tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604607987271147807.post4426443048643588205..comments2023-09-22T13:43:29.141-04:00Comments on Michaelann Land: 13 Below & no safety net for Springfield's homelessAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03455366984301716210noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604607987271147807.post-43264503440198045572009-04-22T19:50:00.000-04:002009-04-22T19:50:00.000-04:00Hello,
I stumbled across your page while looking ...Hello, <br />I stumbled across your page while looking for images of homlessness for a social problems class project I am doing. I then got interested in what you had to say, about the man who passed on the steps of such a public building. Its disgusting the amount of social irresponcibility this world obtains.<br /> <br />I would be very interested in having you come and speak to my class about some of your expieriences in life. I would have sent you an email but I am not sure where that information would be. I understand if you dont want to but I feel, through your writing, that you would really send a message about this ever growing tragedy. <br /><br />America land of the brave and home of the homeless.... <br /><br />PLEASE CONTACT ME<br />madmusickat@yahoo.com<br />Sub: INTERVIEW<br /><br />Thanks for your time, and your courage!<br />p.s.<br />my name is D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604607987271147807.post-23793393941453473142009-02-02T02:25:00.000-05:002009-02-02T02:25:00.000-05:00yep, in our case, it was "newcomers" that were doi...yep, in our case, it was "newcomers" that were doing the mean things. Maine is a backwoods state, with a lot of poor families, if new people don't like it, than they should not move into an area where they well be surrounded by a lot of poor families. It's sad really, we should all be able to get along.EelKathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13270942320733186594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604607987271147807.post-71788845027870103672009-02-01T09:01:00.000-05:002009-02-01T09:01:00.000-05:00Wendy, I read your lens....part of me says, only i...Wendy, I read your lens....part of me says, only in Maine! but another part says variations on this story happen everywhere all the time.<BR/><BR/>I lived in Maine for three years, one of those in a tent but it was inland of Belfast (Knox) so no one saw us or cared...this was 35 years ago, though, so I'm sure things have changed...but one thing i remember is that the real poor people of Maine were (mostly) treated with contempt by the newcomers.<BR/><BR/>Hope life continues to improve for you and I'm sorry things had to get so bad. God bless.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03455366984301716210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604607987271147807.post-30882899425774340512009-02-01T04:15:00.000-05:002009-02-01T04:15:00.000-05:00I live a short distance north of here. I'm in Old ...I live a short distance north of here. I'm in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and I live on the beach. I am homeless. At night the temperature drops to -15*F BEFORE wind chill factor. Including wind chill factor the temps are often as low as -42*F (and the ocean freezes over when the temps are like that!) This year it's pretty warm and stays around 0F. In 2006, however, Maine had it's coldest winter on record and I got frost-bite that year.<BR/><BR/>No one cares that you are cold, so long as they are not.<BR/><BR/>Being homeless myself for quite some time, I found out just how badly homeless people are treated by none homeless people, and why so many are not in shelters (the nearest shelter to me was a 5 hour drive by car and I don't have a car!)<BR/><BR/>Part of me liked being homeless, like when I could sleep under the stars on warm nights, listening to the ocean, but most of the time it was sheer hell and I hated it.<BR/><BR/>My family of 7 people, 2 dogs, 75+ birds, and 14 cats, became homeless after a flood took away everything we owned and left my dad in a coma. My mom was a stay at home mom, who was disabled, but still took care of us kids.<BR/><BR/>My dad's hospital bills were more than $12,000 per day just for the life support machine that he was on, not including all the tests and treatments besides. In the end his medical bill topped 2 million dollars!<BR/><BR/>Without a house to live in anymore and with my dad no longer working because he was in a coma, we ended up homeless and living in a tent-thing made out of a tarp and cinderblocks, and we had to fight off a winter in Maine under that thing. We couldn't go to a shelter, because my dad (after waking up 2 months later) was disabled, plus my mom was already disabled, plus there were too many minor children in the family, and we had pets. No shelter would take us.<BR/><BR/>We were not eligible for any of the state programs that supposedly helped homeless people either.<BR/><BR/>Well, when you are homeless, it doesn't matter what happened or how you became homeless, because just the fact that you are homeless "brands" you as inferior and worthless and sets you up for all sorts of a abuse by "regular" people (non-homeless people). I had no idea people were so mean or that homeless people were being treated so shamelessly until my family became homeless. That was the worst year of my life and I don't ever want to have to go through anything like that again, and I wish that no one else had to go though it either.<BR/><BR/>You can find out more about what life was like for me while I was homeless here: http://www.squidoo.com/OnBeingHomeless<BR/>http://www.squidoo.com/OnBeingHomeless2EelKathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13270942320733186594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604607987271147807.post-74335465471712218392009-01-17T15:19:00.000-05:002009-01-17T15:19:00.000-05:00Fantastic points and a brave confrontation with an...Fantastic points and a brave confrontation with an issue that goes beyond Springfield and is too-often overlooked due to a deplorable lack of resources. Primarily, you were right-on when you said "there is still no public acknowledgment or accountability" regarding the homeless, though you were speaking specifically of those banned from shelters. Where I work in the Boulder-Denver area, there is a bizarre disconnect that addresses no civic responsibility to the question of homelessness. The thinking goes, if they can find shelter, good for them. If not, that's the lot of the homeless. Very odd response from an otherwise progressive metro area. Mobile outreach is a decent stop-gap; housing first programs have great potential; shelters are a necessary support- but the most radical confrontation with homelessness is to expand the culture of communities to include the displaced and curiously forgotten. City and county boards need to remember their accountability to the most vulnerable citizens. Thanks for the awesome post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com