Homeless Report - January

I've been chatting with my homeless buddy for the past three mornings at the fast food joint in town. He had been waiting for the promised low-income rental unit that was supposed to be available this month. He called various management offices, but he was not able to speak to anyone. Messages went unanswered. Then, on Wednesday, he received a form letter stating that he has been put on a waiting list, which could be as long as three years.

What will my homeless buddy do in the meantime? He plans to stay in the Next Step homeless homeless shelter until his two-year time limit is up. Then, he will spend six months in Vietnam. What about his cancer treatment? That will have to wait until he returns. Where will he stay after that? He still owns the mini-van, so that will become his motorhome.

The situation at the Next Step homeless shelter seems to be degenerating. Lots of petty theft going on. Lots of drama and altercations, too. Some of the more nefarious homeless residents are falsely setting up other residents for violations that can result in work duty or a temporary ten-day eviction. The staff and management are becoming more condescending to the homeless residents.

My homeless buddy also confirmed that there are myriad homeless migrating from the mainland empire. He has even overheard several of the homeless in phone conversations urging their friends to buy a one-way airline ticket to come to Hawai'i. Nearly all of the homeless, even recent mainland empire migrants, have caught on to the lax policies here. It's just too easy to get welfare benefits, food subsidies, health insurance, and there are many agencies pushing to get as many of the homeless on permanent disability entitlements.

With that said, my homeless buddy has been urging me to apply for "free" health insurance, courtesy ObamaScare. Apparently, anyone can enroll just by omitting a few pieces of financial data. Last week, though, an article appeared in the local paper about the healthcare fraud. So, I am expecting a crackdown soon.

My homeless buddy also gave me a synopsis of life in Communist Vietnam. It's actually similar to China. There are a lot of billionaires, he told me. His older sister is actually quite wealthy. She owns four buildings and does not have to work as a wage slave. Sadly, there's a lot of police corruption, and hence, a lot bribery.

Nearly all of the computers that my homeless buddy has stockpiled in his storage unit are gifts that he sneaks into Vietnam. Well, actually has to bribe the authorities at customs. He gives them away to friends and family members.

My homeless buddy does not stay with any of his relatives while he is visiting. The corrupt police know that his sister is wealthy. So, they may find a way to extort money out of her using my homeless buddy as a patsy. Regular tourists, though, only need to worry about theft, usually pickpocketing. A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I have come to understand my homeless buddy better. I can see his rationale for what he does. Unfortunately, his time at the Next Step homeless shelter has forced him to become more "street smart." In order to survive, he is becoming more like the other homeless.