“oh homeless people are just gonna use your money to buy drugs” and? and?? the government uses my tax money to buy bombs and cops, you think I care if someone in a shitty situation uses money I gave them to feel marginally less shitty? fuck off!
I’m looking at a lot of replies to this and some people really don’t get what this is like.
For context; I’m a recovering poly addict (somebody who was addicted to multiple different substances). For those who are nosy, it was alcohol and opioids.
I was also *technically* homeless for a period. I was lucky to be able to couch surf but there was definitely days where I had no idea where I was going to stay, and constantly had to rely of the kindness of others. I was on welfare at the time, but not much.
I was trying to get sober while couch surfing and holy fucking shit, it’s hard, I don’t think anyone understands how hard it is. I was fortunate to be able to lay on a warm couch and have withdrawals and even then, it was hard. That added stress of knowing that I was going to have to move on to the next kind person in my life was an extra layer to add onto how fucking sick I was. A lot of people don’t understand the physical aspect of drug use. My first night I spent violently shaking and clinging to a toilet bowl, wondering if I was dying.
I cannot even begin to fathom what it is like for those living on the street going through withdrawls. Hungry, cold, sleeping in a tent or on a cardboard box or on the god damn ground. I do not blame a single person for using money I give to avoid that. That is not a situation where it is reasonable to ask people to get sober. It’s just not.
Support homeless addicts, unconditionally, or don’t bother pretending like you care about them. Take the niciesties out the fucking door. If your criteria for helping homeless people includes “sobriety” then you don’t actually care.
My most recent blog challenge for my Discord Group was the question of how your life and experiences have influenced you as a writer. I think that for a lot of people, this will bring up good memories and thoughts… but for just as many people, it’s going to bring up some hurt and uncomfortable situations.
And that’s actually okay. I think that it’s important for us to realize that the bad…
