It's Home Sweet Motel Room for Thousands Who Lose Homes
As part of our ongoing race to the bottom, having an American family of five live in a motel room is something for which they should be grateful. After all, how many other families are living in storage bins?
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Greg Hayworth, 44, graduated from Syracuse University and made a good living in his home state, California, from real estate and mortgage finance. Then that business crashed, and early last year the bank foreclosed on the house his family was renting, forcing their eviction.
Now the Hayworths and their three children represent a new face of homelessness in Orange County: formerly middle income, living week to week in a cramped motel room.
“I owe it to my kids to get out of here,” Mr. Hayworth said, recalling the night they saw a motel neighbor drag a half-naked woman out the door while he beat her.
As the recession has deepened, longtime workers who lost their jobs are facing the terror and stigma of homelessness for the first time, including those who have owned or rented for years. Some show up in shelters and on the streets, but others, like the Hayworths, are the hidden homeless — living doubled up in apartments, in garages or in motels, uncounted in federal homeless data and often receiving little public aid.
The Hayworths tried staying with relatives but ended up last September at the Costa Mesa Motor Inn, one of more than 1,000 families estimated to be living in motels in Orange County alone. They are among a lucky few: a charity pays part of the $800-a-month charge while Mr. Hayworth tries to recreate a career.
The family, which includes a 15-year-old daughter, shares a single room and sleeps on two beds. With most possessions in storage, they eat in two shifts, on three borrowed plates — all that one jammed cabinet can hold. His wife, Terri, has health problems and, like many other families, they cannot muster the security deposit and other upfront costs of renting a new place.
Motel families exist by the hundreds in Denver, along freeway-bypassed Route 1 on the Eastern Seaboard, and in other cities from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Portland, Ore. But they are especially prevalent in Orange County, which has high rents, a shortage of public housing and a surplus of older motels that once housed Disneyland visitors.
Public Housing NOW!
HUD here.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
for emergency housing. Under his regime, Section 8 style funding was slashed, from 32b a year in 1980 to 7b a year in 1988. I was waitlisted for three and a half years because of this. I was second tier. First tier are DV victims, homeless women w/ children and couples with children. People on the first tier were waiting about a month for housing. I don't know how third tier people get help. That was 2005.
I keep thanking my lucky stars for being disabled at this point.
me-oww!
"For being disabled at this point."
Wow. That makes me sick to my stomach, that a person is thankful for having a disability in our country.
"Now that's just uniquely Murkin, ain't it?"
Goddamn I want to CRY.
but now, I'm a lot better off than my sister, who at 53, was laid off (um-bond trader, stock broker. Should have gone for liberal arts...). She used to be at the top of the temp list between jobs, and they loved her, but now she's competing with Stanford and Harvard MBAs for accounting temp work.
me-oww!
Remember - Reagan was the asshole who made jokes about the amount of children who go hungry in this country - "they're all on a diet". Ick.
All anyone here does is complain - as if the law isn't equitable.
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I think Barbara Bush would say they're lucky they're getting all that maid service.
... in the nearby dumpster.
Maybe the rats are tasty. One can always hope. Maybe this will affect the homeless pet populations. Not saying it's good - but it looks like that's where we're heading.
The shelters are overwhelmed and can't handle any more animals. Not only are those who go into foreclosure forced to give up their pets, but people who simply cannot afford to feed them anymore - some of them are eating pet food themselves. I have this from a woman that runs a no-kill shelter in our area. More animals roaming the streets ... more hungry people ....
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that you are correct. We're looking for another pup so I monitor the shelter sites. Used to be mostly strays, now it's 2/3 owner surrenders.
I'd rather see people suffer than animals. Particularly if the people suffering are the CEOs of CitiBank and Goldman Sachs.
We have five of our own cats - all rescues --- and two strays that we can't find homes for. Beautiful, sweet, loving, we took them to the vet, they're spayed, shots, everything -- we can't find homes for them. One's in our laundry room and one's in another small room.
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Why should WE support these laze-abouts?
OK, that was firmly tongue in cheek to get your attention. NOT to make jokes because what our country has become at the hands of the coprorate overclass is no laughing matter.
In the past I have gone hungry at the end of the week from not being able to afford food, and have been one paycheck or illness away from living on the street. Although I'm firmly middle class now, what's the difference if I'm one paycheck or 10 or 100 paychecks away? No safety net is no safety net.
It used to be that the last refuge of middle age guys like me was a job in Home Depot. Now god knows what I would do.
Of course Citibank and BOA are OK. Isn't that all that counts?
Finally you're beginning to understand what "too big to fail" means. Of course, that's "Mr. Too Big" to shmucks like you and I.
You're my boy, Blue
"People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy half a slug who must tighten his belt." Heinlein
The new axiom for our time.
I used to love the saying "Owe a hundred dollars to the bank and they own you. Owe them a million and you own them".
I'm trying to figure out what changed? Now we don't owe them anything but we pay them trillions. WTF? How did things ever get so topsy turvey?
Chris Rock was right several years ago when he said "You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America’s Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn’t want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named ‘Bush’, ‘Dick, and ‘Colon.’ "
Chris Rock!
Chris Rock rules! Thank gawd for comedians.
I don't understand why the rich who recieved all those tax breaks for the last eight years don't give back to their fellow Americans. Oh yeah, because they a f*^!$ a-holes, that's why. Always glad to receive but not so big on giving back other than that old canard of "trickle down".
Every time those talking heads, Beck, Hannity, et al speak against the Obama admin they should be shown the tent cities (motels included) that 8yrs of unfettered Repuke admin have wraught.
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I'd rather not. You might catch something.
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I'd worried about eating diseased brains too.
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...at the stake, which is where we should burn them in the first place.
OK, OK, site monitor, I did not mean to advocate violence towards some of these corporate slime. But it does feel good to fantasize about it.
I would really like to know if Mr. Hayworth understands that his plight is not just a matter of bad luck and the normal business cycle but the predictable result of government policies started by Ronald Reagan and taken to an extreme level by George W. Bush. Supply side, trickle down, Milton Freedman, world is flat, "free" trade government economic policies. Despite all of the evidence of it's complete failure it is still being sold to under informed Americans 24 hours a day every day by the Corporate Media.
This story and the tent cities stories are just so damned heartbreaking. I know what being poor is like, I grew up that way. I know all those sorts of hardships because I grew up living them. The first thing I learned is how to be poor and if necessary I can do it again. But so many of these people never in their worst nightmare thought they would ever be in this condition. They are living their nightmare now and they have to live in a whole different horrible world. I admire them for doing what they have to do to survive.
I remember the other night they showed inside one tent in a tent city. The man and woman looked middle aged. There was a pretty little area rug in the middle of the tent floor and their cat was sleeping near by. That pretty little rug and that cat seemed to be all they had left. I sat there and looked at that and cried and cried.
How can this be happening in America and why aren't these people taken care of the way hurricane victims are taken care of? Big tents, cots, water, hot food?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Yep he could lie, cheat, and swindle his way to being a multi-millionaire on the backs of all of us 'little people' because, of course , he is a superior human being. And all the bought and paid for corporate 'journalists' who do the bidding of the corporations that own their souls, or what is left of them, who continue to lie on behalf of their corporate masters. Where I live even the food bank has closed the doors. And the motels are full.
This story serves as a reminder to all who can, please pick up some extra food this week and donate it to your local food pantry. Every little bit helps. At the pantry where we donate on a regular basis, the lady said the donations are way down and the demand is higher than it has ever been.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
I started that several years ago. Screw the Cancer Society and Easter Seals. The damn doctors haven't cured anything since polio.
ALL my donations (cash and in kind) go to shelters and pantries and have been for years.
Cure something? Don't make me laugh. The idea is to keep you needing your doctor and on pharmaceuticals forever - don'cha know?
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I remember having a talk with the rector of the church I went to in California. It was the height of the tech boom and Welfare reform was being discussed. We were of the mind that the people who were debating this bill didn't remember their history too well. Back in the 30's, charities tried to pick up the slack but were overwhelmed by the demand. We knew that the boom would end and there would be a crash and the safety net would be gone. He and I called this over ten years ago. We saw this coming and knew we couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.
I do donate what I can. I feel really lucky I can still splurge on certain food items. I was brought up on welfare and the free lunch program. I'm lucky that my kids don't think it's weird to go to Goodwill to look for clothes (there are some screaming deals there, by the way) and they love our 1990 Olds wagon (Mrs.The King), which is now on its last wheels -- the tranny is starting to go. Time to find a younger, new to me car very soon.
We routinely hit the Salvation Army - for everything except shoes and underwear, including non-clothing items - couches, etc. To find the things you need it sometimes takes a few visits. I've bought second-hand clothes for my kids their whole lives though - and I'm not too proud to wear used clothing. My coat cost me $1.75.
Both our cars are 9 years old and both starting to have trans problems too.
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We went to Goodwill one day to look for sweaters. We walked out with four really nice sweaters for under ten bucks. It was great!
Consider giving money instead.
I don't know if this is true of all pantries -- but there's one we donate to and I'd fill up on groceries - $40 or so at a time - and take it down there. Last time I asked her what they'd rather have - food or money? she told me MONEY and gave me a flier that showed how much buying power they have with money. They can buy A LOT more food with the $40 than I can donate - more than twice as much. And they know what they need the most too.
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Bushvilles
Bushotels
Bushtowns
Bushslums
Bushburgs
Bushburbs
Bushel O'Poor
there will be people in my town living in their relatives' aluminum storage shacks once again...
And last summer, we had some men who were here for the grape harvest to work that were literally sleeping on cardboard that they laid in the dirt by our fence because they had nowhere to go...
Just a sad situation...
"The greatest tyranny is censoring information in order to be better able to control people." - Cristina Saralegui
Sleeping out in the open on cardboard?
Now add a wife and kids.
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Yeah, that is very painfully true...that would be so much worse. :(
"The greatest tyranny is censoring information in order to be better able to control people." - Cristina Saralegui
shitty weather. Freezing, rainy. And the seasoned weirdos already living rough.
me-oww!
This is the core of my regular diet, so I don't have to change my menu much:
-- brown rice
-- canned beans
-- oranges or juice
-- oatmeal
-- powdered milk
-- whole wheat pasta
-- walnuts, peanut butter, raisins
Depression food -- relatively cheap, filling, nourishing.
Yeah, but for you and I it's a choice. Try it by necessity and living in your car at the same time.
Don't worry, I'm not flaming you, I know you were not making (too much of) a joke.
Recently my favorite lunch has been PB&J (without the J) and our favorite dinner spagetti (the boss makes amean sauce). We sit and think about the days we HAD to eat like that and hope they don;t return.
I found in the 1970s, when I was doing a lot of running and other exercising, this was the food my body craved.
Some of these people no longer even have a car. I know what you mean about hoping you don't have to go back to the not so good old days.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
food and shelter , the corporations own the food they own the farms they own your ass, foods now a lethal weapon i have been shouting this for months now ,go buy what you bought a month ago see how the package shrunk how the price is still the same or costs more , if i was you id get busy looking for a nice spot under that bridge you think these pork barral bastards are going to improve on , stay away from rail road bridges they aint got no cover to crawl under!
This could be us within the next few months. Faster if my husband loses his job.
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I sure do hope it isn't you and your husband at any time. I sure do.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
. . . but if I suddenly disappear . . . .
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Wisconsin.
Lots of reasonably priced homes. Not seeing the problems here as much. Median priced homes are around $125,.
It is cold right now however.
Not many jobs but a lot of cheap homes.
I live in Orange County, CA and we are among the very lucky; we only have a 6.5% unemployment rate here. We are not hurting for jobs (Just compare our Craigslist to other comparable cities). We are still doing quite well with home sales- while down, they are are still moving. Mortgage companies are hiring for all the mod work that is in demand.
I just have to think there is some other component to this story that is unreported.
This entire story is what's unreported. This should be on the nightly network and cable news every night. Over and over. Every hour if necessary. The richest god damn country on the planet and a third of us are in poverty. This can not stand!
Oh, also unreported...
* Real unemployment rate close to 20%. Factor in those out of work over a year, self-employed without work, underemployed, those with cut wages or hours. Now we're close to great depression levels.
* Real inflation easily over 10 percent. The juiced numbers out of the government are painfully obviously to those of us in a supermarket evey other day. Get ready for hyperinflation as result of the Federal reserve printing the equivalent of a third of the GDP in the last siz months.
etc, etc...
The town where my kids go to school has an unofficial unemployment rate of 20%. Two RV manufactures laid off a total of 2500 people. One of the companies had its service center in the town. How this will effect this town of 3500 is unknown. There was a lot of home building that took place over the last 5-6 years. How many of them are underwater is also unknown. Times am tough.
... want to go after the federal reserve itself, and start calling the banksters out by name?
don't you find it remotely upsetting you can't audit the federal reserve?
does it make you feel at all uneasy that we're a nation in debt, that never can or will get out of debt, unless we send the money quacks packing?
and if benjamin franklin really did say the single biggest reason america revolted was because of the inability to print it's own money, what did he mean? and how should we feel today? obviously, armed revolt is out of the question -but what can we do to get the charlatans out of dodge?
he he, the thing is you still havent got it! they gotca by the nuts folks and they aint turning lose untill you aint got a nickle to stick up your nose! these people your reading about ,its you next year next month next week and you can lick on every politicians numnchhucks all you want they stll dont give a rats ass about cha! bwwwhhhha ha , next stop picking the garbage out of the rich bastards refuse!
You have such a way with words, tyree!
yeah i learned it as a youngster picking shit with the chickens while the fat bastards who own this country said i shouldnt cry because as long as every thing was ok for them i was just bitching for bitchings sake!there i fixed it for me!
You went back and fixed your spelling! I am truly honoured!
:)
its ok thiers some days when i dont watch the fashion shows of politicians wives showing off the latest styles of clothing the rich wear on cnn that i become lucid!
I'll tell you whats going on, they are still winning. My area is just fine as far as I can tell, unless I am being fooled be the vigilant Christians. Maybe they are pretending that they all have money and jobs here? They still own the TV, the military, the government. They took the liberal areas and destroyed them financially. Here guys look and see.
http://jobs.pennlive.com/careers/jobsearch/re...
Don't know if that link will work so, Harrisburg, PA patriot news. search classifieds on Pennlive for jobs.
IF we learn ONE thing from this period in our history (and I think it's going to be longer and deeper and harder than most want to consider) that ONE thing should be: we ALL might need a safety net sometime.
I spent countless hours helping the homeless when I lived in the city, and realized then that any one of us could end up there too. The institutions that help the helpless are there for ALL of us.
Universal Health Care is in the same category. Ultimately it is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue - not an individual health issue. With large numbers of homeless or nearly homeless, all lacking health insurance, the likelihood of epidemics skyrockets. That one homeless guy who loses his tuberculosis medicine is a walking time bomb, spreading resistant tuberculosis throughout the homeless population, and from there into the general population.
Interconnected. We are interconnected, and until and unless we grasp that concept as a culture we're all going to suffer accordingly.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
It seems to me that so called liberals and progressives easily grasp this concept, but conservatives don't seem to get this one at all.
Even ( and especially) Jesus's folks.
is the amount of flags that you see flying in the Bushvilles. The country that they love and respect has trod them underfoot and then wiped the residue off on the curb.
As a Canadian, it breaks my heart to see so many suffering for the excesses your system. I am reminded that not too long ago, Cdns were scorned as boring socialists (or worse). Although our economy is in trouble (unemployment), it is largely because of the decline of US & Int'l markets, either mfg goods or raw materials. We have no housing crises, (Sub-prime, Ninja etc. were illegal), the banks are all profitable (the bank act regulates all investment...and they check). Health care is no worry, although inconvenient at times. The difference between us as I see it is: A) We believe that good government should play an important role in our lives & B) Religion has no place in public, hence, social policy. In fact, I'm relatively politically aware and I'm not sure of the religious affiliation of any of our party leaders. Religious leaders have no public influence outside the church. We have next to no AM talk radio. Good luck rebounding and I hope Obama can deliver.
and welcome. I see you're from Halifax ... such a great city!
In keeping with the money theme, Nova Scotia has a great little place called Economy, on the Minas Basin. It's basically just a few homes next to a highway. The little groups of houses at each end of that particular stretch of road are called Upper Economy and Lower Economy. Really, I kid you not.
And, btw, the people, scenery and food are simply fantastic.
Those crazy Maritimers ... gotta love em!
you know when i first started smokeing i paid 8 cents a pack for them , 80 cents a carton outside the limits of the us at sea , back then if a guy asked for a butt id give him the whole pack , now if a guy wants to bum a cig off me i ask him if he thinks im rockafeller, at 5.44 a pack , never thought itd go this far, ok im going to try to quit, but thinking back on the inaguration of obama and the millions who wasted millions watching the parades the bands the useless politicians i thought , what happened here , where were all the patriots , the outraged citizens , the soon to be sifting thru some garbage dump after they pissed away thier chance to get these politicians by the nads in congress ,or the whitehouse and boot thier ass into the gutter where they belong ! when it counted where were the people standing with cindy sheehan , dureing the big protests against bush? motels indeedy , garbage pickers !you bet! shovel ready jobs dream on ! time marches on as magpies fly to the next power lines ! magpies is the key word!
Just imagine a couple of million more people in that situation.
Pitches and forks could start flying very fast.
I've also been getting increasingly worried about pets that go "missing" if they're running around loose or out in the backyard. I have pet rabbits and knowing that they're still looked on as food more than pets, I'm keeping an eye on them. Since my guys live indoors they're a lot better off than the poor bunnies that live in a hutch out in the backyard. There have been more frequent occurrences of backyard rabbits disappearing from their hutches in the last several months across the U.S. and Britain. :( However I'm going to be heading across country soon and will be making sure that they're out of sight in the car while I'm parked and in a store or restaurant.
It's hard to decide which is the biggest assh*le, Beck or that dick from Red Eye. Sorry, meant to post to the Beck and his gascan article.
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