Monday, October 06, 2008

Interesting statistic, but...

"Homeless Families" are a lot more sympathetic characters than regular bums; it's one thing to lose control of your circumstances so badly that you wind up drinking Aqua Velva while living out of a shopping cart behind the Greyhound station, and another thing altogether when you have your spouse and kids in the cart with you.

This article goes into the plight of homeless families in the Greater Boston S.S.R., but remains sketchy on the definition of "family", leaving one to envision whole Brady Bunches of little bindlestiffs clogging the freeway underpasses and Motel Sixes of the Bay State.

3 comments:

John A said...

"The Department of Transitional Assistance first began placing families in motels in 1999 when its shelters reached capacity."

Maybe so, must have been some other agency that was doing so a couple of years earlier when I learned of families in $1200/month motel rooms (interviewed, recently unemployed mom with three kids) and I half-jokingly considered offering my house (mortgage $975/month) to the program for that rate - four rooms for the price of one, with full kitchen, and basement! And yard for the kds to play!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure that programs like these have nothing to do with the fact that the PRM is going hat in hand to Uncle Sugar and whining that if the PRK can do it...

Anonymous said...

John A: The trouble comes when they move out - there might be so much damage and such a cleanup job that you lose money overall.