We want to aid the Katrina recovery more but ....

uncle Alan

uncle Alan

Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
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Just returned from a week's trip the day ga$ went crazy so we just sent the Salvation Army $100. We wanted to take in some homeless since we have a large home but hit a snag. Wife got on thr 'net & the first question was "What is your social security # ?'
No way !
We realize the people who are offering shelter should be checked out but isn't there a better way to do this ? We are open to suggestions.

Uncle Alan & Aunt Bea
 
I worry a lot about all of these people who are taking in strangers following this catastrophe. Don't get me wrong, I want to help to, that's why we're donating to the Red Cross. (We're doing it through my husband's employer since they promised to match all funds contributed dollar for dollar. :) ) The problem I see with taking strangers in is you have no idea who you are letting into your home. Most of the people who are displaced are from the poorest sections of town. Some of them are disabled and old, and that's why they were in that situation. Some were even down on their luck. But, there are a lot of thugs from those areas too. New Orleans didn't have one of the highest murder rates for nothing. (See murder rates by state here:www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=12&did=169#MRord) How do you know that they won't bring you harm? How do you know they won't rob you blind? How do you know how long they'll be staying? What are the terms?

I just think that the prospect of bringing strangers into your home is absolutely frightening. You don't know these people. We don't live in a time where people can be trusted. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't help. Just think about it long and hard before you open your doors up to people. Uncle Alan, I believe that you are an older gentleman with some health problems. Do you really want to bring people in your house who might be a threat to you and your wife? Did you see the looting on television? How do you know that you aren't opening your doors up to one of them?

Am I the only one who feels this way? :confused:

Edited to add: I won't be surprised to see a lot of lawsuits coming out in years to come regarding the government's role in encouraging people to open their homes up to strangers. Families who have been victimized may try to make someone else responsible for it. I'm not saying that it's right, I just think that it's coming...
 
jsmatos, I think you're right on. I have a large guest cottage that remains empty for the very reasons you just cited. (believe it or not, they say some of them ARE coming to Alaska!)

I've spent alot of time trying to figure out how to make the world better before I realized the best way is to ensure the well being of my own family and myself above all else.

Sending some cash to the Red Cross will have to do for me.
 
What I will tell you is this: If there is a bladeforums.com member in good standing who is displaced by Katrina and needs a place, I have two guest rooms with double beds that are available. Of course, they are in Sherwood, Oregon. But, to a fellow knife knut, they are available.
 
Keep in mind that a lot of these people, while they themselves may not have realized or accepted it yet, are not going to be going back to NO or wherever they came from. They're not looking for a place to sit for a few weeks until they can go back. NO and many of those other places won't be ready for most of those people for many months. In fact, many of them will never be able to go back because there just won't be jobs for them.

These people will, shortly, receive their insurance and government money. Eventually, they'll sell what's left of their NO property -- probably to developers who will be buying in mass -- and start over somewhere else.

So, they're not so much looking for a temporary sitting place but for a jumping off point.
 
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