I understand that many homeless people were victims of subprime mortgages. The money was made by the sales people who, in most cases, probably knew that many people could not meet the repayments.. A racket if ever there was one.

@ASTRALMAX And even many more are homeless for reasons other than that debacle in Real-Estate sales also.
I do NOT think it would 'stretching' the imagination to posit that 'homelessness has been with human kind for as long humans have been living in actual communities rather than as family clans, etc.

@Triphid I'm sure there are a variety of reasons why people are homeless. Doubtless, there are people who are homeless by choice, people that prefer a nomadic lifestyle and do not want to be part of any system.

@ASTRALMAX You might say I prefer a nomadic lifestyle because my home choices are mobile homes but that never means I am moving them from place to place. I am richer by living in them and I have been in the same place now for 15 years. What this does for me is that if I need money I simply go to the bank and get it. This lifestyle also keeps me humble enough to where I do not give a damn about the Joneses.

@ASTRALMAX Many, as in about half, of the homeless in Portland were the result of getting priced out of their homes and were evicted from their homes, because they couldn't find jobs that paid a living wage. So, they lost their home(s).

@ASTRALMAX Profit is always more important than the people. Why are you a communist? In this matter I am.

In Portland, the homeless have taken over China town, which is right next to The Pearl district, which has very high property values. The homeless cleanup is mostly driven by the rich, and the well to do, who don't want their property values to go down.

agreed

Yeah, I think most of us on this site feel pulled in two directions on this one. We don't like siding with a church, but we support acts of kindness.

@snytiger6 As my Dad always instilled in to me from as far back as I can remember, " Kindness WITHOUT expectation of reward or reciprocation is TRUE and Honest Kindness and Deserves to be rewarded, Kindness done fir notoriety, etc, etc, or because one is TOLD that he/she MUST do so deserves more than distain."

Those who complain about giving food to the homeless have no moral compass. Whats the angle? Stand on them when they are down and let them starve to death?

@ASTRALMAX that’s the point, I think. The Republicans fear that feeding the homeless will bring more homeless which makes them aware that there are people worse off than them. If you limit their few human needs from being met, maybe they will move to someone else’s town.

@Barnie2years The US is generally regarded as the most affluent country in the world. Its kind of staggering that so many people are homeless there

@ASTRALMAX those who have have much. Those who don’t get little.

Nice to see that happening over your way, shame that the Catholic Church, aka St. Vincent De Paul, here would NOT take a leaf or three from their book.
St. Vincent De Paul here, colloquially known as St. Vinnies, runs a Meal Centre AND an Op-Shop.
At their Op-shop they receive donations of clothing, etc, 100% FREE, they then 'process' them, throw away the things THEY deem to be either unsaleable/unprofitable for the shop and send them to the Rubbish Tip.
Those they keep, they sell at approx. 5-10% BELOW MARKET Price and do NOT permit the homeless or anyone else BUT Catholics to use a system of Lay-Buy, instead they MUST pay up-front or get nothing.
Then, next door, is their Meal Centre where a meal of watery soup ( very insipid and watery I might add as I tried it once just see what they were offering to those in need ) a small to between small and middling main meal, mostly of a very small portion of meat ( mainly minced meat, either beef or mutton,) well boiled to excess vegetables and going on the consistence, etc, and taste of them, I'd hazard a guess that they ARE tinned vegetables that have gone well past their sell by dates in stores, the serving is approx. the amount of 1 Dessert spoonful, a potato, also boiled to death along with its very, very small cousins who are still not ready to leave the nursery imo, and a gravy that would better off being passed off as a soup rather than the excuse for a soup that you get at the start, Oh and 1 small bread roll, maybe a little smaller than a cup-cake in size.
For that 'repast' and banquet (??) your are EXPECTED to hand over $12.50, still and endure a 30 minute episode of Prayers INCLUDING 2, TWO, rounds of saying Grace, a Sermon delivered whilst you eat which is then followed by a cup of either very weak and cheap INSTANT coffee or the same as Tea and yet another Prayer BEFORE you leave and are expected to drop some money into a box by the door on your way out.
Approx. 98+% of their meat and grocery items for these 'repasts' are supplied to them via 2, TWO, locally owned and operated Supermarkets who's owners, get this, are very staunch and devout Catholics as well.