Mom forced to live in car with dogs

See, that's what I don't get. You see the problem, but you don't care about the people themselves and their situation? Just your own security and home?

It used to be we never had homeless people here... now we have people sleeping in the park or wherever they can go. I saw someone picking through the garbage the other day for food... I gave him a loaf of bread(that's all I had.) I was almost homeless once, and it's not fun wondering where you will go, how will you get food, bathing and nice clothes so you can try to get a job... etc.

We see the bigger picture yes, we worry about crime, but that dosen't mean we stop caring about the people going through it.

Certain elements want to make you believe it's her own fault-- then you won't care about her and question why.

The same way the poor are always blamed for high taxes when so much tax money is wasted elsewhere or spent subsidizing huge corporate interests. It's to distract you from the truth, to give you a false target for your frustration, instead of aiming it where it rightfully belongs.

No war, but a class war.

Errrr, hate to break it to you.....she is PART of society isn't she.

She made bad choices to get herself into this mess.

She chose a $1 million condo and it's location.
She chose to marry (and maybe to divorce)..(if her husband had died THAT would have been part of the story I'm sure).
She chose to have 3 kids.
She chooses to keep 2 dogs.
She also chooses to act individually, along with all the other women in that parking lot by acting alone!
Surely common sense would tell them to SHARE a property together to get back on their feet? No, that means sharing!!!!

That is why it's about her as an inbdividual....unfortunately she doesn't (and you don't) consider the effects peoples individual selfishness and stupidity can have on society as a whole.

The answer to this is easy....Any single woman owning a home should rent to another single woman who needs lodging.

Of course, how many would welcome a stranger into their home, especially one with 2 dogs or 4 cats? and how many "owners" could (or want to) imagine living in a car?

Choices....bad choices, and no responsibility for their possibilities when they're made!

She is a victim of a society She has helped create. "Grass is always greener.......".

Please feel free to call others here "shallow thinkers" and we'll nudge that grey matter for ya some more

"The answer to this is easy....Any single woman owning a home should rent to another single woman who needs lodging."



Let's think about this first. Remember the show? Do we need or want this repeated en masse?

Any fast food place would hire her in a moment. She can add, knows how to speak English and knows that the customer is always right. If you've been to any one of the big 8 you know your lucky to have anyone that understands you, get your order correct, and can count.

All of them pay at least 8 bucks an hour and often pay more for those with supervisory experience. I am 60 years old and have had to change jobs three times in the last 5 because of so called corporate downsizing. This is not a new phenomona, she has other oportunities. She needs to exercise them. if she needs more money she needs to work two jobs, get rid of the dogs and use that money to help herself. I have lived in my car and also in a tent for 8 months. I actualy do know what your options are and learned from it. At her age she is not taking advantage of the programs that are out there, especialy in the state of California!!!

Zindo

reply to post by ZindoDoone

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That is certainly a thought. It may not apply to everyone, but it works for you.

All I can say is......

Showing empathy towards the woman is one thing, but one thing I find strange is that at some point or another, some of these people decided to continue to make car payments and not rent/mortgage.

Are we that attached to our metal skin (cars)?

-Cuauhtemoc

reply to post by starwatcher1

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People need to start taking care of themselves. It is HER fault for not moving out of a place she can't afford to live, before she made herself homeless. EVERYONE needs to have an emergency fund for this type of "unexpected" problem. People need to start making plans for thier future instead of whining when they suddenly loose thier job, can't afford thier rent, blah blah blah. Whatever. Grow up.

Anyone the US, no matter what thier income, CAN save enough money for problems like this. I have 3 kids. I don't work. My husband makes 15 bucks an hour, so our family of 5 has to live on like 30,000 per year.

We have put a little in our emergency fund every month. I make sure we have enough food for at least three months in our pantry. We have bikes to ride if gas gets too expensive. And so on. I only pay about 400 per month on food, and we still have a healthy diet, because I buy in bulk, buy produce in season, shop loss leaders, etc.

People need to take care of themselves, and STOP the whining.

Wait a sec. You can live in your car, but you can't drive your house.

How do you know her car wasn't paid for?

To everyone else:
Also, for the most part everyone in here everyone should know by now that the government inflated housing prices made them worth 100 times more than what they was then brought it back down (although not to normal yet) leaving these people high and dry. Now I didn't fall for the governments housing market scheme as I saw what they were doing. However, hundreds of thousands of people did fall for it. Paying only stupid interest rate loans that no man in their right mind should ever get. The point is the government is stealing our homes. Letting the banks cheat these people knowing full well it was wrong. Taking advantage of people. They knew they inflated prices. They knew they would bring them back down. it’s the same with the oil and food prices. Except there their not planning on bringing it back down just up.

The point is this lady is working. She is old, not young. No one in here Knows her circumstances or how bad her health is or anything. Yet everyone is saying this is her fault. I don’t know everything but I think its not totally 100% her fault. I think about 70% if not more is the governments fault.

People do not all age the same. A 60 year old could be healthier than a 40 year old. Able to do more even. Vice versa. Know one but her knows weather she can even still work. I’m sure she’s tired and would prefer to go to bed in a real bed with real walls around her. A bathroom to clean up in and use. A place to hang her clothes and personal items. A place to cook her own meals.

Maybe I’m too soft hearted I don’t know. But, I would prefer to be this way than be a cold hearted judgmental person who thinks everything is their fault and they deserved it. I don’t think so.

I’m telling you people it’s getting harder and harder for even the middle class to have food on the table much less a home. You thought this was just low income druggies out there. Not any more!!



[edit on 20-5-2008 by Shar]

I read the story, and yeah it sucks for her to live in her car, but I really find it hard to feel sorry for her. She lives in freaking Santa Barbara for crying out loud. Those who have lived in CA know that it is high end hell, poor people do not live in S.B. and that is fact.


She is homeless, and homelesness is not a new fad or new concept. There have been poor people who have been homeless and have struggled throughout the last 50 years living in back alleys and automobiles. The major indicating difference now is that it is starting to happen to people like her who always thought that it only ever happened to drunks and deadbeats and POOR people.

Welcome to reality. Your high dollar condo and your Mcmansion in the hills can be gone in the blink of an eye. I cant confirm but I wouldnt doubt that this lady was probably one of the snooty people who would look the other way in disgust when a homeless person walked by. Now the shoe is on the other foot and it aint so fun.

Why doesnt she stay with her kids? Why doesnt she fetch up enough gas money to make it to Oregon or Arizona or anywhere nearby that has a decent economy and doesnt cost a fortune to live. Her survival skills must be non existent. I dont mean to judge the woman but stupid is just stupid.

reply to post by Shar

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No Shar, I'm on your side, remember? I'm concerned where you are Concerned. Look at the Moods section for proof.

I did give Zindo a thumbs up. But what else could you do when a grumpy old Wal-mart greeter like him, says he got off the street by sleeping in his car? (kidding zindo) I enjoy success stories, though.

What this person and these persons are going through are not just their fault. They are a sign of the times.

We have to quit blaming the individual and start looking at the causes.

We have to quit making decisions on what they should give up and how they should live and start finding ways to alleviate the problem (without finger pointing).

(Zindo you don't look like an old geezer.)





[edit on 20-5-2008 by garyo1954]

I’m interested in what lessons we can learn from this woman’s story. Let’s see…..

1. Always live well below your means, and keep a large emergency fund as a hedge against the worst happening. Never fail to anticipate the inevitability of change in the economy.

2. Never fall prey to the consumer cult that will have you basing your self worth on a high level of conspicuous consumption.

2b. Don’t be so attached to your zip code as to be rendered unable to accept a cheap apartment over a vehicle in an expensive parking lot as a residence.

3. Adaptation will always be the key to survival.

There have been many similar lessons posted already, looking forward to hearing many more.

The title of this thread is very misleading. Who exactly forced her to "live in car with dogs"?? She did what many do when faced with a challenge, she froze like a deer in the headlights. Obviously the only way out is to live in a parking lot...right?

A simple solution would be to drive somewhere with a lower cost of living just as dozens of others have stated in this thread before they are prompty gang raped by those who want to yell that the sky is falling. There are still places in the country where one can rent a trailer for just a few hundred dollars a month. It wouldn't be high class living, but her social security check would pay the bills and feed her.

There are also places in the country where it's not too tough to get a job. I've noticed just recently here in western Pennsylvania that there are help wanted signs all over the place. There has been a help wanted sign in a gas station in my area stating $12 an hour and it's been there for months. Apparently they can't get anybody to even take the job. $12 an hour may not allow one to live the high life, but if you can't get an apartment and eat on that then you need to take a money management class.

Times are tough, I'll give you that. But there's no reason that people have to live in parking lots. There are options for those who have the courage to seek them.

My first thought was the moron shouldn't have spent 3/4 of her income on a home, and she said she didn't expect this to happen. Well if you would listen to experts that say don't spend more than 1/4 (or is it 1/3?) of your salary on housing, you could have moved out or done something before you were homeless.

I'm a little late in getting to this thread, but I can say, as I live here in Santa Barbara, that if I was ever forced into that type of situation, this is the LAST place I would stay. It is beautiful, but way too expensive. But then again, we have 18 yr panhandlers here who ACTUALLY GO HOME TO MOMMY after. What a bummer city. I can't afford to enjoy the place. I stand on the peripherals, a member of the "servant" industry....

Depends on where you live, my bills are 700 a month, and that is including groceries, cause i live frugally. if you want to, you can live off of less than 800 a month.

reply to post by garyo1954

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Dang it, LOL I ain't no wall-mart greeter. Close but no ceegar,lol, however, I have had my income decend from 120,000 to 30,000 in 5 years. Fortunatly I never lived above my means and most of my income went to care for my oldest son who is in a persistant vegetative state from an auto crash in '91. I am very lucky to have friends and family to help out in these times of financial stress I am a single parent since '74. If you don't have the intestinal fortitude to grasp your own troubles then you deserve what you get. I do feel for this lady but I am not going to help someone who doesn't understand what they could do to improve the problem. This person is waiting for help she needs to gather herself. No one is responsible for her ineptitude!!!
Zindo

A lot of middle class are teetering on the edge so to speak.It's called downward pressure.As the upper class start to lose millions,they tighten their belts.This translates into budget cuts,layoffs,etc...Now the rich have a cushion,while the middle and lower class do not. I know many professionals who are for the first time in their careers facing bankruptcy,homelessness,etc.I even joke about moving in under a bridge.It's only going to get worse before it gets better.
The federal government has lied for years about the deficit.We owe hundreds of trillions,the banks are in trouble,we have little or no manufacturing base,besides military(Killing is bad),the dollar just keeps falling,and the politicians just say we are in a slight down trend.Lies again.Look forward to being in a position like this poor lady,only worse.When food and water gets short,S**T will hit the fan.You can expect roving bands of the indignant to be frolicking in you neighborhoods soon.Good luck !

Peace and Mercy

Ok,I will start off by saying that I think it is horrible that people live this way(no matter who is to blaim).Obviously,I wish that everyone had a home to sleep safely.
With that said,this lady did not think of the possibility of losing her job and not having enough saved to hold her over untill she was able to get back on her feet.
When my wife and I got our first apartment,we were making decent money,and able to live fairly comfortable.Instead,we began enjoying this a little too much.After our bank account bounced a few times,we decided to began living below our means.We went from eating out all the time,to cooking ourselves,ham sandwiches for lunch instead of fast food,etc. We were able to purchase a home on the salaries we were making.Now,several years later,we make much more that we were making,still putting a pretty good amount in savings.We are not rich by any means,and are actually viewed as "cheap" because we don't go crazy with our money,but if one of us,or both, lost our job,we have enough saved to pay our house note and car note for a while.We do not have credit cards,and do not take out loans.We need something and can't afford it,we save.If it is an emergency,we have a savings.We are 24 and 23 and have been on our own since we were 20 and 19.
The point is,this lady could have live in a less expensive home and saved more,or lived there and just took it easy on other things.She seems to be a fairly intelligent women and should have had the common sense to save money.When she lost her job,she could have downgraded her living situation and used her savings to help.
I realise that everyone can't have a great backup plan,but if she could afford a home like that,she could have saved and maybe she wouldn't be in this situation.
Yes,we are facing hard times right now,and I agree that our government is more concerned with special interest groups than us,but we can't blame them for everything.