message from the front

[labasta]

Not really news, just a little snippet from the front.


My mum owns a bed and breakfast in Scotland. Business seems to be fine. Two construction workers who stay during the week are about to be out of work, but that's not the real news; this is:

A woman came by a couple of days ago looking for long term residence. She was well-spoken, well-educated, thoroughly middle class and a lovely woman to get on with apparantly. 55 years old. Divorced. Two grown up kids who aren't with her. She's homeless. She's registered with the UK homeless registry. She sold all her furniture in her old house. Has nothing. Lost her job, left her house and came to my mum's town as that was originally her home town and has friends there. Council put her up with other homeless from the area in a local hotel in a hospice type situation. She was amazed at a lot of the other homeless being like her: middle class, well dressed etc. She found out that this is a very recent phenomenom. It's not the usual alcoholic psycologically-impaired bums anymore.

AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINING. Think what it will be like this time next year, and the next. It will be horrific.

I imagine this poor woman did not have the "nuclear option" of living with the financially strongest generation within her family. Whether they didn't exist, or she was too proud, I don't know.

I said to my mum, well at least there's hope for hotels in the credit crunch. They've got a brand new revenue stream.

Maybe my mum needs to change the sign outside to "Credit crunch B and B - middle class homeless welcome"

[metalman]

Re: message from the front

Not really news, just a little snippet from the front.


My mum owns a bed and breakfast in Scotland. Business seems to be fine. Two construction workers who stay during the week are about to be out of work, but that's not the real news; this is:

A woman came by a couple of days ago looking for long term residence. She was well-spoken, well-educated, thoroughly middle class and a lovely woman to get on with apparantly. 55 years old. Divorced. Two grown up kids who aren't with her. She's homeless. She's registered with the UK homeless registry. She sold all her furniture in her old house. Has nothing. Lost her job, left her house and came to my mum's town as that was originally her home town and has friends there. Council put her up with other homeless from the area in a local hotel in a hospice type situation. She was amazed at a lot of the other homeless being like her: middle class, well dressed etc. She found out that this is a very recent phenomenom. It's not the usual alcoholic psycologically-impaired bums anymore.

AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINING. Think what it will be like this time next year, and the next. It will be horrific.

I imagine this poor woman did not have the "nuclear option" of living with the financially strongest generation within her family. Whether they didn't exist, or she was too proud, I don't know.

I said to my mum, well at least there's hope for hotels in the credit crunch. They've got a brand new revenue stream.

Maybe my mum needs to change the sign outside to "Credit crunch B and B - middle class homeless welcome"

global trend...

usa...

Economic Downturn Swelling the Ranks of the Homeless, Extending to Middle Class

Newswise — With the U.S. economy facing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression more and more people are facing the prospect of homelessness, and among those ranks are a growing number of middle class families.

The unemployment rate is the highest in more than 14 years and according to the Mortgage Bankers Association more than 1.5 million homes are in the process of foreclosure.

It’s a double whammy that is threatening to overwhelm organizations trying to help the homeless. In New York City the number of newly homeless families entering shelters is at a record high. In San Francisco, shelters are unable to cope with the increased demand for services.
“We’re seeing the impact of this global financial crisis on our streets, and it’s getting worse every day,” says Judith Klain, Director of Project Homeless Connect. “What’s particularly difficult is that just as the need for help is rising, the ability to meet that increased demand is falling. Individuals and organizations just don’t have a lot of money to spare right now.”

russia...

Kremlin says to defend Russian middle class in crisis

MOSCOW, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Russia must move decisively to protect the emerging middle classes from poverty in the economic slowdown brought by the economic crisis, Kremlin first deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov said on Friday.

etc...

[kingcopper]

Re: message from the front

The banksters cannot allow this to happen, can they? The recovery, I mean inflation, has just begun and will rescue these homeless middleclasteners in a few months/years! Sgt. Paulson and Professor Bernacke will save the world and the middleclass soon enough!