No one ever has to starve to death in the United States. ( Archived) (206)

The ones with a full stomach,never understand the ones with an empty one.-Just because GARDENHACKLE coming from a poor family, and you and your brother succed to be finacially well off,does not mean each and everyone is capable to follow your examples.-Very unfortunate thread.

What's unfortunate about the thread? No need to keep all your sadness inside. Share it with us.

usa is spending Billions of Dollar in afghanistan war on the other side it is in deep crises and US nations is seeking a big subsdy ,is it not possible to stop the wars and make a best strategy to make a strong border security ?

I'm wondering if maybe the solution to the "homeless problem" in the United States would be to model the Italian solution - the Michelin Guide for the Homeless.

p.s. I suspect pissing on a police desk in Italy would get someone off the streets and into a cot and a sandwich, too. It would be nice if the wonderful caring people like you would take them in or buy them food but since that doesn't really happen, there's always the nuclear option. When you're REALLY hungry, you'll do anything you have to do for food.

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(Reuters) - It looks like a guidebook, with its glossy pages, fold-out map, and tips on where to eat and sleep in Rome. The only difference is that its readers are homeless.

The new edition of what its authors have dubbed a "Michelin Guide for the Poor" was presented on Wednesday as promoters warned that the ranks of the have-nots in Italy's capital were growing.

The guide, created by the Sant' Egidio Catholic peace organization, is divided into sections covering the basic needs of the homeless or poor -- "Where to Eat", "Where to Sleep", "Where to Wash Up".

According to Sant' Egidio, which has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize for its charity work and international peace negotiations, there are some 7,000 homeless people in Rome.

Some 2,000 sleep on the street, not far from luxury hotels and world renowned monuments like the Forum and the Colosseum. Some 3,000 sleep in charity shelters and 2,000 others in dilapidated abandoned buildings.

"Rome is 'home' to some 10 percent of people living in extreme cases of poverty in Italy," said Mario Marazziti, a founding member of the Sant' Egidio group.

The numbers have swelled after two waves of enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007 relaxed entry requirements for immigrants.

The 176-page guidebook, titled simply "Dove" (Where), tells the poor and homeless where they can get free meals -- either at Catholic parishes or city-run centers or mobile soup kitchens, which are marked by a drawing of a small sandwich on the map.

Volunteer organizations where the homeless can either spend the night or bathe -- marked by a small shower head on the map -- are also listed with instructions on how to get there on foot or public transport.

The guide, now in its 17th edition and which has spawned copycat editions in four other Italian cities as well as in France, Spain and Austria, also contains pages on legal and medical assistance.

"This is such a good guide that we give it to everyone coming out of jail," said Raffaella Milano, Rome's councilwoman for social services.

"People who leave jail and have no place to go have to get back on their feet. This guidebook has become precious for them and precious for us as public funds have been cut," she said.

As the cost of living in Italy has grown, so has the number of people who have homes but go to charity soup kitchens to eat several times a day, Marazzitti said.

The authors of the guide, which has an initial printing of 13,000 this year, made it a point to keep Rome's many cultural sites on the map.

"As the poor go from shelter to soup kitchen, we think it is nice and uplifting for them to know what they are passing," Marazzitti said.

See, here's the thing. I'll bet I've done more for the homeless than you have. The difference between you and me is that I TRULY understand the situation while to you it's just something to wring your hands about.

We get illegal immigrants in this country all the time showing up with nothing but a shirt on their back. For some reason, they seem to manage to take care of themselves even though they can't legally work, can't even legally stay in the country and may not even speak the language here. The thing they've got going for them is that, for the most part, they're not mentally ill and they're willing to WORK. They're used to living on very scant rations and the pickings are way, WAY better here. They take advantage of it. The homeless don't. You can't make someone work. You can't make them quit drinking long enough to show up for a job interview. Good luck getting a homeless person to rake your leaves in the fall in exchange for $20.00.

But I'll admit.... I'm yanking some chains here. I know that the bleeding heart liberals think that the homeless problem is "the government's job".... in other words, "aint my problem, man". And as such, it's natural to assuage the guilt of not doing a damned thing by complaining that more should be done by everyone else.

Cound the posts,none supported your unfortunated thread.