Rebecca Twigg is homeless

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by CunegoFan

Uh, no. I bet us can hold down a job, don't spend the whole day drunk or high, don't think panhandling is a solution to money woes, and don't see public sidewalks as a convenient toilet.

Originally Posted by CunegoFan

My toleration for coddling the homeless ended when I had to worry about stepping in human turds and my dog stepping on needles..

homelessness is a hugely complex issue, as evidenced by the original article posted here about a formerly very accomplished cyclist.

the lack of empathy in these posts, and the oversimplification of such a complex, widespread issue is really pretty sad. .

[Mikej]

I would think being an accomplished athlete is a benefit.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Gummee

If you don't want to fix your own personal problem, how is Washington going to fix it for you?

How is the local hospital going to fix it?

How is anyone outside your own skull going to fix anything?

Sounds like its the same as addiction: you need to hit rock bottom before you change your mind and change things. Doesn't sound like Ms Twigg has hit that point yet.

Before you jump my stuff, I've* been* a CH away from being homeless. I've had a few really great buddies that let me live with them for free/cheap after my ex- kicked me out of the house. I was unemployed at the time... I don't have the mental issues that seem to plague the subject of this thread and I've pretty well fixed that living situation

M

Originally Posted by Gummee

The difference is that those of us without the mental issues will (usually) work to get 'back on track' rather than staying homeless.

Jay Leno was sleeping in his car when he first got to Hollywood...

M

alas, we can formulate public policy from two anecdotes, one personal, one with a heavy survivor bias

[josephr]

Originally Posted by Mikej

Seems like she let things get the best of her. Regardless, being a top level competitor requires some thought as to what comes after.

good point....not planning for the future...riding out the moment. There's some similarities here with all the former NFL players who lived the high-life for a few years and then came out broke on the back side. I hope this doesn't sound to being overcritical, but my thoughts are that she can't/won't hold down a job, her friends have stopped letting her couch-surf, and her mom even gave her the boot are red flags she's refusing to take on responsibility for the adjustment....still in that "I'm a gold medalist" state of mind. I dunno, maybe that's unfair speculation on my part and there's clearly more to this story than we'll ever know. Kudos to her family and friends for declining to participate in the interviews. There's resources out there if she wants to make the change, but its not going to be easy. Hope she finds a way out of her hole.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by josephr

good point....not planning for the future...riding out the moment. There's some similarities here with all the former NFL players who lived the high-life for a few years and then came out broke on the back side. I hope this doesn't sound to being overcritical, but my thoughts are that she can't/won't hold down a job, her friends have stopped letting her couch-surf, and her mom even gave her the boot are red flags she's refusing to take on responsibility for the adjustment....still in that "I'm a gold medalist" state of mind. I dunno, maybe that's unfair speculation on my part and there's clearly more to this story than we'll ever know. Kudos to her family and friends for declining to participate in the interviews. There's resources out there if she wants to make the change, but its not going to be easy. Hope she finds a way out of her hole.

I don't think so, completely agree with these thoughts.

[Hawker]

Well this article tells a lot.

https://www.si.com/vault/2016/08/17/...plan-start-now

Parents divorced, Mom decides she needs to quit high school at age 14 and enrolls her in college! She feels out of place and has low self esteem so her mother decides she needs to pursue sports and cycling in particular. And on it goes. But her Mom is making her choices and some of them are bad ones. Later she not only excels in cycling but becomes a bit of a cycling celebrity and attracts sponsors because she is pretty as well. Then marries a "bad boy" in cycling and that goes sour in a year.

Sheesh. She's still responsible for her life....but lots going on in the background.

[redir]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

homelessness is a hugely complex issue, as evidenced by the original article posted here about a formerly very accomplished cyclist.

the lack of empathy in these posts, and the oversimplification of such a complex, widespread issue is really pretty sad. .

Yeah I just read an article the other day about how empathy is slowly working it's way out of our society and being replaced with indifference. That coupled with the 'I got mine' and tribalism attitude might make for a rough few generations to come. There's also a lot of promotion from certain groups that some people don't want to work and that they deserve what they get. It's false but it's prevalent among a certain group.

Twigg appears to be suffering from some sort of illness or personality disorder. I hope she finds her way.

[David Tollefson]

Originally Posted by Mikej

I would think being an accomplished athlete is a benefit.

Accomplished is a light way to put it. She was world champion several times.

I see many similarities to returning combat vets who have problems settling into a more normal existence upon returning home.

[raygunner]

Buried near the end of the article...

"From her own experience, Twigg thinks the answer is building more affordable housing."

I wonder how she came to that conclusion...since she won't accept direct charity.

"She still won’t accept housing for herself, even when help is offered by people who’ve found out about her state"

Additional government intervention in the housing market is okay but direct charity isn't?

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by josephr

good point....not planning for the future...riding out the moment. There's some similarities here with all the former NFL players who lived the high-life for a few years and then came out broke on the back side. I hope this doesn't sound to being overcritical, but my thoughts are that she can't/won't hold down a job, her friends have stopped letting her couch-surf, and her mom even gave her the boot are red flags she's refusing to take on responsibility for the adjustment....still in that "I'm a gold medalist" state of mind. I dunno, maybe that's unfair speculation on my part and there's clearly more to this story than we'll ever know. Kudos to her family and friends for declining to participate in the interviews. There's resources out there if she wants to make the change, but its not going to be easy. Hope she finds a way out of her hole.

It is overly critical and unfair.

None of us know her particular circumstances, nor are we entitled to that knowledge. Seeing this situation from a viewpoint of compassion and humility as opposed to jumping to victim-blaming conclusions would be much more helpful. This is a tragedy, one that is somehow played out several thousand times a day in the richest country in the history of humankind.

[notsew]

I think one of the major reasons we struggle so much to find a solution to homelessness is that it is seen by most as a local issue, when in fact it is a national, or at least state issue. Because people see homeless on the streets of their downtown, they think their city (or to many people, their cops) should be responsible for it.

The terrible truth of the matter is that municipalities don't have nearly the resources for the level of investment that is needed to address the problem, be that housing (how much housing is the federal government building today compared to 40 years ago?), mental health treatment (for her statement in particular, google "Western State Hospital" and check out the news stories about western Washington's only inpatient psychiatric hospital), or just the safety net in general (or lack thereof). The only governments that have taken some responsibility are local, and unless they are incredibly rich, they really can't do a whole lot about it while still providing police, fire and other critical services (and if they are incredibly rich, they probably don't have much of a homeless problem). People need to make this an issue for governors and presidents, not just mayors.

[rallizes]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

It is overly critical and unfair.

None of us know her particular circumstances, nor are we entitled to that knowledge. Seeing this situation from a viewpoint of compassion and humility as opposed to jumping to victim-blaming conclusions would be much more helpful. This is a tragedy, one that is somehow played out several thousand times a day in the richest country in the history of humankind.

Thank you for this

[sitzmark]

If you haven't viewed it ... Seattle is Dying https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw ...a documentary of the homeless situation that has exploded in Seattle where Rebecca is a "resident" and how the community is unsuccessfully trying to deal with homelessness at this time. "No Action" and "Locke 'em up" will never solve the problem. The "obvious" solutions aren't the answer.

Shutting down state/federal funding for Mental Health support/institutions in the 80's started a spiral that isn't advantageous to anyone. Abuse of the system and patients was rampant. Stopping that was the good part. The end result hasn't ended the torment of the mentally ill, however. The word "homeless" does not begin to capture the infinity of circumstances for the individuals who live on the streets by necessity or by choice. Convenient label, but won't solve the problems.

Providence might be one light of providence ... for the "homeless" who do spiral into the addiction/illegality of homelessness.

[mjb266]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/o...ty-record.html

For the folks wondering how "we" would ever be able to help out an "individual" who is homeless, the linked NY Times article is telling. The author notes, "between 2015 and 2017, Canada reduced its official poverty rate by at least 20 percent. Roughly 825,000 Canadians were lifted out of poverty in those years"

This is evidence (not anecdote) that a community of people make decisions that can alleviate, or perpetuate, things like homelessness. The abstract liberalism that folks lean on when they talk about "bootstraps" and free choice simplify complex issues and disregard complex histories that got us to where we are today.

[19wisconsin64]

Personally it pains me to see someone who I looked up to in a homeless situation.

Raised by a single, disabled mother, who when she could work she sometimes got a job as a social worker......saw first-hand growing up how the need for housing is complex. We often had some homeless families staying with us-they had nowhere to go.

These days I work promoting the 3D printed housing movement. Low rise, high quality, affordable, durable, efficient housing. It will take about 15 to 20 years until these will be viable (meaning they are profitable for private developers and cost efficient for governments to build). It's exciting to work in this field!

We live in a time of increasing migration due to many factors, so it's a race against time to tackle this issue. Many new materials are being developed, many new large-scale printers are being developed to work with these new materials, and lots of large scale investments by both private and public scientists.

This new way of building quality low-rise, cost effective housing can't come soon enough.