BS: Bad weather in America

Subject: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 06:08 PM

I've been reading about the bad weather you're having in various parts of America, and i was wondering about those people we heard about earlier who were living in tent cities - outside of the main cities. Is anyone doing anything special to help them through this vicious cold weather? Are they still there?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 06:09 PM

that was me posting and starting the thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 06:45 PM

I believe the tent cities were just in Haiti...but yes, many there are still without permanent housing. Money that was pledged is slow in coming and political instability is hindering rebuilding.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 06:58 PM

No i meant these places;-

http://www.bigalwhittle.co.uk/id44.html

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Stringsinger
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 06:58 PM

Global warming produces bad weather both snow storms as well as heat waves.
Just ask any reputable scientist.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 07:04 PM

I see.... but those are only peripherally related to the weather

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 07:13 PM

I don't know if they are still a major issue... perhaps Amos would know.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: kendall
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 07:41 PM

In ancient times it was blamed on the anger of the Gods.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: gnu
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 07:53 PM

The homeless are angered by the godless... the corporate crooks and the political thieves. But that sounds like bullshit whining on my part. I have no proof that the rich subjugate the poor. I am just thankful I am warm and fed this night.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 08:39 PM

"I am just thankful I am warm and fed this night. "

.... I'm with you on this one gnu ... in fact damned thankful ... it's been a pretty rough week weather wise here in southern New Brunswick.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 10:41 PM

The Sacramento tent city was broken up in May 2010, but that doesn't mean the homeless are gone, of course. Here's a group that's working on permanent housing. The big freeze is further east, though.

One tent city that's in the news (via Google) with the current chilly weather is the one housing "surplus" inmates in the Maricopa County jail, in Phoenix, Arizona (my current home state -- sigh.). They gave them extra blankets, apparently.

In some cases, tent cities have been set up to provide better-than-nothing housing for homeless people by advocate groups or churches. It's not popular with the neighbors, of course.

People would always prefer poverty to be invisible.

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 10:57 PM

My mistake! I got the impression from the TV,these tent city things were round every major connurbation - since the banks went tits up.

Its the problem with educating yourself by means of the television. You get it wrong.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 03 Feb 11 - 11:08 PM

Alan:

In the USA we have had homeless people everywhere as long as we can remember - and that's a long time. Some charitable organizations and, especially, the Catholic church make an effort to feed them. Most cities and towns tolerate them as long as they stay in certain areas. Sometimes a city will make an effort to get rid of them so they are forced to move elsewhere, at least for a while.

In the colder parts of the country, they may move into homeless shelters when the weather gets really bad but some of them just die.

Bev and Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST,999
Date: 04 Feb 11 - 04:31 PM

Homelessness in the US was estimated at 744,000 in 2005. That was from USA Today in 2007.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: GUEST,999
Date: 04 Feb 11 - 04:35 PM

FWIW, I find that figure to be seriously low. Estimates for Canada are about 150,000 to 300,000. I guess freezing to death will be the new form of population control.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Bill D
Date: 04 Feb 11 - 04:43 PM

"Homlessness" varies... there are some who are permanently 'out on the streets' and some who live in shelters... or prefer to be out, except in very bad weather, or are just temporarily 'out'.
It is far too many, but obviously hard to count accurately.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 04 Feb 11 - 04:49 PM

A couple of frozen reported in Calgary, but "unknown cause" is sometimes the verdict. One was homeless, the other a woman with Alzheimers who wandered out to the street and was not noticed.

I see my home town of Santa Fe is getting temps down to zero, gas supplies to some northern New Mexico towns cut off because of the freeze to pipelines from Texas, and the utility companies request people to use as little as possible.
People are told to let their faucets drip to prevent freezup. Pipes are buried at shallow depths.
They are buried deeply here in western Canada, but breaks occur.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 04:42 PM

Here's a shocking story with a fortunately happy ending, but it illustrates the risks of bad weather:

Wisconsin man, 66, survives four hours buried in snow during blizzard

The man wasn't homeless, just somewhat infirm, apparently, because he fell in the snow and was unable to get up.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: gnu
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 05:05 PM

Thank goodness he is okay.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 05:41 PM

Two people were found dead in Tucson (Arizona) yesterday, where it was down to 18F overnight. The newspaper story did not detail their circumstances. Typically, during the winter when there's unusual cold (and this was record-breaking), special shelters are opened (or capacity temporarily increased).

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: BS: Bad weather in America
From: Bert
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 07:39 PM

Last year, here in Colorado Springs, they put all the homeless they could find into cheap motels and tried to find them jobs.