So the public in general think the homeless get what they ask for or in other words they get what they deserve. Try thinking about it a different way the next time you wonder why they don’t have a job…
It really complicates the situation when you don’t have an address to put on a job application. What if you also don’t have a phone number? How are employers to contact you to schedule a job interview or let you know you have the job?
Let’s look at addresses:
I can tell you that employers in the Nashville metro area pass up applications with addresses such as the Rescue Mission listed on them if the person is lucky enough to have an address or it’s over at a place like Community Care so it’s a PO Box which doesn’t do them much good either on an application.
On to the phone:
Most of the homeless if not all would qualify for the SafeLink program which would provide them with a free phone with 68 minutes per month. This could give them enough minutes to work on a job and a means to call for help in the event of an emergency. The problem goes back to the address. SafeLink has a rule which prohits you from ordering a phone unless you have a street address, no PO Box allowed. Where does a homeless person get a street address from so they can get a service they are qualified to receive? In the even you’re wondering, they can charge them in a number of places like the library.
The next time you have a job opening that could possibly be filled with a homeless person, let me know. I have people beg me for work. Whether the work is temporary or permanent, they want to work. It may mean a little more effort to help your fellow man that likely doesn’t have a method of transportation on their own but the blessings are plentiful.
I’m not asking to give the homeless endless handouts but is it too much to ask for a hand up? A hand up from where they have landed so they can get back on their feet and be in a better position to help themselves?
April 30, 2010 at 9:53 pm |
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May 15, 2010 at 7:20 pm |
Hi,
As far as jobs go, I know they are hiring a lot of people at the Opryland Hotel site for cleanup. If they have ID, social security card, and if someone could transport them for a few weeks (long enough for them to save up money to buy a car) maybe they could break the cycle of poverty. I’m not totally sure where one applies for the jobs, but I know that the Tennesse Career Centers have the applications. Maybe the Campus for Human Development knows about job openings too.
May 18, 2010 at 4:48 pm |
They are working on getting ID’s and SS cards now. Most of them lost these items along with everything else in the floods. The ID’s were pretty easy to replace. I took one of them down to replace her ID yesterday morning. We also went and got her birth certificate. As for the Social Security card, it’s going to take 7 – 15 days for that to arrive. Her mailing address is The Campus which is what everyone calls Room at the Inn so she’ll have to keep checking there after 1:30 in the afternoon to see if it’s come in yet. They did a clinic yesterday to assist people with getting these items replaced so they wouldn’t have to pay for them but it’s going to take some time for them to receive them.