[Ache]

NY Times

October 5, 2011, 12:48 pm
Back Home, and Homeless
By MATT FARWELL
Mid-June, 2011: I find myself alone in a dark wooded park tucked between million-dollar houses south of Stanford University, looking for a spot in the bushes to stash my bags. Until that morning I’d been living in a cheap weekly-rate motel in Palo Alto. Before checkout, knowing I couldn’t afford the $48 fee for another night, I laid out my stuff on the bed. Over the cigarette burns on threadbare sheets, I scrounged for quarters, dimes and nickels. There was enough for an extra value meal at Taco Bell. I divided everything else I had between three bags; an olive-drab backpack my brother used in the Army Rangers, a black duffel I bought at Goodwill and a satchel for my laptop.
This was my life. I was two weeks shy of my 28th birthday, unemployed, broke, thousands of miles from my family, watching the weather forecast to see how uncomfortable sleeping outside would be that night. Whatever the prediction, I could handle it. Four and a half years in the Army, including 16 months as an infantryman in eastern Afghanistan, provided plenty of skills with no legal application in the civilian world. It was, however, wonderful preparation for being homeless. …

[AgentR11]

A familiar theme in homelessness is some form of mental instability, in this case PTSD. Being very light on asset and integration, it doesn't take very much in the way of a bad choice or two to land you in the homeless bucket. Hard enough to not make mistakes when your head is working mostly right. Throw a wrench in the works, and its almost an inevitable result.

The Army can't exactly order these guys to go to Texas or North Dakota or some locale that is both inexpensive, and has a larger available selection of work available, and stressed people aren't usually very good at accepting gentle suggestions either.

Tough nut to crack...

[eastbay]

I remember hearing some good, sound advice long, long ago after getting a good-paying job in a (now abandoned) steel mill. I can't remember who said it. It may have been my older brother, but these days it's more important than ever.

"Don't screw it up this time."

The economy no longer allows a worker to continuously hop from job to job, as it did when I was young. Today, one hops from job to homelessness.

[vision-master]

Over 50 and lose your job? Lot's of luck......