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Think Progress » Homeless woman from Obama’s town hall given a place to live.

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Chene Thompson, the wife of State Rep. Nick Thompson (R), has offered her former residence to Hughes. “Basically, I offered Ms. Hughes and her son the opportunity to stay in my home rent free, for as long as they need to,” said Thompson. “I’m not a millionaire, I’m not rich, but this is what I can do for someone if they need it.”

Here is another great story

Woman buys foreclosed home for stranger | Latest News | WFAA.com

Or this:

ABC News: Facebook Group Petitions on Behalf of Flight 3407 Buffalo Crash Family

Individuals helping other individuals?

How about this?

ACORN disrupts foreclosures

Or demands to break the law?

G&P

I think it is wonderful people helping people. I love it, we all should take a long look at ourselves and think of something we are able to do. Time and or money can be of great help. Many of us can only give time, but there are so many still that can help with donations or what not. There are a lot of us out there...

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Think Progress » Homeless woman from Obama's town hall given a place to live.

Wonder who is going to take care of the women who thinks she'll get her gas for free?
YouTube - Obama Is Going To Pay For My Gas And Mortgage!!!

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Originally Posted by inthebox

ACORN disrupts foreclosures

Hello in:

Wow, Dude! I thought ACORN was hated by the righty's.

excon

Tom, I don't think she expects the government is going to pay her bills. I think she is saying that with Obama as President she will be prosperous again and will not have to worry about where she is going to get the money to pay her bills.

I know what she means .Obama's promise of "spreading the wealth" spread something more than that.

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Originally Posted by spitvenom

Tom, I don't think she expects the government is going to pay her bills. I think she is saying that with Obama as President she will be prosperous again and will not have to worry about where she is going to get the money to pay her bills.

Why couldn't people do this with Bush in office? Cause they didn't like him? Or they needed... what? I just don't get it. Listen, it doesn't matter who is in the office, we have choices, she could have made that same choice last year. The lady that bought the house could have to... hmmmmm

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Originally Posted by startover22

Why couldn't people do this with Bush in office? Cause they didn't like him? Or they needed...what? I just don't get it. Listen, it doesn't matter who is in the office, we have choices, she could have made that same choice last year. The lady that bought the house could have to...hmmmmm

Because by the end People did not believe in Bush. They just saw him as the guy who lied to get into Iraq to get oil. I am not saying it is right but it is what it is. And it didn't start with Bush it started with Clinton Maybe before but I couldn't vote then so I didn't pay attention to what was going on.

You know when I think about it I am better off now then I was 8 years ago (keep in mind 8 years ago I was 23 and just finishing college) And you are right start it has nothing to do with the President it had to do with me working my @$$ off in school and then at work. I wanted to buy a house 2 years ago but I knew I couldn't afford it so I didn't even bother. I knew if I started to look at houses I would convince myself that I could afford it when really I couldn't.

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And you are right start it has nothing to do with the President it had to do with me working my @$$ off in school and then at work. I wanted to buy a house 2 years ago but I knew I couldn't afford it so I didn't even bother. I knew if I started to look at houses I would convince myself that I could afford it when really I couldn't.
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I'd start looking . There has to be comparatively some great bargains out there. I would rather see someone who has worked for it and played by the rules be the beneficiary of the housing bubble burt ,than having you as part of the renter's class ;having to open up your wallet to bail out someone who over-reached based on a social engineering scheme by the government .

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Originally Posted by spitvenom

Because by the end People did not believe in Bush. They just saw him as the guy who lied to get into Iraq to get oil. I am not saying it is right but it is what it is. And it didn't start with Bush it started with Clinton Maybe before but I couldn't vote then so I didn't pay attention to what was going on.

You know when I think about it I am better off now then I was 8 years ago (keep in mind 8 years ago I was 23 and just finishing college) And you are right start it has nothing to do with the President it had to do with me working my @$$ off in school and then at work. I wanted to buy a house 2 years ago but I knew I couldn't afford it so I didn't even bother. I knew if I started to look at houses I would convince myself that I could afford it when really I couldn't.

At least we got this said. We had the same choices then as we do now...
It is just up to us tomake the right choices as you did, not going to look cause if you did, you probably would have bought. Just like NOT filing out the credit card applications that come in the mail. I fully understand this. I just don't like the fact that the credit is put on Obama, he really has nothing to do with it. We should put the credit where it is due, and in a few instances it is just the plain ole people that helped and did the right thing when they could. Nobody else.

Tom we do have our eyes on a few houses right now. But my wife's company just laid off about 400 people she was one of the lucky ones who made the cut so to speak. She wants to wait a few more months just so she knows her job is stable then we are going to really start to look.

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello in:

Wow, Dude! I thought ACORN was hated by the righty's.

excon

I wonder how many of those in ACORN that are aiding in breaking the law have actually taken in someone into their own home?

ACORN and the libs look to the government to help tham

Conservatives take individual action to help themselves and others

G&P

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Originally Posted by startover22

We had the same choices then as we do now....

Now we have a leader who inspires us with specific ideas to improve our country and doesn't just fling out an offhand "Go out and shop." Since the election in November, I'm continually amazed at positive and uplifting comments by -- and especially noticing random acts of kindness done by -- library patrons in my multi-ethnic community. Volunteer applications are at an all-time high, and very audible/visible are conversations between and courtesies extended to strangers. I give credit to the Obama phenomenon.

Well crap, I was doing nice things all along. Are you telling me it took Obama to be president to tell these people they could do good? I am not buying that crap. AND just now people are noticing that someone did something nice? I do not think so. It is a choice, and that just goes to show that before they were not making the right ones. I guess that sounds pretty negative, but as I see it, excuse after excuse is why someone couldn't make their own choices to help someone out.

Homeless families face strict new rules - The Boston Globe

Massachusetts has a horrible plan for imposing unreasonable restrictions on their homeless population. Who can even get a 30 hour per week job, let alone save 30% of their income? And just where are these people who don't toe the line with the imposed regulations going to live after having been evicted from a shelter? At the governor's mansion for free? No. On the street.

So where's all the nicey nice people in Massachusetts? Oh, they must have moved elsewhere...

Very good question.
How accurately does Adam Shepard's experience reflect the American reality? - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

I liked this the best!

Much of the current homeless population isn't as fortunate as Shepard, however. Finding the way to a better life can be a more difficult journey for those with any number of personal barriers - poor health, substance-abuse problems, even dependent family members, said Alison Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

That doesn't mean doing so is impossible.

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Originally Posted by twinkiedooter

Homeless families face strict new rules - The Boston Globe

Massachusetts has a horrible plan for imposing unreasonable restrictions on their homeless population. Who can even get a 30 hour per week job, let alone save 30% of their income? And just where are these people who don't toe the line with the imposed regulations going to live after having been evicted from a shelter? At the governor's mansion for free? No. On the street.

So where's all the nicey nice people in Massachusetts? Oh, they must have moved elsewhere ....

Well Governor Palin apparently doesn't use the Alaskian Governor's mansion for about 300 days a year, while the state pays for it's upkeep and also for the inconvienence of her travelling from home to work everyday (about 60 miles).

I wonder if some homeless people could live there?

No, but they could go to a church or a homeless shelter to try and get on their feet... would you let a homeless person that you have no idea about stay at your house while you were there or gone? I don't see your point.

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Originally Posted by startover22

No, but they could go to a church or a homeless shelter to try and get on their feet...would you let a homeless person that you have no idea about stay at your house while you were there or gone? I don't see your point.

It was a tongue in cheek jab at Government waste; even by the so called new Champion of the Republican party Sarah Palin.

Why wouldn't I let a homeless person use my home when I wasn't there, is a homeless person any less a person than say a neighbor who has lost their job? There are homeless people of every economic background, then there are some who are mentally challenged.

The mentally challenged ones wouldn't be safe in my home, and they belong in a shelter with some sort of supervision. However a single mother family who suddenly finds themselves homeless is worthy of opening our doors.

So go ahead, let someone you don't know use your home. What if that person is a recovering addict and just by chance on accident gets involved with drugs and is still staying at your house. Common sense would tell you not to do it. I wouldn't. BUT If I didn't have four kids and an extended sick family, I would be on my "free time" be trying in some other way to help out. I work at a restaurant and do what I can for the area I live in. Just yesterday, I gave out free food to the nicest lady ever, I could tell she just needed to sit in private somewhere and eat. Do what you can WHEN you can, it makes a difference!

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Originally Posted by startover22

Well crap, I was doing nice things all along. Are you telling me it took Obama to be president to tell these people they could do good? I am not buying that crap. AND just now people are noticing that someone did something nice? I do not think so. It is a choice, and that just goes to show that before they were not making the right ones. I guess that sounds pretty negative, but as I see it, excuse after excuse is why someone couldn't make their own choices to help someone out.

Well, you'd better shop somewhere else, because crap it's not! Maybe, probably they were doing nice things all along too, but now there's an enthusiasm and a joyousness that wasn't there before. And others who weren't doing nice things all along have caught that enthusiasm and are doing nice things and feeling the rush of pleasure that happens when one does a nice thing for someone else.

I recognize that rush of pleasure. I LOVE IT! I just get all doom and gloom when it takes a "star" to make people see that they can do it. When this could have been happening all along. We all know it and should be ashamed! We are not kids who need a parent giving encouragement anymore Wondergirl, we are adults and that should count for something.

Don't get me wrong, I will take all the do gooders in the world and wish them all the success in the world, I just really wish they would have come out long before this. Don't you?

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Originally Posted by startover22

No, but they could go to a church or a homeless shelter to try and get on their feet

Have you ever stayed overnight in a homeless shelter? You close your eyes and finally fall asleep and someone swipes your stuff.

My long-time homeless friend asserts his independence by avoiding shelters saying, "I am not a case and I don't want to be managed."

So you are saying you wouldn't go to a shelter and instead live your life on the streets instead? "I am not a case and I don't want to be managed." What does that mean?

EDIT: no I have not stayed in a shelter, thank my lucky stars I have never been put in that position.

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Originally Posted by startover22

I recognize that rush of pleasure. I LOVE IT! I just get all doom and gloom when it takes a "star" to make people see that they can do it. When this could have been happening all along. We all know it and should be ashamed! We are not kids who need a parent giving encouragement anymore Wondergirl, we are adults and that should count for something.

Don't get me wrong, I will take all the do gooders in the world and wish them all the success in the world, I just really wish they would have come out long before this. Don't you?

I guess not everyone in the world is as sharp as you and I are and need a model or an example (your parent figure) in their lives to point the way. How often I have heard since November, "I never even thought of doing something [to help society or someone else] that's so easy!"

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

I guess not everyone in the world is as sharp as you and I are and need a model or an example (your parent figure) in their lives to point the way. How often I have heard since November, "I never even thought of doing something [to help society or someone else] that's so easy!"

I am not saying I am sharp. But I agree with your statement about never even thinking about what they could have been doing all along. You got that right! And it sure is easy.

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Originally Posted by startover22

We are not kids who need a parent giving encouragement anymore Wondergirl, we are adults and that should count for something.

Don't get me wrong, I will take all the do gooders in the world and wish them all the success in the world, I just really wish they would have come out long before this. Don't you?

But what you are not recognizing Start is that a lot of people that are starting to volunteer and help out are college kids. As much as you don't need someone to inspire you to give someone free food it does take someone like Obama to inspire a 19 year old to step away from the beer pong table and do something worth while.

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Originally Posted by spitvenom

But what you are not recognizing Start is that a lot of people that are starting to volunteer and help out are college kids. As much as you don't need someone to inspire you to give someone free food it does take someone like Obama to inspire a 19 year old to step away from the beer pong table and do something worth while.

Ok, I can handle that. I get that.

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Originally Posted by startover22

So you are saying you wouldn't go to a shelter and instead live your life on the streets instead? "I am not a case and I don't want to be managed." What does that mean?

Nope. My long-time homeless friend had a few very bad experiences in shelters and never went to one again during his twelve years on the street.

The "case managing" thing is that, in a shelter, you give up your right to be yourself. You have to go with their program. If it's a church-sponsored shelter, you are obliged to sit through a sermon before they feed you or allow you to sleep. If you are out of work, you are obliged to follow their program for job hunting. (I volunteered for a few months at a family shelter as a job coach and quit because of the "dance" the residents had to perform.)

Well, I guess it is a choice, don't do drugs, go to church and do some extra curricular activities in order to stay here:) If you don't like it I suppose you don't have to stay. Do you really think the volunteer are there to make the homeless lives miserable? I don't, I hope not. Maybe they thought these rules and regulations would get them in to gear faster? I don't know really, just a thought!

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Originally Posted by startover22

I am not saying I am sharp. but I agree with your statement about never even thinking about what they could have been doing all along. You got that right! And it sure is easy.

Even something as simple as carrying a garbage bag and gloves as you are out and about, then picking up papers, cans, and other trash can inspire other people not only not to drop their refuse wherever they feel like it but also do the same thing as you are doing. And oh, how the melting snow is exposing the trash in Chicagoland!

(I was very disappointed that Obama didn't end his inauguration speech by saying, "Oh, and before you leave the Mall, please pick up all the trash and empty water bottles and pop cans and blankets and newpapers that are lying at your feet. We've put out many receptacles for your use. Please look for one or take the trash home (since you carried it in before it was trash) to dispose of properly.")

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Originally Posted by startover22

Well, I guess it is a choice, don't do drugs, go to church and do some extra curricular activities in order to stay here:) If you dont like it I suppose you don't have to stay. Do you really think the volunteer are there to make the homeless lives miserable? I don't, i hope not. Maybe they thought these rules and regulations would get them in to gear faster? I don't know really, just a thought!

My homeless friend doesn't drink or do drugs and, even though was raised Catholic, is no longer religious. He didn't like what he found at shelters, and he didn't stick around. So then he was dead meat as far as social services go.

I didn't say the volunteers made the homeless' lives miserable, but the homeless so have to dance to their tune and give up their autonomy, or they're out the door. There are too many homeless and not enough volunteers who know (have been trained to know?) what they are dealing with.

Just do your part and them some. That is my motto...
I agree about the melting snow, it shows all the yuck from the winter. I agree that it looked really bad when people left that night after they were done with the celebration. I do not think it was his duty to tell the people to pick up their own trash, I mean come on did all those people voting for him not know to do it without being told? Sorry, I had to put that in there... we just rely on others too much to tell us what the right thing to do is. AND it bothers me a lot.

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Originally Posted by startover22

Just do your part and them some. That is my motto....
I agree about the melting snow, it shows all the yuck from the winter. I agree that it looked really bad when people left that night after they were done with the celebration. I do not think it was his duty to tell the people to pick up their own trash, I mean come on did all those people voting for him not know to do it without being told? Sorry, I had to put that in there....we just rely on others to much to tell us what the right thing to do is. AND it bothers me a lot.

No, it wasn't his duty and yes, they "should have" been respectful enough to honor the day and pick up after themselves. But we all seem to need a parent figure in our lives now and then.

I live in an upper-middle-class suburb. Once a year there's a big parade in town. Why don't all those well-educated, well-off spectators pick up their trash? Main Street looks like a dump after everyone leaves.

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

My homeless friend doesn't drink or do drugs and, even though was raised Catholic, is no longer religious. He didn't like what he found at shelters, and he didn't stick around. So then he was dead meat as far as social services go.

I didn't say the volunteers made the homeless' lives miserable, but the homeless so have to dance to their tune and give up their autonomy, or they're out the door. There are too many homeless and not enough volunteers who know (have been trained to know?) what they are dealing with.

When we get a job, we have to dance to our bosses tune. When we go to school, we have to dance to our bosses tune. When we do anything we have to. To get ahead and not be homeless, I would do what I needed to. Especially if I were on my own, no drug addictions, no mental illnesses. I would do it then leave that part of my life in the dust as I enjoyed working and spending my free time as I wish. Now, my head is spinning, if I had money I would start a shelter of my own. Mark my words... for sure people like you who do good would be welcome to volunteer suggestions and help;)

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

No, it wasn't his duty and yes, they "should have" been respectful enough to honor the day and pick up after themselves. But we all seem to need a parent figure in our lives now and then.

I live in an upper-middle-class suburb. Once a year there's a big parade in town. Why don't all those well-educated, well-off spectators pick up their trash? Main Street looks like a dump after everyone leaves.

I agree all the way.. it is called being lazy and selfish.

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Originally Posted by startover22

To get ahead and not be homeless, I would do what I needed to.

If you ever become homeless and have hung out at a shelter, find a computer and PM me about your experience. (I can't wait!)

I am not saying it wouldn't be hard. Sheesh, my life not being homeless is hard! You can't wait? Well I really appreciate that Wondergirl!

Look, all I am saying is that I guess some of us are willing to do what is needed and some of us aren't. Some of us plainly just can't. A shelter vs. the street for another 15 years, the choice would be clear to me. Others maybe not. I know we can make a difference!