life sucks and that's the way it's always going to be.

            by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:26:40 PM PDT

            •  you make it sound so easy

              Please see my comment below.

              by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:29:47 PM PDT

            •  Do you think she gets 700-800?

              Try 125-200 a month.  I work with folks all the time on SSI.  The perception is they get all this money, and the reality is so much different.  I'm sure I'd win a bet on the amount.  Any change in her delicate balance is tantamount to losing her car, then on the streets.

              I always assume that when multiple (remember there are 12 parking lots full of these folks) people have fallen on hard times, that they pretty much have thought of everything possible. Picture yourself with a megaphone announcing to all these people "Hey everyone, Santa Barbara is a very costly place to live.  Why don't you move somewhere else and work?"  Would you expect the lots to start clearing out?

              by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:36:21 PM PDT

              •  They said in the story that she got 7-800 a month

                in Social Security, not SSI.  I didn't catch the exact amount but it was right in there, which would pay for housing in other areas.

                She has an address or a bank account to receive her money.  

                by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:40:32 PM PDT

                •  The story never said that, no amount was given

                  You should ask yourself why you cannot give this a rest?  In your heart, can you accept that people struggle and can come up short?  Picture yourself in her shoes.  

                  by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:44:57 PM PDT

                  •  The video on CNN indicated she got

                    that amount and also quoted the price of a studio apartment at $1600.

                    It may not say it in the article you posted, but what I saw was probably an extended story.

                    I didn't know I was required to give this a rest.  I thought that commenting on dairies was not limited to what some people want to hear.

                    Picture yourself in her shoes.

                    I've been in her shoes and at the time I didn't even have a car to get out of town.  So stop with the judgemental crap. I'm not talking in the hypothetical, I'm talking real life.

                    Sorry if I didn't just add my "oh it's so sad, life sucks" comment.  I thought you might actually be looking for answers.

                    by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:11:36 PM PDT

                    •  Alright, where's the damn answers?

                      You're one of the people who likes to give the homeless ten tons of shit, and then your solution is something so fucking obvious a turd could figure out.  So what's your plan? Ha. Move.  Thanks Einstein.  All you want to do is pick fights and bitch.

                      by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:20:15 PM PDT

                      •  I am close to HRing this, realwischeese...

                        ... no need to debase the conversation with the namecalling.

                        importer is asking the questions Mainstream America asks when they read a story like this... why not answer with information rather than "you heartless SOB, how would you like it if..."

                        importer might not have thought about the following: Perhaps her car would not make a long trip reliably, there may not be "safe" parking lot facilities in other (less-expensive) cities, not everyone has family resources, someone already brought up not having an address to use in applying for a new job elsewhere and having to save up for moving expenses...

                        Calm down... you done good with the diary, don't ruin it by attacking well-intentioned commenters please ;-)

                        by highacidity on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:32:58 PM PDT

                        •  name calling?

                          I called him Einstein, and I used fucking in a descriptive way to show the strength of my comment. Turd? That's a lot more tame than calling someone a 'heartless SOB'.  If you read my other post to the writer, I tried to calm him down. After my positive post, he came back spewing nonsense, and that's when I hit back.  I turn my cheeks plenty, but I will defend my positions with gusto.  I will not back off my comments and I think you are way over the top- heavy handed even considering hring this.  

                          by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:48:21 PM PDT

                        •  highacidity, please read on...

                          The commenter, importer, does not appear to be well intentioned at all...spoiling for a fight is more like it.

                          by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:50:09 PM PDT

                          •  Then no need to fan the flames further...

                            ... there is way too much of that the last couple of months, hence my sensitivity to it perhaps.

                            A coldly polite "thanks but no thanks for the fruitless argument" would suffice when getting to the point of ridiculousness... or even better, a comment like realwischeese made later (the one she/he quotes in reply below).

                            Thank you for trying to help, I appreciate that, and all is well...

                            by highacidity on Tue May 20, 2008 at 03:08:45 PM PDT

                        •  Here's the comment

                          This is only down the page a few comments.  I tried to make peace with him and he was not having it.

                          Easy now, I applaud you (0+ / 0-)
                          Typing can take an attitude of its own.  I'm sure it would be differet if we were sharing a pitcher of beer or discussing it over a meal.  

                          Cheers importer!

                          I think you owe me an apology, highacidity.

                          by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:55:35 PM PDT

                          •  Thank you for bringing that up...

                            ... glad to see you calmed down... the quoted comment is light years better than the one I cited earlier.

                            Maybe more people will see the truth about what is happening all around us because of you bringing this report to our attention.

                            I didn't HR you, I was only trying to warn you about what I percieved... so I am sorry it was taken as more than I meant. Around here, this isn't considered heavy-handed, believe me, heh.

                            Welcome to the site, and please keep on posting diaries like this one.

                            by highacidity on Tue May 20, 2008 at 03:05:56 PM PDT

                            •  Perhaps you should warn importer

                              about name calling:

                              It has happened to me, dimwit.....

                              please see below...

                              by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 03:11:23 PM PDT

        •  many people do not have that

          safety net.  Especially if they have two large dogs--DO NOT tell me she should dump the dogs.  

          Sometimes when you are in the middle of a situation, it is hard to find your way out.  There are some programs trying to help, but they are so limited.  Public/low income housing waits are 1-2 years--even here in NH, the wait time is similar.  Communities have blocked low income housing for many years--and the Fed hasn't really given a shit about low income people either.

          by PoliSigh on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:14:11 PM PDT

          •  Once my Mom dies, I have no extended family

            for a couple of thousand miles.

            by PoliSigh on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:16:21 PM PDT

        •  Importer...

          You are obviously in a circumstance that you feel her circumstance could never happen to you or that you cannot imagine such a thing happening to you.

          But you know, that is not the point, really...whether it could ever happen to you.

          The point is that it is happening to others, our neighbors, our fellow citizens  and they need our help...they need a helping hand.

          Trying to beg off of this problem by saying that these people are somehow deserving of the circumstance they are in or that 'they did it to themselves by bad or faulty judgement' is a cop-out...an excuse to not help.

          by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:18:34 PM PDT

          •  It has happened to me, dimwit.....

            what the hell makes you think that I haven't faced some crisis in my life?

            The point is that it is happening to others, our neighbors, our fellow citizens  and they need our help...they need a helping hand.

            So easy to sit hear at your keyboard and bemoan what's going on to people you have never met. This is the sorryiest kind of sympathy.  The easy kind.  

            Trying to beg off of this problem by saying that these people are somehow deserving of the circumstance they are in or that 'they did it to themselves by bad or faulty judgement' is a cop-out...an excuse to not help.

            I have never said this, nor would I.  The fact is YOU are not going to help them, they are going to have to help themselves.  There may by some agency, some church group, some family, some somebody to give them a leg up, but it's not going to be YOU.

            THEY are going to have to figure out a way out of their problems.  YOU aren't going to do it for them.

            by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:32:05 PM PDT

            •  Their problems are our problems

              we are responsible to and for one another.

              Apparently I touched a nerve, but calling people names is not necessary.

              ...And I am helping in my community...I have hired people, housed people and donated to people in time of need...so thy could regain their strength and dignity...so they could re-establish themselves.

              by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:38:49 PM PDT

              •  I think so trinityfly, a nerve is touched

                I hope many people will confront this in their minds.  I only wish to shout it to the attention of all, and I do not wish to put anyone off their comments, because I beleive all people will care.  Once they embrace their fears, and accept the hopeless as my family, your family, our family.

                Thank you and peace to you trinityfly

                by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:48:42 PM PDT

                •  Thanks for posting the diary

                  about this so exponentially pressing problem.  The numbers are really growing in our area.  The families with children living in the campgrounds with the toys outside the tents...

                  And I don't think it will get any better without people really addressing the problems.  Our community is really helping...but we are a rural people who have always tried to help each other when necessary.

                  I don't understand those who can look away.

                  by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:54:40 PM PDT

              •  And I help in my area.....

                Do you want a medal for your efforts?  I don't happen to live any where near Santa Barbara, but somebody does who could get off their dead ass and do something besides offer these people a parking lot to live in.  The city government could do a lot more than that if they chose to.  Sound to me like they are far more interested in camoflaging the problem rather than solving it.

                You touched a nerve because you decided to dive in and make a number of unwarranted assumptions about me and my life and also credited me with comments I didn't make.  I find that rather dimwitted.

                I also find that attacking me when I'm trying to be constructive is counterproductive.  What is your problem with someone trying to suggest alternatives to the status quo?  That doesn't make me hard-hearted, it makes me solution oriented.

                by importer on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:55:04 PM PDT

                •  I'm glad you help in your area.

                  by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:56:25 PM PDT

                •  Easy now, I applaud you

                  Typing can take an attitude of its own.  I'm sure it would be differet if we were sharing a pitcher of beer or discussing it over a meal.  

                  Cheers importer!

                  by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:58:42 PM PDT

    •  I think this quote speaks volumes..

      There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness...

      I am pretty hard hearted at times, but for god sake, when they are opening 12 parking lots?  

      by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:56:34 PM PDT

      •  Santa Barbara

        Living Wage

        And actually I'm very surprised it's not much higher. Santa Barbara has to be one of the most expensive communities in the country.

        by Catte Nappe on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:04:03 PM PDT

•  I, too, read this article

  Middle class people, older women...heartbreaking and horrifying....and she keeps her best friends with her.

  I was glad to see that Santa Barbara has a program where the people are allowed to park in safe places at night.  Many cities do not have any programs and people are rousted and forced to move their cars multiple times during the night.

  Our local churches and food bank are really trying to help...we have people living under bridges.  The lucky ones with tents or small trailers are in the campgrounds.  We have been taking food to the church and firewood to the campground.

  We must not look away on this...we must not.

  by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:54:09 PM PDT

•  10 years ago my youngest son was hurt on the job.

  What he got for compensation wasn't enough to keep his apartment and he lived in his car. Everything was OK until one night he stopped by a Denny's to see a friend and have some coffee and his car was stolen. So he lost his home and all his possessions.  

  by snackdoodle on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:58:29 PM PDT

  •  How is he now?

    by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:04:23 PM PDT

    •  That year my mother's day present was

      a plane ticket to bring him home. He fell 25 feet and broke his wrist. He was very lucky to be alive. (The same day he fell in Seattle a school friend of mine fell back here in the midwest. He fell 8 feet, ruptured his spleen and bled out before help could get to him.) My son also got a traumatic brain injury from the fall and has debilitating migraines, losing his sight and hearing on one side. His back is screwed up as one would expect from a fall that high. It was a workman's comp case which he got virtually nothing for because he wasn't original tested or treated in the emergency room for a brain injury, even tho one of the top brain injury Docs testified his head energy could only have happened from the fall. He isn't able to work at a regular job because of the migraines. That is the bad news, the good news is he is home, a big help to me and using his stimulus payment to take more Apple Tech classes. Eventually he will be able to be an Apple consultant on networking and Filemaker Pro. He can work essentially part time and make decent $$$. He has good doctors and altho they can't fix him at least they have it under control. Life could be better but you know what, it could be way worse too.

      by snackdoodle on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:13:31 PM PDT

      •  Blessings to you both

        thank you for sharing.  

        by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:22:39 PM PDT

•  I Know Someone Is This Predicament

  A trained professional with borderline personality disorder, her jobs end quickly in confrontations.

  Still if she were a guy, she'd be in prison.

  by bernardpliers on Tue May 20, 2008 at 12:59:04 PM PDT

  •  And yet both should be in a care home

    We can only be measured as a great country by the standards at which our most vunerable and weak are taken care of.  We are not close to a great country.

    by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:02:11 PM PDT

    •  We worked in mental health - 70's and early 80's

      We were there when Ronald Reagan, our Governor, closed down (cut off funding) for the mental health facilities and turned the people out into the streets...I'll never forget that...Such a clear indication of the Republican belief system.

      And I have heard Republicans say that poverty is a persons own fault.

      by trinityfly on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:10:29 PM PDT

      •  It is a clear difference in values between the

        parties.  I hope we never get hard hearted like the thugs.  Why do they have the christian base again?  This year the votes will 'cross' over to our side.

        Obama 08

        by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:13:13 PM PDT

        •  it's worth noting that

          it appears it's the churches, not the city of SB, setting up these lots. Sometimes they do good things; sometimes it's governments giving barefoot people instructions on pulling themselves up by heir bootstraps.
          I lived in my car with my kid for a couple weeks once and there are all kinds of things you never think of... like how to find bathrooms and showers you can use,  how to stay safe, police rousting you. It was scary but at least I was young and healthy. I can't imagine doing it now, much less 20 years from now.

          by expatyank on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:49:04 PM PDT

•  My office is in an area with a lot of homeless,

  for a while there was one sleeping on my doorstep, I would have to step over him to get inside in the morning.

  by Gator1980 on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:12:24 PM PDT

  •  That's not on either. Defining society and rules

    are not anti-homeless in any way.  People have legitimate expectations to not have to deal with these and other issues in the pursuit of a days work.

    by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:15:27 PM PDT

•  Santa Barbara demographics...

  The people that are moving into Santa Barbara are wealthy 60-year-old men with their children grown up and trophy wives. They drive very expensive cars, live behind electric gates and have absolutely no culture beyond making money- it's what they are. Homeless? they don't see them.

  Santa Barbara is becoming a wasteland based on a gilded ghetto. I've lived here over fifty years, and I have been saddened by the transformation. There's people near me who have worked on their house (About twenty workers a day) for three years. We think that they're building an underground city. These are people who have to drive in a convoy of SUV's because of kidnapping fears.

  There's definitely a case of excess money and a shortage of consciousness here... but I think that reality will come one of these days. Maybe we'll find a cure for affluenza!

  by Mr Horrible on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:22:55 PM PDT

  •  Wow

    like a science fiction future society book.  How sad.  And the divide widens every year between rich and poor.

    by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:26:27 PM PDT

    •  that's what happens when wealth distribution

      gets towards Third World levels. Anyone who looks like he might have money becomes a target.

      by alizard on Tue May 20, 2008 at 06:58:16 PM PDT

•  I hate the comments section

  after this story and other CNN stories.

  And they call dkos a hate site.

  by operculum on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:26:25 PM PDT

  •  Expand please

    I am thick, I am not getting your point

    by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:27:46 PM PDT

    •  I mean the comments left on CNN by readers.

      Quick to blame, and sometimes, just plain heartless: "should have saved for retirement" "should sell the car" "all her own fault" blah blah blah.

      They have no compassion for ANY situation.

      by operculum on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:34:32 PM PDT

      •  Of course, sorry. yes they do

        I have and will continue to bring homeless diaries to this site because it is a warm and welcoming environment. I love this site because of that and more-and smart compassionate people like yourself.

        Peace and strength to you today

        Obama 08

        by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:52:51 PM PDT

      •  I suppose their comments mean they can rest easy

        While people live miserably elsewhere.  I hate this crap.  Maybe a person would be better off moving to another location, but they would need help to do even that, and there is no help.  Are we supposed to forget people?

        So many comment sections after news stories distress me anymore.  I didn't know individual people were so incredibly heartless until I started reading those things.  It is amazing.  

        by get the red out on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:55:54 PM PDT

        •  these are people who don't realize

          that they're only a few paychecks away from being homeless themselves. Of course, once that happens, they disappear from cyberspace and become part of "them".

          by alizard on Tue May 20, 2008 at 06:41:39 PM PDT

•  More conversation today

  with my wingnut trainee.  She doesn't think we should have government run health insurance.  She is sure that it is not a free market for health insurance and if it was all would be well.  Homeless, wouldn't bother her at all, must be your own fault, you loser.  The owner was listening to our discussion and is thinking she should not be a hire.  Totally fun to teach with, nice to kids, funny, but part of her moral code is lacking, the Republican gene and all.  I don't understand why people getting help from our government and thus our society are so scary and disgusting to these people.  Every situation is solvable but every person does not have the ability to solve it. The bigger problem we face is the problem of heartless, selfish, know-it-all people who will put us back to Dicksonian times, when disease, dirt and grief were the norm for most.

  by tobendaro on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:49:36 PM PDT

  •  Don't let the door hit you on the way out

    I especially liked this in your comment

    we face is the problem of heartless, selfish, know-it-all people who will put us back to Dicksonian times, when disease, dirt and grief were the norm for most.

    Are we there yet, Dad?

    (I sure as hell hope not son)

    peace to you

    by realwischeese on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:56:19 PM PDT

  •  thumbs down

    You may have noticed just how many stories about wingnuts in action in and out of politics involve abuse of trust?

    by alizard on Tue May 20, 2008 at 06:55:11 PM PDT