Can't get over how incredibly clean and bum-free Dallas is

[Dariusb]

This is a little off topic but I recently heard of a couple of stories of people either being arrested for feeding the homeless or ordered to stop. I'm like what's wrong with that? Do any of you live in cities that have these kinds of laws/ordinances?

[mhays]

Yes, probably most places have rules about food safety, operating an enterprise in public spaces (free or not), etc. It's not THAT they're giving food away, it's how.

[Dariusb]

Originally Posted by mhays

Yes, probably most places have rules about food safety, operating an enterprise in public spaces (free or not), etc. It's not THAT they're giving food away, it's how.

Ok gotcha.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by JManc

A lot of homeless don't want structure because having a job and paying rent means they'd have to adhere to society's rules.

actually its the opposite. they can’t handle the structure of a steady job and paying bills. most often because untreated mh issues and addictions are involved. so sometimes they use face saving outs like i don’t want to adhere to society’s rules, maaaan.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

actually its the opposite. they can’t handle the structure of a steady job and paying bills. most often because untreated mh issues and addictions are involved. so sometimes they use face saving outs like i don’t want to adhere to society’s rules, maaaan.

I suspect undiagnosed and untreated ADHD and/or "high-functioning" autism (Asperger's) is common in the "perpetually' homeless population. Both can cause severe executive functioning issues while not causing many obvious mental health symptoms so they're easy to miss.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

I suspect undiagnosed and untreated ADHD and/or "high-functioning" autism (Asperger's) is common in the "perpetually' homeless population. Both can cause severe executive functioning issues while not causing many obvious mental health symptoms so they're easy to miss.

yeah, a lot of adhd is actually depression, of which adhd is often a side effect. leads directly to drug abuse too.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

a lot if adhd is actually depression, of which adhd is a side effect

My personal experience is the opposite. Depression is a common and understandable response to suffering from undiagnosed and untreated ADHD.

[llamaorama]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

actually its the opposite. they can’t handle the structure of a steady job and paying bills. most often because untreated mh issues and addictions are involved. so sometimes they use face saving outs like i don’t want to adhere to society’s rules, maaaan.

Yeah I wouldn't be surprised.

I just try to empathize. If I had to choose between staying in some stanky old building eating canned corn and going to patronizing seminars like "how to take responsibility for the fact you are a loser the Christian way", or going and getting some fresh air and panhandling and going to McDonalds, I'm going to 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 McDonalds.

My idea has always been that we just need set up businesses that then give jobs to these people, and tolerate the reality that as employees sometimes they are just going to be not great. You give someone dignity and importantly, motivate them with spending money and a degree of autonomy and at least some of them will take the deal.

[mhays]

Who's going to pay for those jobs, when minimum is over $20/hour?

That said, you might be onto something. Even a huge expense is better than bums on the street.

[mrnyc]

^ trust me, you don’t wanna know what the crossbar hotel fees cost taxpayers. any and all preventative supports are vastly cheaper.

Originally Posted by bilbao58

My personal experience is the opposite. Depression is a common and understandable response to suffering from undiagnosed and untreated ADHD.

maybe. true adhd is actually rare. most often it’s an effect of depression. or other things. that’s why your general practicioner needs to refer you to psychiatric and counseling support to parse it out and treat it correctly, which i hope you are doing. all the best to you.

[muppet]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

My personal experience is the opposite. Depression is a common and understandable response to suffering from undiagnosed and untreated ADHD.

This -my partner for over 30 years suffered from untreatable depression (literally tried everything from meds to yoga to psychotherapy to electric therapy), until the ADHD diagnosis

[muppet]

I live by Europe's busiest train station (by some measures the world's), so it's a draw for 3 or 4 homeless, and 1 regular, who's an incurable addict. The last week I noticed a new guy, very quiet and not even begging (suspect fresh off the boat and not much of an English speaker), not an addict AFAIK, who actually slept out at night rather than go to a shelter -it hit -4C this week.

I reported him to the homeless organisations after seeing him dangerously sleeping through frost -they have a site where you can pinpoint their description and exact place/ time you saw them on a map, and they'll then approach, plus provide feedback on the outcome:

https://thestreetlink.org.uk/

They specialise in connecting people to all the services from the council, and any illegal migrants to the charities who replicate the offer. This is a lifeline, especially to newcomers who have no idea there's a safety network, and free accommodation. Long story short, the guy's no longer homeless, after a week, or 12hrs from being 'reported'.

The thrift stores in the UK are everywhere, and run by a gamut of charities, Shelter is one of them.

They do run of the mill ones, but also specialist stores for furniture/ electrical goods and even designer clothing:






These charity shops make $12.5 billion a year, but it's estimated they give back $90 billion in social value, significantly saving on taxes. I think setting up such an enterprise will help towards a solution -win win for all involved, from the shoppers getting a deal, the donors getting rid of junk (and not having to pay to remove stuff), to the charities getting free donations. Not to mention the taxpayers and councils, to of course the recipients of the aid.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by muppet

This -my partner for over 30 years suffered from untreatable depression (literally tried everything from meds to yoga to psychotherapy to electric therapy), until the ADHD diagnosis

there is no such thing. obviously by your example even treatment resistent depression is treatable. from what you said it's a classic example of major depressive disorder and adhd symptoms often going hand in hand and taking time to parse out, albeit that is an unfortunately excessive amount of time.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by muppet

This -my partner for over 30 years suffered from untreatable depression (literally tried everything from meds to yoga to psychotherapy to electric therapy), until the ADHD diagnosis

Exactly!

[muppet]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

there is no such thing. obviously by your example even treatment resistent depression is treatable. from what you said it's a classic example of major depressive disorder and adhd symptoms often going hand in hand and taking time to parse out, albeit that is an unfortunately excessive amount of time.

You may be missing the point -the depression wasn't what needed to be treated, but more the ADHD combined with autism, which had been long undiagnosed. Basically because life was so confounding and hard for him, it would always result in endless frustration, alienation, bitterness and sadness, which has an effect over the years -when he realised he was on the spectrum, and became better armed for navigating the world, did things get better. Rather like someone who hates noise being brought up in a jack hammer construction site. We try and treat/ blunt his feelings for years thinking he has physiological issues, but not realise what is actually causing them.

In short, it's arguable he didn't have depression persay, or at least not the kind caused by physiology.

On an unrelated note, I don't agree that all depression is treatable. Look up TRD -Treatment Resistant Depression -which my sister has (since the age of 12, and she's near 50 now) -near a third of people with a major depressive episode may be incurable.

[mousquet]

I have a cousin who has a son with some sort of ADHD.
They don't really know how to treat him. He suffers from hyperactivity, most often can't sit in a classroom or focus.
They put him in a Hip-Hop dance club, cause the kid is fascinated by energetic dancing.
It seems to be good for him, but there's apparently no scientifically proven treatment.
It's a pain because he's a good kid, but he's annoying because he needs to move all the time.
It requires even more patience than a normal kid does.

That being said, he's a great cute kid.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

there is no such thing. obviously by your example even treatment resistent depression is treatable. from what you said it's a classic example of major depressive disorder and adhd symptoms often going hand in hand and taking time to parse out, albeit that is an unfortunately excessive amount of time.

I would politely suggest you do some cursory research on late diagnosed and untreated ADHD in older adults.

Google's AI overview on the subject is pretty spot on in describing my 60+ years of personal experience :

Late diagnosed and untreated ADHD in older adults can significantly impact their lives, leading to challenges in daily functioning, relationship issues, and increased risk of mental health problems like depression and anxiety, often due to the frustration of struggling with symptoms without understanding the underlying cause and lacking proper management strategies; this can be further complicated by the fact that ADHD symptoms may sometimes overlap with normal age-related cognitive decline, making diagnosis difficult.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by muppet

...combined with autism, which had been long undiagnosed.

Yep. My story as well. And as it seems to run in families, it's my sister's adult son's story and, I suspect, was my mother's uncle's story.