WONDER WHY SERVICE DOGS COST SO MUCH?

WONDER WHY SERVICE DOGS COST SO MUCH?

Why is the cost of a Service Dog so expensive, whether you are purchasing through a nonprofit agency or not? Those of us that are professional trainers in the Service Dog industry get this question a lot. The answer is complicated and there are several factors that influence the cost of a Service Dog. At Veterans Project, LLC, we can explain where your money is going.

Upon submitting your application we learn what type of Service Dog you or your family member may need and what specific tasks the dog will be trained to suit your unique circumstance. The amount of tasks and the type of tasks greatly affect how long the dog is in training for. For example, a Service Dog for an individual with Autism doesn’t usually take quite as long to train as those Service Dogs whose purpose is to assist persons in wheel chairs. The training for a Mobility Assistance Dog can take up to two years depending on the age and maturity of the dog as these dogs must fetch, open doors, cabinets, flip on lights, and much more. We often add in specific tasks for families to address certain needs and customize the training for that person.


Argus Service Dog 

PURCHASING A SERVICE DOG

To begin the process we have to find and purchase the right dog for your needs. The average cost of one of our service dogs as a puppy or young adult is typically around $1800 depending on how specific our families are with breed, color, gender, etc. This does not include the gas money and travel expenses to go out to breeders and dog owners to test the dog’s temperament. We often need to travel anywhere between 1 hour to 6 hours away to test dogs. Often times when we go out to test and select dogs, we return with nothing because the dogs did not pass our tests, meaning they don’t have what it takes to perform the duties we need from them.
Next, we cover the upkeep of the dog: dog food, treats, toys, vaccines, spay/neuter, microchip, heartworm check, monthly heartworm preventative, flea/tick medication, dewormer, grooming etc. Since vaccinations and routine upkeep vary depending on the age of the dog when we purchase them, the cost of this easily reaches $2000 per dog.

SERVICE DOG TRAINING

We pay several trainers to keep the service dogs in their homes for potty training, crate training, socialization, and manners. These dogs often switch between the trainers’ homes so the dogs learn to acclimate to new environments. Our trainers often take the dogs with them to family events, personal outings, errands, and new places while off the regular 9 to 5 clock. The average expense for our company to compensate for gas, time, and cost to enter events ( concerts, movies, ball games, train tickets etc.) range between $3,000.00 and $6000.00 depending again on the dog and how long they are in training.

Our company also takes into consideration that the dog may “wash out” of the service dog program. Puppies and young dogs are a big risk for not having what it takes to make the cut in our program. They may be too nervous in public, develop a health problem or injury, or simply change in temperament altogether. We try to catch this early in training before we officially place the dog with a family so as not to cause our families and clients more stress and heartbreak. However, we would rather pull the dog from the program than deliver a Service Dog  Service Dog that is not able to perform its duties correctly due to shyness or hesitancy found in the dog.

SERVICE DOG EQUIPMENT

At Veterans Project, LLC, our trainers pride themselves in the hundreds of hours they spend training obedience, tasks and socialization out in public. We also provide a 1 year health guarantee for our dogs as well as including a monogrammed book bag containing all the equipment they will need to begin handling their Service Dog immediately. This includes leather leashes, collars, training collars, tethers, vests, a first aid kit, Service Dog ID, and specialized vests for Stability/Mobility Dogs. This equipment is valued between $200.00 – $700.00 depending on the needs of the individual client.

Well trained Service Dogs are a tremendous help and benefit to those in need. They are enjoyed by those who train them and those who receive them. If you have any questions or concerns regarding Service Dogs or our program please contact us at : email : @veteransproject@yahoo.com

Argus Service Dog 

The Family Assistants Campaign.



The Family Assistants Campaign.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5GUPMXQSBD9ZE

The Family Assistants Campaign is nonprofit organization, public partnership dedicated to enhancing services for economically disadvantaged individuals and families , including the homeless, veterans, and at risk youth. In 2013  veterans project was founded and has taken the leadership role to provide services to help families move from poverty to economic mobility. Our hope is that through our program and services those who are impoverished will find sufficient resources for education, health and wellness, spiritual direction, and ultimately economic mobility and self-sufficiency.Knowledge, Education for Your Success

Why Do People Remain Homeless?

Find out how some people get stuck in a state of homelessness by the things that happen while being homeless.

Homelessness becomes a trap

The reasons people become homeless are often quite easy to see but what is a bit less obvious are the things which trap people in chronic homelessness. Even if the root cause is remedied sometimes that person may remain on the street, sometimes for many years.

An unemployed person might find a job, an addict might kick the habit, a disabled person might qualify for Social Security Disability, or a mentally ill person might get successful treatment yet still remain homeless. The purpose of this page is to expose some of those reasons that people may become trapped in deep poverty and live without homes for long periods of time. In it, I try to answer the question of, "Why do people stay homeless?"

photo by Kat Jackson, SXC

Homelessness Worsens or Even Creates Mental Illnesses

It seems obvious but it is not good for your mental health

Homelessness often worsens mental illnesses to the point that formerly functional people become severely mentally ill. Many who start out mentally sound develop PTSD or other mental illnesses as a result of physical assaults, sexual assaults, sleep deprivation, and exposure to trauma.

Some types of mental illness prevent a person from being employed or in some cases prevent a person from being able to care for himself or even unable to seek help from others.

Physical Injuries Can Create Disabilities

Homeless people are at a greater risk of sustaining disabling injuries

Some homeless people gain a disability from severe injuries that they cannot get proper treatment for. Assault is often a cause of injury. Head injuries due to beatings or fights are very common. Exposure to the elements can also cause injuries such as frostbite which, if left untreated can lead to the loss of digits, dexterity, or mobility.

Once someone becomes disabled, getting out of homelessness will become extremely difficult.

photo by Simon Gray

Disabilities Can Trap People On The Street

Many are disabled

Many homeless people have an inability to work due to physical or mental disability. Some are so mentally ill that they are not even able to apply for what meager assistance is available to select individuals. Additionally, the Social Security Disability application process is not easy to navigate even if one is emotionally and mentally stable. Without a contact phone and address, it might be impossible.

Additionally, the process of applying for Disability is lengthy. The first rejection usually takes about six months and appeals can take up to a year to get the next rejection. Over two thirds of disabled people who apply for Social Security Disability (and eventually qualify) are rejected the first time they apply. Also, most people wait until they are out of money and have been disabled for some time so they don't have enough savings to live on for the typical one to three year wait for approval. Most Americans don't have enough saved up to survive without new income for even six months, much less three years.

Once they lose their home, people have extreme difficulty jumping through the bureaucratic hoops; they can't be available to wait for a call and don't have a dependable address to get the appointment letters mailed to them. And when SSA makes an appointment for them a hundred miles away, they have no way to get there. People who are already homeless who then become disabled are in an extremely difficult situation.

When I filed for Social Security Disability, there was so much paperwork mailed to me to mail back with more information, each piece extremely time-sensitive. Even having a home, I missed one return by date because the piece of mail requesting the information arrived the day it was due. I was able to call and fax the information the same day but it was a very near thing. A homeless person probably wouldn't have gotten the piece of mail (using a friend's address, general delivery, or a PO Box doesn't lend itself to frequent mail checking) in time and probably wouldn't have access to a fax machine. They also often lose all of their ID and vital paperwork and can't slip a copy in the mail on short notice.

How Hard Could It Be?

How hard is it to escape homelessness?

The Family Assistants Campaign.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5GUPMXQSBD9ZE

The Family Assistants Campaign is nonprofit organization, public partnership dedicated to enhancing services for economically disadvantaged individuals and families , including the homeless, veterans, and at risk youth. In 2013  veterans project was founded and has taken the leadership role to provide services to help families move from poverty to economic mobility. Our hope is that through our program and services those who are impoverished will find sufficient resources for education, health and wellness, spiritual direction, and ultimately economic mobility and self-sufficiency.Knowledge, Education for Your Success

How to Tell if Someone Might Be Homeless

Knowing What Clues Might Indicate Homelessness Can Be of Use to People Homed and Homeless

Homeless people are frequently victims of violence and discrimination. The single most effective method of avoiding violence and discrimination while on the street is to avoid being perceived as homeless.

Some people who wish to help through volunteer work and charity seem to be held back by a concern that the people they may choose to help are not actually experiencing homelessness, but instead are homed con artists. While it's unlikely they'll ever encounter someone feigning homelessness, a bit of information might help them relax and just get on with being kind to those in need.

Both of these groups of people could benefit from having a better idea of how to tell what details most strongly imply that a person is without a permanent residence. If you’d like to learn how to tell if someone is probably homeless, either to avoid being identified as homeless yourself or to avoid getting taken in by a con-artist feigning homelessness, I have some insights that may be helpful.

Can you tell if someone's homeless just by looking? Not always.

There's Absolutely No Foolproof Way to Tell if Someone Is Homeless or Not

As you may have gathered from the introduction above, many homeless people work very hard to camouflage their situation for reasons of safety and to avoid discrimination. Additionally, the things many people do just to be more comfortable and to feel happier can make their lack of an abode less obvious.

People who are trying to feign homelessness for whatever reason also will try, with varying degrees of commitment and success, to imitate the behaviors or conditions people living on the street may perform or endure involuntarily.

Both of these issues complicate the task of telling who is homeless and who is not. But if you know a few things that strongly suggest a person is homeless you can either take steps to avoid those actions and conditions if you are homeless or to make a more comfortable decision to help someone if you are not.

Wearing Layers of Clothing

Some homeless people wear multiple layers of clothing both to keep warm and to make carrying around an entire wardrobe easier. This may take the form of wearing skirts over trousers or other such slightly odd combinations. A person faking homelessness probably wouldn’t do this because it can be uncomfortable.

Wearing Free T-shirts

A lot of people wear t-shirts but many homeless people take advantage of t-shirts with logos on them that show up in clothing drives or thrift stores. If you are homeless, by all means, wear that free t-shirt but you may want to wear it as an undershirt rather than all by itself.

Add this to wearing the same clothing two or more days in a row or some other clue and it may add up to homelessness.

Jeans frayed by long-term use

Shabby Clothing

While many homeless people do not have extremely shabby clothing quite a few do. A key thing that tends to separate the homeless from the faking is that homeless people who aren’t severely mentally ill generally take very good care of what clothing they have. Their clothing may be old and worn but it is usually relatively clean and carefully mended even if the patch or sewing isn’t very well done.

Someone faking homelessness would probably accentuate the wear and tear on their clothing and would probably have more tears rather than spots worn thin from excessive wearing.

If You've Ever Said You'd Help if Only You Could Tell Who Was Really Homeless...

Just do it. After reading this page, you'll have no such excuse.

Worn Shoes

Shoes say a lot about a person’s social status but they can be deceiving. Many homeless people spend hours and hours walking around or standing so they may put comfortable shoes in good repair at the top of their priorities to avoid potentially crippling foot injuries.

If the person’s shoes look extremely worn, with thin soles, wear holes, rotted laces, or cracked material he or she is probably genuinely impoverished if not homeless. If the person has made some attempt to repair or conceal the damage to his or her shoes, again, that person is probably homeless. A genuinely homeless person is also apt to try things to make worn shoes more useful such as wearing plastic bags under their shoes to keep water from seeping in through holes.

Someone faking homelessness would probably scuff shoes that were otherwise fairly sound in structure. They’d be unlikely to try to camouflage the shabby state of their shoes with things like marker, unlikely to try to patch or sew up holes, and unlikely to wear bags under shoes with holes in them. Holes in their shoes would likely not be spots worn thin but holes punched or cut into shoes with a sharp object.

Worn shoes may indicate poverty or just an attachment to a comfortable pair of shoes.

In the Real World, Rich Panhandlers are Mostly Just Urban Myths

So if you think there's any possibility someone might be homeless or living in poverty, why not just help?

Cleanliness

Most homeless people bend over backwards to try to stay clean. How well they succeed at that depends on their mental state, their resources, and their resourcefulness. If you are homeless, smelling of body odor or being visibly dirty is a dead giveaway. People who can't help being smelly often try to camouflage their odor with things like cologne or bathroom spray. Seriously mentally ill or severely physically disabled homeless people are fairly often but certainly not always smelly and dirty. They are also among the most likely of actually homeless people to resort to panhandling because they are so out of their depth and so lacking in resources.

However, con-artists are well aware that the average American thinks all homeless people are dirty and smelly. How well they can fake homeless appearance depends on how far they are willing to go and how good they are at acting.

A dead giveaway that the dirtiness is put on like make-up is if it looks like the person has just rubbed dirt on themselves and does not smell bad. If you are catching a whiff of urine or extreme body odor and the person in question has three days worth of crumbs in his beard your panhandler is probably living without a home. If you smell a combination of body odors and bathroom spray the person in question is very likely homeless. Most con-artists clean up at the end of the day and aren’t likely to work up the degree of funk a severely mentally ill person comes by unawares or without intending to. Nor are they likely to actually apply urine or feces to themselves or to try to hide bad smells with bathroom spray. If they are, they are probably so completely desperate and without hope that they could probably use some help anyway.

A Public Routine

If you frequently see the same person sitting in a public place, day after day and often during the evening hours, and not panhandling, that person may well be homeless. Then again, he or she may just have a weird routine or be waiting for someone else who has a weird routine. But added to other clues, it may be a tip-off that the person is homeless.

Sleeping on benches and keeping a public routine may indicate homelessness or simply a lack of good transportation options.

Sleeping in Public

While sleeping in public is not a dead giveaway that a person is homeless it is another one of those clues that, when added to other clues, may mean that person is homeless. Avoid sleeping in public if at all possible.

Bad Haircuts

Lots of people get bad haircuts but they are pretty common among homeless people. If they can afford a haircut, it usually won’t be a good one. It seems to me it would take a high level of commitment for a faker to spend the rest of his or her time with an awful haircut or shaggy, unkempt hair.

Owning a data phone does not rule out homelessness.

Some Things That Do Not Rule Out Being Homeless

Being clean

Many homeless people do a darned good job of keeping clean. It takes a lot of ingenuity and can be a lot of work but people, homeless or not, generally prefer to be clean when they can swing it.

Owning a cell phone

There are quite a few charities that provide donated cell phones to homeless people and those charities do not turn down nice cell phones. Other homeless people keep their cell phones when they become homeless to increase their chances of getting a job, to be able to get help in emergencies, and to stay in contact with family. Often, someone else is voluntarily paying the bill.

Owning a laptop or tablet pc

Many intelligent homeless people keep their laptops when they become homeless to increase their chances of finding a job, finding resources, and finding a home. Selling their old laptop will not provide equal value to having a method of applying for jobs and seeking other money-making opportunities with the device.

Wearing something nice

People donate some really nice clothes, shoes, and other apparel to thrift shops and to charities and intelligent homeless people purchase them for only a few bucks or accept them as gifts. Also, most homeless people weren’t born homeless and many of them have kept things they owned prior to falling into financial difficulties.

More on Homelessness by this Author

• Some Reasons People Become Homeless
  Have you ever wondered why people become homeless? This article explains just a few of the most common causes of home loss for people living in the United States. Some of them may surprise you.
• Common Stereotypes and Misconceptions about Homeless People
  Learn some of the most common stereotypes, myths, and misconceptions about homeless people in America. Weigh in with your opinions in the comments.
• Why Don't Homeless People Just Get Jobs?
  Have you wondered why people living on the street don't just get jobs and stop being homeless? This page explains why it isn't that simple.
• The Best Ways To Help The Homeless
  Have you ever wanted to help homeless people but have no idea what to do? This page gives some suggestions to help you choose how you can make a difference.
• Homeless Periods, a Problem of Poverty, Dignity, and Feminine Hygiene
  Menstruating isn't considered fun by anyone, but having your period while homeless sucks in its own special way. Learn how you can help women dealing with homelessness and menstruation.

The Family Assistants Campaign.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5GUPMXQSBD9ZE

The Family Assistants Campaign is nonprofit organization, public partnership dedicated to enhancing services for economically disadvantaged individuals and families , including the homeless, veterans, and at risk youth. In 2013  veterans project was founded and has taken the leadership role to provide services to help families move from poverty to economic mobility. Our hope is that through our program and services those who are impoverished will find sufficient resources for education, health and wellness, spiritual direction, and ultimately economic mobility and self-sufficiency.Knowledge, Education for Your Success

Common Stereotypes and Misconceptions about Homeless People

★

Learn some common myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes about homeless people.

Stereotypes Harm People

I have worked with homeless people in shelters and soup kitchens and in literacy and skill-teaching programs serving them and others living in deep poverty. I was even living on the street myself many years ago. I also took teens and young adults into my home over the years after their parents discarded them for one reason or another. From these experiences I have learned a lot about homeless people and a lot about what average Americans think about them.

There is a perception of homeless people in our society that is created and held up by a vast collection of myths and assumptions, most of which are wrong. These misconceptions are dangerous and they seriously interfere with attempts to help those in need.

Some of these negative impressions are so ingrained into our society that even some people who are trying to help may believe some of them. Many of these incorrect representations make people who would otherwise want to help unwilling to help people they've come to believe do not deserve it. Here are just a few of those myths, misconceptions, stereotypes and assumptions.

Knowledge is the Best Defense Against Misinformation

Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America

This book examines the phenomenon of generational poverty and children born into homelessness. It provides excellent information about people living on the street in the United States. It is an analytical book that deals in facts and figures and sociology. It deals with the sobering fact that many such people are born into deep poverty and grow up with very few options to escape it.

Stereotype: They Are All Criminals

One of the most dangerous misunderstandings

Most homeless people are not criminals and many of those who are technically criminals have only committed what are called status crimes. Status crimes include getting arrested for loitering, sleeping in public, or trespassing. Those are called status crimes because they are things impossible to avoid doing if one does not have a home.

This stereotype is one of the most harmful because it creates an unreasonable fear of homeless people because those who spread it can't or don't distinguish between people who got a ticket for sleeping on a bench and violent criminals. It makes many who would probably help people afraid to do so. It prevents people from getting hired or from renting a place to live. This misconception also makes it difficult for charitable organizations to open or expand facilities that provide services for the needy due to objections from nearby residents who fear for their safety.

A homeless young man under a bridge

Misconception: If a Teen Gets Kicked Out It's Always His Own Fault and He Deserves to Live in Misery

...or teens all just run away from home for stupid reasons

Many teens have been discarded by their parents and usually for the most appalling reasons. Yes, some teens get kicked out for out-of-control behavior such as drug abuse and criminal activities but their numbers are relatively small.

As many as a quarter of gay teens in America will be kicked out when their parents or guardians discover their sexual orientation. Sometimes teens are kicked out on the mere suspicion of a non-heterosexual orientation. Homosexual and bisexual teens account for up to 40% of the teen homeless population. Another group of teens particularly at risk of parental ejection are transgender teens.

Other reasons parents give for ejecting teens from the home include suspected pre-marital sex, poor performance in school, teen pregnancy, and contact with a non-custodial parent. For others, expulsion from the home is just an extension of child abuse and domestic violence. In my experience, many teens are not so much kicked out as abandoned. The parents or parent leave the home, never to return.

The term 'runaway' is often applied to teens living on the street, but it's often applied incorrectly. The majority of teens and young adults living without permanent housing have either been kicked out or abandoned by their parents or guardians. Those who actually do leave home voluntarily are usually fleeing domestic violence, abuse, dangerous criminal activity, or drug-related activity.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning and Homeless

The following PDFs contain information about the connection between sexual orientation and teens getting abandoned or discarded by parents. Sadly, about one in four LGBT teens and young adults can expect to get kicked out or abused until they flee in the United States.

Even when the young people involved are minors and throwing them out is illegal, very few parents or guardians are prosecuted for neglect. They are throwing their kids out to get raped and otherwise harmed and our society doesn't hold them accountable because this kind of prejudice often comes from deeply held personal beliefs. While I believe in freedom of religion, I believe that causing harm to another person or neglecting a minor is not protected behavior.

I am heartened by the recent recognition of this problem among moderate and liberal Christians. More and more Christian leaders are denouncing the abuse or abandonment of gay teens as something wrong that their religion does not support. Maybe social pressure will get some parents to stop their appalling behavior or at least make the legal system stop turning the other cheek when gay teens are neglected or abused.

• Durso Gates LGBT Homeless Youth Survey July 2012
  This PDF describes a study showing that about 40% of America's teens and young adults without homes are lgbt. They are usually kicked out by or flee abusive parents with belief systems hostile to non-heterosexual orientations.
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Report
  This PDF from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force explains the parental estrangement issues faced by American lgbt teens and youth.

These Facts Might Surprise You

According to the National Law Center On Homelessness and Poverty homeless people who commit crimes are less likely to commit violent or destructive crimes than homed people who commit crimes!

The link to their information on myths and misconceptions is below.

The pdf contains information dispelling a variety of myths including the magnet theory myth which holds that providing services to poor people will cause them to flood into a city from other areas.

• National Law Center On Homelessness and Poverty: Myths and Facts about Homelessness 
  Are street people all or mostly single men, mentally ill, violent criminals, or stuck in it for life? This pdf will help you understand this and other such notions.

photo by Ben Yokitis

Stereotype: They Are All Drug Addicts and Winos

One of the most commonly held beliefs

Many are neither drug addicts nor alcoholics. While close to half of adult homeless people in the United States currently struggle with addictions or have struggled with addictions in the past many of them do not have and have not had a drug or alcohol problem.

This is a harmful stereotype because it closes many doors for people without homes. Employers and landlords that believe this are unlikely to hire or rent to them. Even some homeless shelters are hampered by this misconception. Some of them require substance abuse counseling for all who use their services, even those without addictions, taking up valuable time that people could use to seek employment or to work odd jobs.

Fact: Many Women and Children are Living Without Homes

Forget about the idea that all people who have lost their homes are drug addicted criminals. Most homeless people are normal, decent people like Cecilia and her children. Most have fallen on difficult times and need a safe place to stay and help getting back on their feet.

Lives Turned Upside Down: Homeless Children in Their Own Words and Photographs

Heart-wrenching words from the mouths of homeless children.

photo by sofamonkez

Misconception: They Are All Mentally Ill

Only about a quarter of all homeless Americans are severely mentally ill. Those who are mentally ill are mainly ill in ways completely harmless to anyone but themselves. There's also some question as to whether or not those people who are mentally ill or emotionally disturbed became mentally ill as a consequence of trauma, violence, and other stresses experienced while living without adequate shelter.

This belief about homeless people is dangerous because it, again, creates fear and leads to suggestions that they should all be rounded up and institutionalized instead of helped. While mental illness does cause people to fail at independent living, it should be treated rather than feared. Anything that portrays an entire class of people as dangerous and out of control is harmful.

The Mental Illness Connection

• Mental Illness and Homelessness by National Coalition for the Homeless
  Information about the relationship between mental illness and living without a home. The resources and references at the bottom of the page are an excellent place to start research on the issue.

photo by Piotr Ciuchta

Stereotype: They Are All Too Lazy to Work

Perhaps number one of them all

I can't count the number of times I've encountered this statement. It pops up almost every time I have a conversation about charity work and people start to go on about the topic of "the undeserving poor" or people they think don't deserve help. The major reason people claim poor people don't deserve to be helped is that they are too lazy to help themselves.

While almost half of all adult homeless people in America are unemployed it doesn't indicate laziness. Many of them lost their jobs through no fault of their own - through corporate downsizing or due to injury, illness, old age or disability.

Those well enough and young enough to work have many high barriers to gaining employment. They may be putting in dozens of applications a day but never get a bite due to the prejudice created by the strong and commonly held negative beliefs about homeless people.

Those with jobs are often underemployed or don't earn enough to afford rent or to qualify to rent. Another issue is that even if a person works full time, he or she may earn enough to afford an apartment but find themselves unable to rent one because of the income requirements many complexes have. Many rental properties require renters to make three times as much as the rent costs. Getting a co-signer can help but the co-signer usually has to have a good credit rating and an income, that if combined with the renter's, equals at least five times the price of the rent.

Related Links by Kylyssa Shay

• Why Don't Homeless People Just Get Jobs?
  Have you wondered why people living on the street don't just get jobs and stop being homeless? This page explains why it isn't that simple.
• Some Reasons People Become Homeless
  Have you ever wondered why people become homeless? This article explains just a few of the most common causes of home loss for people living in the United States. Some of them may surprise you.
• Why Homeless People Don't Use Shelters
  Why do homeless people seem to avoid using emergency shelters? Read this page to learn some of the reasons homeless people can't or won't use shelters.

photo by David Resseguie

Misconception: It is Always the Result of Poor Choices

Since many people lose their homes due to disability, illness or injury, mental illness, learning disability or other mental impairment, parental abandonment, old age, and corporate downsizing the answer to this myth is a definitive no. No one chooses to become disabled, sick or injured. No one chooses to become mentally ill or to be born learning disabled. No one chooses to be born to abusive or dogmatic parents. No one chooses to lose a job through corporate downsizing.

Here's a sobering thought for you -over the course of a year about 1.5 million of America's children experience a period of homelessness. Do you think those children made bad choices?

Homeless man sleeping under a palm tree in Santa Monica

Misconception: It is Freedom and a Life of Leisure

One of the stranger ideas people latch onto

Many people seem to think that being homeless is the result of a choice to be free from the pressures of a nine-to-five job and the stress of paying bills. In reality, many people still work and pay bills with the added stresses of humiliation, fear of violence, and worries about where to sleep at night. Even those men, women, and children who don't work or pay bills feel the stresses of insecurity, sleep deprivation, lack of cleanliness, and the ever-present danger of violence.

People without homes are constantly on the move, getting rousted by police or threatened by civilians. They don't get to participate in the leisure activities that homed people do. If you see a homeless person sleeping on a lawn looking peaceful it doesn't mean it's like he's on vacation. He's just getting a few minutes or hours of sleep and has nowhere else to do it.

Homelessness is not a carefree existence, it is a miserable one.

Keep Your Comments Clean and On Topic and You'll Get Your Say

Please, no swearing in the guestbook, not even of the mildest sort. This page is rated G as it is linked in many student lesson plans and any swearing at all will result in your comment not being published. This rejection of swearing and off-topic rants is causing this to be a very one-sided guestbook. If you have something you want to say and wish to see it posted here, please refrain from bad language and threats and stick to the topic of stereotypes and myths about homeless people and homelessness.

I Giving the Gift of a Warm Meal

The Family Assistants Campaign.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5GUPMXQSBD9ZE

The Family Assistants Campaign is nonprofit organization, public partnership dedicated to enhancing services for economically disadvantaged individuals and families , including the homeless, veterans, and at risk youth. In 2013  veterans project was founded and has taken the leadership role to provide services to help families move from poverty to economic mobility. Our hope is that through our program and services those who are impoverished will find sufficient resources for education, health and wellness, spiritual direction, and ultimately economic mobility and self-sufficiency.Knowledge, Education for Your Success

Option 2 paypal
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5GUPMXQSBD9ZE
Option 3
Mail your Donation to 3952 willow ave,Bemus Point NY,14712
Care of Suzanne D Button Project manageram my brother's keeper.

Thank you for your compassionate heart and desire to help men, women and children experiencing homelessness