Homeless youths out on the street wonder: 'Why is my life like this?'

The Des Moines Register ^ | 07/13/2003 | BILL REITER, Register Staff Writer

[newgeezer]

RODNEY WHITE/Protector: Matt Witt, a 19-year-old with a penchant for violence, rolls a cigarette with butts from bus kiosk ashtrays. He is always ready to come to the defense of his homeless friends. "We're a family," he says.

This girl, this woman of 20 years, had wanted better things. With a shining smile and hazel eyes filled with determination, she was not supposed to end up like this. Her child was not supposed to be born on the streets. Her life was not supposed to disintegrate in warehouses, abandoned buildings and shelter after shelter.

[EggsAckley]

Around here, the young "homeless" call themselves "houseless by choice." They hang around the downtown all day, playing hacksack, panhandling, and blocking the sidewalks. Most of them are high school age runaways.

[EggsAckley]

Oops........hacksack = hackysack

[freeforall]

Yup, same thing except some times they bust windows and attempt break ins. I have had three broken windows.

[marktwain]

Tough Love is an option.

I have a friend whose 18 year old started smoking pot. She told him that he either quit, or he would have to leave the house. With the War on Some Drugs, as a professional, she would lose everything she had worked for if marijuana were found in her house; house, job, younger children, savings account, they take everything.

He took off, lived in LA for a year, and begged to come back. He lived on her terms and is now making something of himself. Some kids have no sense of reality, and liberals do everything they can to convince them that choices should not (and don't) have consequences.

[EggsAckley]

Their cute little "trick" here is to attach a hose to a hose bib, and then shove it through any crack in a window they can find at local professional offices or county offices. Then they flood the offices during the weekend. Cute.

[aruanan]

Matt Witt, a 19-year-old with a penchant for violence, rolls a cigarette with butts from bus kiosk ashtrays.

Looks like Matt Witt also has a penchant for doing violence to lots of chow judging by the tens of thousands of kilocalories he's carrying in extra fat.

At least the "homeless" kids of the 60's claimed to be in touch with something psychedelically cosmic.

[MonroeDNA]

Your testimony was wonderful, and coregeous. It gives me the courage to state my own. Thank you.

Start with an abusive family. 'nuff said.

At 14, my best friend "accidentally" shot himself in the forehead with a .22 rifle, while "cleaning it." He was an altar boy. Turns out the head priest was doing alter boys. We went to Catholic Jr. High together.

I was a boy Scout; made Star Scout. Turns out one of the Scoutmasters was doing some of my friends.

At 17, I was booted out of the house. Nasty divorce, beforehand.

My SAT's got me into Mensa.

At 22 I was homeless, living in my car in Huston. Arrived there with $22.83 in my pocket. I had a car, although the repo were after me. Damn mosquitoes. Too hot to slep with the windows up, but you would get eaten alive with them cracked. Spent my last on off, and bread and cheese. Goes a long way.

It never occured to me to go to a church for help, or other agencies. In my mind, and experience, they were all infected with predatory gays. No guardrails that I trusted.

Worked construction (thank God I got employed), and they thought I had a place to live. Didn't. Every day at 5:00, everyone would leave. I had enough gas left in my tank to go the half mile to a strip of hotels. Would change in my car, and hop the fence, and jump in the pool and scrub my hands all over me. Enough to pass. Slept in my car in the construction lot. They were all impressed with me being the first to work every day.

I remember very well my first paycheck, three weeks later. It barely covered a sleazebag motel. But I was in heaven--air conditioning!!! What a great day that was!!!!

Saved up. Slowly. 3 months, and had an apartment. No furniture. 2 months, and rented furniture.

Today I make heart pumps for a living.

Long vanity post on my part. What I went through is NOTHING compared to you. But thanks for giving me the courage to speak up.

peace out.

[timm22]

Homeless youths out on the street wonder: 'Why is my life like this?'

In many, if not most cases, it is because of their own irresponsibility and poor choices. They choose to get addicted to drugs, or to associate with violent people, or to reject their family. That's why they find themselves on the streets.

Of course, in articles like this one, their poor choices will get one short, euphemistic phrase - "after making some tragic mistakes, blah blah blah...". Then paragraph after paragraph of their suffering will follow, all with the implication that it is somehow not really their fault.

Of course, there are cases where someone may find themselves on the streets through circumstances largely beyond their control. They may have to escape from an abusive home, or suffer an unpredictable, catastrophic financial setback, or even be born to irresponsible street dwellers.

However, even in these cases, it is possible to escape the street life. There are charitable and church groups in almost every town that offer shelter, food, and sometimes even education. There are also odd jobs that don't require a resume or nice suit to make some money for a few weeks. With a little hard work, a person can bring themselves back into a safer, more stable lifestyle.

[Lizavetta]

I've been on my own since I was 17 with no one to turn to. Being a bum on the street would have been unnaceptable to me. I chose to be successful.

My husband got thrown out when he was 17 for refusing to cut his hair. He had a car but little money, got into construction, went to community college and then a state university by working and taking out student loans, and at 44 is by all standards a success. No financial or emotional support from his family but he was determined.

[Lizavetta]

In spite of how miserable it is to be a failure, it is easier to do nothing and be a failure than to bust your ass and be a success.

[MonroeDNA]

Air Force did it for me.

[Stick a Fork in Me - I am Done]

There is an entire system built on "troubled yoot" these days. Hungry and cold are great motivators.

[Stick a Fork in Me - I am Done]

I packed donuts in a donut factory until I took a step up and became a nurse's aid and swabbed bottoms in a nursing home. I was 15 and had lied about my age. On the first day of work the director of nursing was upset over the condition of one of the bodies that had just died. The poor creature had a bedsore the size of a dinner plate. She brought us all in to look at the body. I still remember it vividly.

[PleaseNoMore]

With all due respect, this kid that you are speaking of was 18. He was of legal age. Mom did the right thing. Time for Jr. to do a little maturing, especially at that age. I am speaking of these 12,13,14,15 and so on year old kids that have no boundaries and no enforcement of boundaries that are already set forth. FTR, I agree with tough love in some cases. I know that kids hate the "while you're under my roof you'll go by my rules" stuff.

[boris]

Someone pointed out that the 'problem' of the homeless seems to vanish when Democrats are in control of the government and mysteriously makes headlines when the Republicans regain control.

--Boris

[boris]

"My SAT's got me into Mensa."

That is odd. I thought IQ got one into Mensa. At least that's what it took when I was (briefly) a member in the 1970s.

--Boris

[Sonny M]

I have a store close to a homeless yute shelter...most are shiftless and not interested in working but they will beg for spare change... and will sell drugs. Sorry, no sympathy from me.

I agree, somone needs to tell these people "get a job ya filty bums". There are stores that would be more then happy to pay these people to work, even just bagging groceries and stuff, but they don't want to. They don't want to do anything, but cry for attention and live off the dole of tax payer money.

I remember watching a special about some homeless kids in seattle, I wanted to put my fist through the set when these kids were whining that the rich have so much and should give it to them, and that they don't want to work, they want to "explore" and be "spiritual" and its unfair for them to have to work if they want to eat or have a place to stay. They actually blamed society for not going out of its way to take care of them, and for giving them all these rules to follow.

[annyokie]

Amen to that. I worked double shifts at Bob's Big Boy to make ends meet. I lied about my age to rent an apartment, too.

[annyokie]

Congratulations! Yours is a great success story!

[freeforall]

The same bums, day after day, standing in the same spot for hours! Some have tried shoplifting, now we just ask them to leave.