“Homeless People Are Older and Sicker Than Ever. Here’s One Way to Help.”

According to one estimate from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, more than 80 percent of all homeless people have at least one chronic health condition. More than half have a mental illness. They are frequently the victims of violent crimes, and they’re more susceptible to traumatic injuries like assault and robbery. Their living conditions also make them more likely to have skin conditions and respiratory infections.
“When you see a homeless person in their 50s, you should imagine a 75-year-old.”
Perhaps it’s no wonder, then, that people experiencing homelessness have a life expectancy of between 42 and 52 years, compared with 78 for the general population. A recent study by Margot Kushel, a professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, found that homeless people in their 50s develop geriatric conditions such as incontinence, failing eyesight, and cognitive impairment that are typical of people 20 years older. “When you see a homeless person in their 50s,” Kushel says, “you should imagine a 75-year-old.”

Read the entire story:

“Homeless People Are Older and Sicker Than Ever. Here’s One Way to Help.” 

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Salaam

“Gentrification and Ghost Towns”

Here is a except from this article I found the most important to point out:

Why have liberal views of people of color, LGBT people, women, etc. changed over the past 50 years, but conservative views (supposedly) haven’t?
The answer liberal whites usually gravitate to is “we are good people!” That’s the underlying message of so much white activism — we are good people, and we must destroy the bad people!!!!! However, I think people are people, and no one’s innately “better” than anyone else. I think liberal views changed because they were rewarded for changing their views. Educated people who were functioning, primarily, in the world economy were the beneficiaries of globalism. They were the winners of the internationalization of trade. Believing in equality is part of appearing educated; white liberals benefit more from education privilege now than white privilege (or, than overt white privilege — structural white privilege still in tact) but non college grads were the ones who absorbed the downsides of globalism.
America is filled with ghost towns of the working class communities whose manufacturing/mining/etc. jobs all evaporated. People’s communities got destroyed, and if they’re white, they have no power left except the power of white privilege. If they had something better, I’m sure they’d take it, because the privileges granted through racism are fucking ugly, but they don’t.
And, rural white people aren’t the only people losing their community and resenting people from “other cultures.” The historically latino population of the mission in SF is kind of super not down with the white gentrifiers. I see all sorts of “anti-colonial” and “anti-white” graffiti in the mission. Talk about awkward! Racial tensions due to gentrification are cropping up all over the US. However, unlike the rural white, these people don’t have any sort of existing racial privilege to leverage in an effort to save their communities.
But, white liberals are fucking killing it! We get to look “not racist” by memorizing the right group-speak, but still get to destroy all these nice communities with impunity! Yes, yessssss — keep hating the racist Trump voters. THEY’re the ones you have to worry about.

Read the entire article below, for those in communities who have experienced this or currently am this is one you’d appreciate most definitely.

“Gentrification and Ghost Towns” 

Since this article touches on the streets I see daily here are some photos to compliment the mood. Since folks now have to be shown to believe things. There is lots of this in our alleys especially Clarion…

Clarion alley, just steps from me. If i take a picture​ of this same alley 2 am this is home to many evicted Mission residents

Even Banksy leaves his mark here

If anyone knows where this is, then you know this same street is lined with tents now housing all those evictees. The upper class just steps away doing nothing much to help. Besides writing letters to the city complaining about the homeless ‘scum’ they feel like they shouldn’t have to walk past on their way to and from work. It’s sad they don’t realize they helped to create these so called scum; gentrification has its price unfortunately the low income and poor are the class that pays the most everytime! And more times than not with our lives…

Another Banksy PSA

One of the many side walk artworks you will find

With more than 7,000 homeless currently many can answer yes

Yes, this did really happen. Along with alot of ‘accidental’ fires leaving entire families homeless. I don’t think they are all accidentally started but that’s my opinion for many reasons.

Pictures have 1000 words, pay attention

Less artistic, just anger but holds some validity

What we lose…

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Salaam