The New RV'r....Not a pretty sight.

[rodekyll]

Originally Posted by okmunky

Last winter a panhandler was struck by a semi in Quartzsite. He got a free ride to Phoenix in a med-evac helicopter.

I agree that's a deplorable situation. Semis should be made to pay for the damage they do. Even to the homeless. It's not fair for Quartzite to pay the freight for uninsured commercial drivers. Did the driver get jail time? What about his victim? Did the panhandler pull through?

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by rodekyll

I agree that's a deplorable situation. Semis should be made to pay for the damage they do. Even to the homeless. It's not fair for Quartzite to pay the freight for uninsured commercial drivers. Did the driver get jail time? What about his victim? Did the panhandler pull through?

I wish I had answers to all those questions, but I never could find out anything.

[Eez Moose]

Originally Posted by okmunky

I wish I had answers to all those questions, but I never could find out anything.

Was there in town at the time but filling up at the RVPitstop a bit north on 95. Rumours had it the pedestrian was hit by the truck as it was making a turn to get off 95 and up onto 10. It was strange that at the time it really didn't make the news for the area and there is nothing on the Arizona Police reporting system that I could find then or now.

[okmunky]

Sadly, news about panhandlers doesn’t make headlines.

[Eez Moose]

I just found this site and still nothing of that accident.
http://www.accidentsinus.com/States/...aspx?StateID=5

[ThePowells]

Originally Posted by Reacher

Last time I checked panhandling is illegal. [moderator edit]

Last time I checked, panhandling in general is constitutionally protected speech, however part of the behavior may be regulated by narrowly drawn and specific ordinances.



https://www.npr.org/2019/04/02/70925...is-free-speech


https://nlchp.org/panhandling/


https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/art...nhandling-laws

[Reacher]

Originally Posted by ThePowells

Last time I checked, panhandling in general is constitutionally protected speech, however part of the behavior may be regulated by narrowly drawn and specific ordinances.



https://www.npr.org/2019/04/02/70925...is-free-speech


https://nlchp.org/panhandling/


https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/art...nhandling-laws

Kind of like an "in your face" go fund me page? Yes after that epic court case municipalities now require a license for it. So yes it is still illegal because most panhandlers don't have one so it's just not enforced.

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by TG123

The Care-A-Vanners build houses. Why can't another group out there build RV's?

Absolutely fine if the homeless RV's have a legal place to park and sanitary hookups. But to allow them to park just anywhere they want and dump just anywhere deprives the general citizenry of the quiet enjoyment of the properties that we pay taxes on and spreads disease and waste. If we don't uphold some standards we will lose the quality of life that we work hard and pay good money for. The homeless should be helped, but not by dragging down everybody else.

[LetsGoEmily]

If you would like a little bit of insight into the portion of society who wants to live this way, there is a really good documentary on a guy with five kids and never had a job. However he didn't appreciate that he got food stamps and welfare from the people who are responsible adults. In any case it's very interesting movie. https://www.amazon.com/Random-Lunacy...dp/B009F0S2TM/

[okmunky]

I heard about Plymouth Housing on a Seattle radio station this morning. I haven’t read the entire website yet, but it seems that they are making a real difference.

https://plymouthhousing.org

[TG123]

How would you know diseases are spread by the homeless? Very presumptive of you.

[mobilemike]

Originally Posted by TG123

How would you know diseases are spread by the homeless? Very presumptive of you.

That statement is so inane it barely deserve a reply. But.................
Have you seen a study, any of the hundreds of studies of disease in the homeless populations?
How about the LA study of Typhus in the city now?

[TonyMac]

Originally Posted by TG123

Well Gee Reacher,
How do you really feel about it?
When you wake up from sleeping on concrete all night, with no place to wash yourself, you can't sit down to a bacon and egg breakfast in your kitchen nook, the inspiration to be anything more than what the homeless population is now is for not. My father took 4 kids to the street. We were in that population. It's not pretty.

Homelessness begins long before one leaves one's last residence. Homelessness begins in high school. This is where one makes decisions that are all but irreversible; drug use, promiscuity and pregnancy, even skipping school and failing to graduate; all decisions that become so hard to reverse as to make them all but irreversible. This trend of bad decisions leads to low level skills, and jobs which result is a lack of disposable income, this lack of disposable income leaves one so vulnerable to misfortune, that when misfortune ultimately comes, and it always comes, one has no way to respond and survive. So one fails.

Success also begin long one moves into one's mansion. At the same time others are making bad decisions, some are using free high school to get ahead. Good grades lead to free college. Wise spending, saving and investing leads to a financial cushion to allow one to weather misfortune. Every American had the opportunity to graduate from high school with good grades. A minority of Americans are of the correct race and gender to obtain grants and scholarships for lack-luster high school grades and still attend college for free.

If one is waking up on the sidewalk and looking for inspiration, I refer you to Pursuit of Happyness (sic). Otherwise, who among us did not know that bad decisions lead to bad outcomes.

[okmunky]

Many things, good and bad are handed down from one generation to the next. Some don’t know what the good things are, because all they ever experienced was the result of someone's bad decisions. Others look at their parent's bad decisions and make a conscious choice to do differently.

I had 2 very self-absorbed parents. They never fought over who got us kids, they fought over who had to take us. Remarkably all four of us have grown up to be better parents (and people) than our role models, but it was out of awareness that there was a better way. For me, mentors made up for what my parents failed to teach. I suspect the same is true for my brother and 2 half brothers.

So what’s my point? The time and place to best combat homelessness is with young people forced into that life by their parents. If you really want to make a difference volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters or a program thru your church or civic organization.