Posted on 05/20/2008 7:43:18 AM PDT by Moose4
SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) -- Barbara Harvey climbs into the back of her small Honda sport utility vehicle and snuggles with her two golden retrievers, her head nestled on a pillow propped against the driver's seat.
A former loan processor, the 67-year-old mother of three grown children said she never thought she'd spend her golden years sleeping in her car in a parking lot.
"This is my bed, my dogs," she said. "This is my life in this car right now."
Harvey was forced into homelessness earlier this year after being laid off. She said that three-quarters of her income went to paying rent in Santa Barbara, where the median house in the scenic, oceanfront city costs more than $1 million. She lost her condo two months ago and had little savings as backup.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
}:-)4
Santa Barbara is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the nation.
Much of California is absolutely choking on empty homes and apartments however. This lady should leave Santa Barbara and consider Fresno.
Poverty is not funny. In our area we are working with the National Forest and the Rotary to cut stacks of wood for the next winter so our senior citizens won’t freeze to death.
They probably don't want her because she's been laying down with dogs.
Where are her three grown children... Why would they allow their mother to live in a car?
Obviously she has chosen to live like this. She has three grown children.
Try moving. There are plenty of places in this country where she can find work and only pay 25-40% of her income towards rent. Back in the “good old” days people knew the reality of moving to find work instead of this retarded mentality of thinking they can just stay there and glean sympathy so someone else can support them.
Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee are few that easily come to mind.
Get rid of the dogs, move somewhere cheaper. No story.
I was not a Bobcat Goldwaithe an but he did a routine once talking about people that were starving in the desert countries of Africa. He answer to them was just f__ing move! If there is no food just move! If there is no water just move!
He was right.
Sorry if it sounds cold, but her situation sounds like the culmination of a string of poor life-decisions:
1. Spending 3/4 of your income on housing;
2. Not saving for retirement years;
3. Choosing to stay/live in one of the highest-cost markets in the country on modest wages;
4. Raising kids that don’t have enough regard for their own mother to welcome her into their homes;
5. Failure to attain skills worth more than $8/hr. to an employer.
I could go on, and on, and on ...
She could probably get lodging for a period of time from a judge or a nice little windfall from the prosecutor by becoming a whistleblower, based on her claimed profession.
Also, I'd like to know what her compensation was before the housing crash and how she disposed of that income before I feel too much sympathy for her.
I have a lot of compassion for this lady. It must be tough to be old and suddenly out of a job.
But she was 67. The moment her job slows down, she’s poverty striken? Did she expect to be able to work forever? She most have been close to retirement. What was she planning to do then?
There’s obviously a rhythm to this homelessness situation. I notice that it tends to occur every four years, with the possible recent exception of 1996. So in a few more months the problem will disappear again, all on its own, apparently. It’s a mystery, really.
Sam Kinison I think. HE said the solution was giving them UHAULS!
Caution ... Sam Kinison’s rants are definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK or little eyes. Use that link with caution.
I believe you’re thinking of the late Sam Kinison.
Carolyn
That's nice.
This case is self-imposed.
I could scream poverty, too, if I'd relocate to the world's MOST expensive place to live EVER.
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