Looking down on the car/vandweller.

[ToyotaEscaper]

http://www.portlandrescuemission.org/learn-more/where-do-homeless-sleep/

Is this really accurate cuz while it can be true I find your usually good if you use common sense as with everything else. I don't see why try to make it look pitiful and like your some sort of loser. It always seemed more relaxing and peaceful to me but than again it's hard to see things caught up in a materialistic rat race.

2. Cars
Living out of a vehicle may seem like a bearable solution to losing one’s home. But when your home is on four wheels, it’s impossible to sit still. Each day, you must be on the go to evade authorities and the expensive citations for illegal parking or sleeping in a vehicle (Yes, there are ordinances against this.). You sleep with one eye open; you can never be perfectly at ease. And the nomadic lifestyle makes it difficult for homeless organizations to stay in touch to provide help.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I often wonder if there is a co-dependency thing going on between those who need help and those who spend their life helping them. Like it validates their existence, or something.

It's almost like: "If you're mobile, we can't find you. If we can't find you, we can't help you. And you really, really need our help, so get out of the damn vans!"

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

Their biggest fault is in trying to paint all vehicle-dwellers as 'homeless' and 'evading authorities', and in 'needing their help'. They are looking to victimize an entire class of folks, so they can impose their rules upon the freedom loving people. I don't want to get political here, but there is a name for such over-controlling people......

 

[cyndi]

Categorizing, stereotyping and generalizing are tools used to dehumanize and degrade. Always have been, always will be.

 

[mockturtle]

IMHO, if people need help, they will usually seek it out. Otherwise, leave them the hell alone.

 

[Patrick46]

"But all of these overnight accommodations are completely unacceptable for regular human habitation."

well, who set this standard??


oh, that's right....YOU did. (but of course, they have an agenda to go along wiith this standardization, too.)


I feel like sending them a nasty letter.

 

[LeeRevell]

Myself, I see no real difference between those well-heeled individuals who full-time in their $400,000 rolling MacMansions and those here who full-time in their vans. Just a matter of degree. And the van-dweller OWNS his wheel-estate, while many of those big-timers have simply another form of mortgage.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

It's to their advantage to bring everyone that they can under their umbrella. They have a self interest. There are jobs for these people at stake. They are not bad people and some may truly care but many still have a job, benefits and an interest in growing the system.

 

[mockturtle]

Patronizing and paternalistic.

 

[LeeRevell]

My personal 'state of being' is anathema to 'the nanny state'......

 

[vanman2300]

I think they make their mistake when they misinterpret exactly what the problem is they are trying to solve. In other words, they think the problem is lack of housing when in actuality it is the individual's condition not where or what they live in. So the real problems they are trying to solve (and they don't realize this) is a variety of problems like drug abuse, alcoholism, physical abuse, child abuse, hunger, etc all under a better term to use such as the "welfare" of the individual. But all that would be too difficult for the public at large to digest. After all, it doesn't fit comfortably in a 5 second blurb nor their limited understanding of what normal is. Their eyes just haze over after 5 seconds are up.

Personally I don't give a damn about what the average person thinks or believes because they're just average and therefore limited and generally boring people to know. On the other hand, those that think outside the box, are generally deeper thinkers and much more interesting to know and interact with. That's why I like reading the posts and interacting here because most here seem to be the type to have original thoughts that are interesting and promote further thought from others.

 

[Suanne]

As a car-dweller (part-time) I'm a bit offended, but am cautious to put it in perspective. First, the article is on a rescue mission's web site whose goal is to provide room and board for those who need it. Even though their assumptions are faulty for many vehicle dwellers and they've made errors in their generalizations, I don't believe they did so out of malice. Also, as a non-profit, they are driven to fund raise; so, I suspect, these generalizations were mostly for the benefit of their donors in order to highlight a need. I'm not defending, only trying to put it in perspective.

The other fact that makes me take a second look is that the rescue mission is located in Portland, OR ... probably one of the friendliest big cities to vehicle dwellers in the US.

The piece of this article that I take most offense to is their attribution to change.org. After a bit of research, I found that change.org seems to be a petition-hosting site that caters to those who want to start a campaign on social issues. Then, I googled change.org for the information listed on the rescue mission's web page and I find nothing that corroborates it. Not only is change.org an inappropriate authority to cite, there's nothing on the change.org web site that supports the rescue mission's assertions.

OK ... stepping off of my soapbox for now

Suanne ... so ready to get back to car dwelling

 

[LeeRevell]

Dang that 5-minute edit limit.
It is the "Change dot org" site I am concerned about. Very bad form on their part.
As to the other, if they are indeed wanting to help, and not simply trying to corral the people, then more power to them. Just let it be the people's choice, don't force it on them.

 

[akrvbob]

Our reaction to this is totally over the top, we need to calm down and tone down the rhetoric or the thread will be closed. One post has been deleted and one has been edited to get rid of the name calling.

I don't know anything about this organization except I poked around their website and I didn't see anything that caused me the slightest bit of a problem.

They strike me as the typical Christian organization that is actually trying hard to help people. I count many people as close friends who depend on organizations just like this one to keep eating and you will never find me cursing them or calling them names.

You will find me walking in and eating a meal and then putting a $20 in the donation box. And I will have nothing but admiration for those people who aren't just talking, they are DOING!!!

At the first day of RTR I'm going to tell everyone there about the groups in Quartzsite (very much like this one) who are feeding meals and giving free showers every day because there will be people setting around the circle who need that to be able to eat. And then I'm going to urge everyone who can afford it to give them a donation to support their hard work.

When I first read that quote, it didn't infuriate me and make me hate those people. I remember that I felt exactly like that quote my first day of being forced into a van so I am very quick to understand and forgive how they can misunderstand it. But they aren't just condemning, they are offering actual physical help and they are trying to get other people to be tolerant and helpful as well.
Bob

 

[mockturtle]

But, Bob, not everyone who lives in a van or car needs or wants help and it's rather insulting to assume they do. JMHO.

 

[Bela's Mom]

I believe that they are trying to help people who WANT help. Not trying to condemn a lifestyle that most here have chosen.

I would encourage people to read their whole website and not take one paragraph out-of-context, make it a personal issue and attack an organization that someone here might need but be too timid to access due to the stigma that is put on the organization here.

There are some good people in the world.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Lots of misunderstandings all around. There are people who choose the full time vehicle lifestyle and there are people who were forced and driven into it. The problem here seems to be that most people, including the author, know little about it and don't understand the difference. Altho the article is right about the laws being passed, those laws are often more about limited city parking or the type of person who gives all full timers a bad name - of which there are plenty. The full timer who minds his own business, is responsible and does not cause trouble gets caught up in community concerns because he looks the same as the trouble makers.

We live in a motorhome because, at this time, we choose to do so. It is a nice one and is still probably worth more than the equity a the average homeowner has in his house. At any time, we could decide to rent an apartment or get a condo if we wanted to. Yet we often get the same reaction as van dwellers do. The size of the rig makes no difference. We aren't normal.

Maybe we could all put signs on our vehicles indicating that we are respectable people and this is our lifestyle of choice, not of last resort.

 

[mockturtle]

Well said, Jean!

 

[jeanontheroad]

Looked up the financial statements for Portland Rescue Missions. About 20% of the millions they collect goes into the managers pockets (about $567k) and back into more fund raising ($1,857k). That's not the worst I have ever seen. You should see where the Susan G Komen money goes! Still, it is not as good as it could be. Only you can decide what you feel is acceptable for your charitable contributions.

Those are 2013 numbers. 2012 wasn't quite as good, but about the same. I did not go back further.

 

[GotSmart]

My post was removed for "political reasons". I never called anyone names!

I also removed myself from any more comments on this thread...

When my opinion is offensive, you will not hear it again.