Patty

The Economic Collapse blog,

Have you ever given food to a homeless person? Well, if you do it again in the future it might be a criminal act depending on where you live. Right now, there are dozens of major U.S. cities that have already passed laws against feeding the homeless. As you will read about below, in some areas of the country you can actually be fined hundreds of dollars for just trying to give food to a hungry person. I know that sounds absolutely insane, but this is what America is turning into. Communities all over the country are attempting to "clean up the streets" by making it virtually illegal to either be homeless or to help those that are homeless. Instead of spending more money on programs to assist the homeless, local governments are bulldozing tent cities and giving homeless people one way bus tickets out of town. We are treating some of the most vulnerable members of our society like human garbage, and it is a national disgrace.

What does it say about our country when we can't even give a warm sandwich to a desperately hungry person that is sleeping on the streets? A retired couple down in Florida named Debbie and Chico Jimenez wanted to do something positive for their community during their retirement years, so they started feeding the homeless in Daytona Beach. But recently the police decided to crack down on their feeding program and slapped everyone involved with a $373 fine...


For the past year, the Jimenezes have set up shop every Wednesday on Manatee Island in Daytona Beach, Fla., where they feed hot dogs, chicken, pasta salad and other BBQ staples to about 100 homeless people, WFTV reported. Handing out meals is just one aspect of the ministry the two founded, Spreading the Word Without Saying a Word, to help people living in poverty.



But on Wednesday, the Jimenezes said that without warning, they and four other volunteers were accosted by police, fined and told that they could be thrown in jail if they continue their program, according to NBC News.



Each of the six was fined $373 and were given 10 days to either pay up or go to court.



"We’re going to court," Debbie Jimenez, 52, a former auto parts store manager, told NBC News. "The police don’t like it. But how can we turn our backs on the hungry? We can’t."

Don't the police down in Daytona Beach have something better to do with their time?

Sadly, more than 50 major cities have passed laws against feeding the homeless at this point. It appears that "cleaning up the streets" has become a big point of emphasis all over the nation.

And what the city of Camden, New Jersey just did is even worse than what happened in Daytona Beach.

Camden just bulldozed an entire tent city and dumped all of the belongings of the homeless people living there into the trash...


Hazmat teams showed up at the camps in the early morning to search for syringes. A drug-sniffing dog followed a police officer around the area. And bulldozers tossed trash and discarded belongings into dumpsters before razing the premises.



Over the past few weeks, flyers had warned people in the tent cities that this was going to happen. Yet it still seemed surreal to many of them that their communities were about to be demolished for good.

But for most of the people that were living in that tent city, there is no place else for them to go. The homeless shelters in the area are at max capacity, and so many of them will end up sleeping in the streets without any shelter at all...


Aaron Howe, the "mayor" of a tent city that had 12 tents the night before eviction day, said he had called every shelter in town and not a single place had room for him and his girlfriend.

"There's no available spots, and the city is saying if we pitch a tent somewhere else they're gonna rip it down," he said. "It's not gonna look good when there's a bunch of homeless on the streets."

Camden has got to be one of the most mismanaged communities in the entire country. Why is Camden spending time and money bulldozing homeless communities when it has so many other problems? For much more on the nightmare that Camden has become, please see my previous article entitled "Camden, New Jersey: One Of Hundreds Of U.S. Cities That Are Turning Into Rotting, Decaying Hellholes".

Other big cities that are a little bit more "progressive" are attempting to get rid of their homeless populations by giving them one way tickets out of town. Some of the major cities that are doing this include San Diego and San Francisco...


When her Greyhound bus pulled into town 6 months ago, Maria Castillo got off with two bags and dream.



"Start over, start a new life," said the 42-year-old.



Castillo had been homeless in San Diego when a social worker offered her a one-way bus ticket to Portland.



"They said come here because all the opportunities in Portland, Oregon," she said.



But Castillo said life isn't much better in her new town. She's still homeless. A Unit 8 investigation found several cities from San Diego to San Francisco are providing one-way bus tickets to the homeless.

As shocking as everything that you just read is, what one lawmaker out in Hawaii is doing tops it all. In a previous article, I described how a state representative named Tom Brower has actually been using a sledgehammer to destroy shopping carts used by homeless people. Just check out the following short excerpt from an RT article that was published a few months ago...


In the past two weeks residents in Hawaii noticed what appeared to be a crazed individual carrying a sledgehammer through the streets of Honolulu, a state lawmaker looking to rid the city of homeless people by targeting their belongings.



State Representative Tom Brower (D) is currently dedicated to dealing out his own personal brand of “justice” by seeking out homeless people and destroying their possessions. Brower estimates that he has used the sledgehammer to smash at least 30 shopping carts, rendering them useless by bashing in the front wheels.



“I got tired of telling people I’m trying to pass laws. I want to do something practical that will really clean up the streets,” he told Hawaii News Now. “I find abandoned junk, specifically shopping carts, and I remove them.”

Is this how our society is going to treat those that are down on their luck from now on?

Where is the love?

Where is the compassion?

Why can't we seem to be able to take care of these people?

The federal government sure seems to have plenty of money to waste on other things. For example, it is being reported that workers at an Obamacare processing facility in Missouri are being paid to do nothing but stare at their computers...


Employees at an ObamaCare processing center in Missouri with a contract worth $1.2 billion are reportedly getting paid to do nothing but sit at their computers.



"Their goals are set to process two applications per month and some people are not even able to do that," a whistleblower told KMOV-TV, referring to employees hired to process paper applications for ObamaCare enrollees.



The facility in Wentzville is operated by Serco, a company owned by a British firm that was awarded $1.2 billion in part to hire 1,500 workers to handle paper applications for coverage under the law, according to The Washington Post.



The whistleblower employee told the station that weeks can pass without data entry workers receiving even a single application to process. Employees reportedly spend their days staring at their computers, according to a KMOX-TV report.

So we have millions upon millions of dollars to waste on that, but we can't take care of our homeless population?

And without a doubt, the need to help the homeless is greater than it ever has been before. Right now, there are 1.2 million public school students in America that are homeless. That number is an all-time record, and it has grown by 72 percent since the start of the last recession.

In addition, there are 49 million Americans that are dealing with food insecurity. Even in the midst of this so-called "economic recovery", poverty is absolutely exploding.

And it is going to get a whole lot worse.

Brian Devon

Kudos Patty. I was very dismayed to read about these d********g new laws. I think they should make it a felony to be a politician who afflicts the afflicted.

These hard guy cretins remind me of the Railroad companies. In the depression they used to hire goons (like some of the far right neanderthals on OPP) to beat up the homeless men who used to ride the rails (Hobos).

Some of these holier-than-thou folks even fancy that they are religious. Of course, to them, if NRA-Jesus returned, he would pull out his Glock if he encountered a hungry person.

MrEd Loc: Georgia

Now Patty, you know we cannot feed the homeless. They are useless and do not contribute to society and are a drain on our system. I mean after all, they could be out there working, but they refuse to even try. How dare them use up good public funds and not return anything to society except get in everyone's way and make a city look bad with their tent cities. Tear them all down and push them off on someone else, but never encourage them and above all, NEVER FEED them. After all, if you feed them, they will just keep coming back for more and then you will never get rid of them.

It's such a shame really. Most of the homeless need a hand up and the progressives can't even provide that. All they want to do is make them go away and pretend that they don't exist.

Most of them are homeless do to problems beyond their control, yet they can be some of the most productive members or our society if given a chance and that is all most of them want. There are a lot of people that for wh**ever reason were homeless at one time that went on to become productive contributors to our society. The only thing they need is a hand up, meaning a decent job and a chance of making it in this world, but the progressives are tearing their world apart with their stupid ideas.

It would really help if Obama and his crowd would quit k*****g jobs and k*****g opportunities for the average person in this country. They say the unemployment is around 8%, but that is a lie and they know it, but they continue that lie and punish anyone that is trying to make a future for themselves and their families. The true unemployment is closer to 25%, but most of them have run out of unemployment insurance and no prospects of getting any closer to a job. Many are taking jobs that are only part time and very low on the wage scale just to make ends meet and keep a roof over their heads. They are taking 2 and 3 jobs like this and still not really getting ahead.

It's a crime what Obama is doing to this nation, but no one seems to care or do anything about it. We have a Congress that is scared silly of their own shadow and will not take any action to try and stop any of this. A good many are just as guilty as Obama and are helping to bring this country down.

Just in case you are wondering, that first paragraph is total sarcasm, which most people don't seem to understand these days.

MrEd Loc: Georgia

Brian, I read your response and was going to agree with you until half way through when you reverted to your stupid remarks again that you just can't seem to contain. Once again you have proven to everyone here that you are very simply an i***t.

Patty

There is a homeless guy that I see at the market often and usually end up giving him a ride back to the lake where he has me drop him far enough away where he is sure I cant tell anyone where he is set up. He is a very proud man and seldom will take any of the groceries I try to offer him. "Here this was a 2 fer and we wont eat the other before it goes bad" He has tried to r******r to v**e and was told to use the address of the nearest homeless shelter to register. Last time he went they told him he wasn't registered to v**e but doesn't know why because of course there was no where for him to get his forms back with instructions on.
Since I shop at the same time once a week I see him often and gave him my po box to use for the form and the nearest shelter as his address. Imagine that a man proud enough that he wont take food but will take the use of my po box to r******r to v**e. Sad.

Brian Devon

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Well, I send to you a 1/2 thank you.:? :? :? :? :? :?

Serenity54321

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This is very upsetting. When did it become a crime to help people?

The other day I was at the local filling station and an old lady with a shopping cart knocked on my window. She asked me if I knew the phone number to a taxi company. I told her never mind I would take her to wherever she needed to go. So she put her shopping bags and herself into the passenger seat of my vehicle and I gave her a ride across town.

But I have a confession to make. While she was getting in my vehicle I hid my purse under the seat and opened my car window in case I needed to yell for help. I did this because there was a certain fear in the back of my mind that this little old homeless lady might be a drug addict and may accost me for my money.

How sad is that? I felt guilty even thinking that way. Yet, I gave her a ride anyway and when I got her to where she wanted to go, I volunteered $20.00.

That may be why some of these laws are being started, unfortunately. Fear. But I will not allow my fear of "possible crime" to dissuade me from helping those who need it.

rcksha

The state of affairs in this country has caused many well meaning, educated, honest, intelligent and god fearing people to end up homeless. Families with no roof over their heads, food to eat, security or support.
Agreed, there are those who choose to live this way. I don't believe this to be todays majority. Most of these people want unavailable jobs. Many have the sk**ls that are being touted as unavailable by corporate elites that want immigration reform.
When in business, I often used homeless for tasks I could find sk**ls for, found them to be good workers, appreciative and good people in a general sense.
I have been complaining for the past several years about our ability to fund other countries, political positions in other countries, stupid and unreasonable pork barrel projects in our country, raise wages and benefits of the congressional elite, and squander billions on projects like O'stupidcare. But those responsible for putting these people on the street, pay, not one minute of time trying to resolve the impact of what they caused. Shame on them, shame on us for allowing it.
Now, a full attack of these people is underway by those same imbeciles. Even homeless support groups in the communities are being attacked by he establishment like in Florida and many other major cities.
I don't know the answer to this problem as the courts are in favor of the establishment preventing actions to be taken without years of waiting for decisions and modifications to community laws.
HOW ABOUT JOBS. People back to work would help dramatically. These people want to be self supporting. Every e******n cycle , we hear a lot about how Jobs are one of the main talking points, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS !!
Once e******ns are over, jobs become one of the lowest priority issues on the list. Jobs don't make big national headlines with congressmen's names attached. It has to be some big political issues to make national news to make hero's or fo's. All being more worried about ree******n than If they helped a group find jobs , food or shelter. It's time for term limits !!
Sorry for the rant- One of my personal priorities and now it's gaining attention, Hopefully nationally.

Patty

I agree with you all. Another aspect of this is what gives the government the right to tell us how to use our own money. If I want to spend it feeding someone they need to stay the hell out of my business. I find it offensive that they would treat me like a child who needs help in managing how I spend money.

Serenity54321

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Patty, that is actually the command in the Jewish and Christian religions. To never turn your back on the poor, orphans, and widows.

I am interested to see if all of these church food pantries that have been mainstays of many local communities will be eventually shut down. That would be a disgrace.

Patty

Drugs will be openly sold and legal and food will be given like a black market. Hmmm think this country might be going in the wrong direction. The reason the government h**es the homeless is because people with nothing to lose are hard to control.

JimMe

Just a couple of things...

First, "These hard guy cretins" you're referring to are, for the most part, DEMOCRATS... Daytona Beach, FL - Democratic Mayor... Camden, NJ - Democratic Mayor... San Diego, CA - Republican Mayor... San Francisco, CA - Democratic Mayor... Honolulu, HA - Democratic Self-Appointed Cretin is a State Representative...

That's 4 Democratic Cretins & 1 Republican Cretin...

Secondly, when the Washington Post reports A BRITISH COMPANY was hired & has a $1.2 Billion contract to process HardCopy ACA-DenLibCare applications & put them online & in Missouri there are 1500 WORKERS PROCESSING 2 WHOLE HARDCOPY APPLICATIONS EACH & EVERY MONTH... IT'S D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G...

Brian Devon

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Bash-the-hungry cretins are cretins regardless of their party affiliation. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all emphasize the importance of feeding the hungry. People of compassion, who believe in no religion, also feed the hungry. How morally deformed does a person have to be to say, "Screw you, I've got mine. You brought your hunger and your family's hunger on yourself"???

Serenity54321

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I agree, Brian. It doesn't matter who. Class warfare at its finest.

LadyJ

This problem is increasing. I see more & more homeless people on the streets asking for a handout or they just look at you with fear & distrust. The same way some non-homeless people feel. Different situations but same feelings. I can't help but think this could happen to many of us. Maybe that is why there is fear, because it could actually happen to anyone at any one time. Homelessness(?) does not discriminate. Lately I've seen ,more people like the average Joe. Still clean, shaven, men & women with their eyes cast down so you can't see the shame because some consider you an out cast of society & not because society made you an out cast.