If you enjoy podcasts, check out a limited-run show by 99% Invisible, called According to Need. It’s investigation takes place in my backyard (Bay Area, California) and interviews a number of people who are unhoused and attempting to scrape by as the system fails them.
People who are unhoused / homeless show up to work or school and then go sleep in cars or in shelters (if they can get a bed). You might know someone who is in a similar situation but hides it well.
A telling moment: my brother said he’d never give money to a panhandler because they can get a job at McDonalds. I put to him that McD’s wouldn’t hire someone who was so dirty. That the first check wouldn’t come for at least two weeks. That at the end of the day, he’d be absent the change that allowed him to buy a meal. I pretty much said, how would that help him right now? My brother seemed to understand because he just thought about it and didn’t respond.
One more! I tried to found a website with a friend, it failed. I fucked around learning new technologies while living off of savings. I was unemployed for several years. When I tried to rejoin the market, no one would talk to me. I had too much of a gap. I struggled to get a job. I was picking fruit from trees to augment my survival. I was spending a dollar a day on food. I tried dumpster diving at grocery stores and restaurants to no avail. I applied to work at grocery stores and veterinary clinics and the like for any job they’d give me. My background is in tech and they knew I’d drop them the minute I had an offer, so they wouldn’t hire me. Getting a temp job in my field opened the door to other jobs and I cracked the nut. I’m gainfully employed today, but I was nearly out on my ass. Loans from family members helped me avoid eviction. I’m lucky that I had no dependents.
There is no social safety net in the USA. There should be one. There should be multiple nets in the most prosperous nation in history.
If you enjoy podcasts, check out a limited-run show by 99% Invisible, called According to Need. It’s investigation takes place in my backyard (Bay Area, California) and interviews a number of people who are unhoused and attempting to scrape by as the system fails them.
People who are unhoused / homeless show up to work or school and then go sleep in cars or in shelters (if they can get a bed). You might know someone who is in a similar situation but hides it well.
A telling moment: my brother said he’d never give money to a panhandler because they can get a job at McDonalds. I put to him that McD’s wouldn’t hire someone who was so dirty. That the first check wouldn’t come for at least two weeks. That at the end of the day, he’d be absent the change that allowed him to buy a meal. I pretty much said, how would that help him right now? My brother seemed to understand because he just thought about it and didn’t respond.
One more! I tried to found a website with a friend, it failed. I fucked around learning new technologies while living off of savings. I was unemployed for several years. When I tried to rejoin the market, no one would talk to me. I had too much of a gap. I struggled to get a job. I was picking fruit from trees to augment my survival. I was spending a dollar a day on food. I tried dumpster diving at grocery stores and restaurants to no avail. I applied to work at grocery stores and veterinary clinics and the like for any job they’d give me. My background is in tech and they knew I’d drop them the minute I had an offer, so they wouldn’t hire me. Getting a temp job in my field opened the door to other jobs and I cracked the nut. I’m gainfully employed today, but I was nearly out on my ass. Loans from family members helped me avoid eviction. I’m lucky that I had no dependents.
There is no social safety net in the USA. There should be one. There should be multiple nets in the most prosperous nation in history.
This sounds terrible! I’m glad you survived.