Reply #3: I read a book back before Reagan destroyed our social services system [View All]

called "You Owe Yourself a Drunk". It was a study done of skid row homeless in either Portland or Seattle, which one I can't remember right now. Well, it turns out that these men, did have places to live, usually rooms in run down hotels that only cost a couple of dollars a night. They were substance abusers and often ended up sleeping in doorways because they couldn't make it home making it appear that they were homeless. The shelters were used only when they couldn't make the rent for a few days, which brings me up to the fact that they did work doing day work or panhandling to buy liquor, food and rent.

The study also revealed a sort of rehab they did. When they felt they needed to dry out, they would commit a minor law infraction like breaking a storefront window to get arrested. Usually, sentenced to anything from ten to thirty days in jail, gave them a chance to rest, stop drinking and eat regularly, before they were released to indulge in their habit again, hence that's where the name of the book comes from. There were those few who did prefer to be homeless and live in tunnels or ride the rails like hobos.

In those days, no one was homeless who didn't like to be homeless because there were social programs to fall back on. These are the programs that Reagan and his corporate ghouls systematically destroyed. I hope he has been reborn as a black baby in Dafur. He has a lot of karma to repay. Bushistas take note.