Chloe Glover (Reporter)
A NIGHTTIME campaign to get to know homeless people has been launched in Andalucia.
Hundreds of people have been invited to take to the streets in the eight provincial capitals to listen to the life stories of those sleeping rough.
The aim of the ‘Conocer para Actuar’ (know to take action) events, which are taking place between 9pm and 1am on designated nights, is to help them better understand homelessness.
The first will take place in Córdoba on January 16 with Malaga’s scheduled for the following night.
Events in the other capitals are due to go ahead during the following two weeks.
The RAIS Fundacion, a not for profit organisation, is working with the Junta to organise the campaign.
The life stories gathered through the interactions will then be presented to government officials.
People can sign up to take part by searching for ‘conocer para actuar’ on eventbrite.es .
The first thing campaigners need to make clear, is that most ordinary working people are only two or three months away from homelessness following loss of a job, mental or physical illness or relationship breakdown. It’s not an “us or them” situation, we ARE “all in this together”
As I understand behind this Rais organization stands budist Mr. Gere. Wouldn´t it be better if creating short of monasteries for all these people, were training is provided to help them to confront the blockage they have encountered to reach that situation?
When a person is starving, give them food. Then when they are able -if someone provides the funding- they have the energy and time to better their lives’ future. We need more immediate caring and fewer grand schemes with administrators.
When someone´s starving show him to fish, otherwise he will be dependendent on you, not on himself, basic chrisntianity, bettter than socialism
Neither basic Christianity nor basic socialism have a good record on helping starving people, but do have robust records of grand schemes to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.
That’s right zabaot. Blame the poor for their poverty. From your lofty, comfortable position you assume a psychological problem, rather than a societal one. Very smug.
Of course the issue is a political one, but change the people first otherwise if you give people in the wrong mind money, their priority will be alcohol so that they can pacify their unrested minds.
Thats very judgemental of you Zabaot and not very helpful for those who want to get out of the whole.. The issue is NOT political because if it was then our great leaders should have solved this a long time ago instead of being busy stealing all the funds for their own benifit, and not they are all too busy trying not to get caught like so many have. The problem is Capitalism, and yes its like blasphemy to say to many but it doesnt make it less true. Capitalism and human ambition. Imagine the world a lot like monopoly game, as long as you got cash flow you can keep walking around playing by its rules. But as soon as money is gone, when you land on that one expensive street one fortunate player owns, you are out and getting back even if the other players will allow you to get some cash from the bank (which they most likely will not as they want to win and dont care about the losers) you will struggle because now you lost all your streets and you are late in the game to have good chances to recover and take part. The same goes for someone who lost everything. Im not sayin its impossible but in a place with already the highest unemployment rate how will they compete to a younger and more experienced worker? And again like the board game, in the end you will have the few owning the most and the rest paying for it. How many empty big villas do we not see here in Marbella for example owned by the super rich. They hardly ever use them yet on the street outside people are slowly dying from homelessness. But god forbid we would ever change the paradigm of capitalism (sarcasm). What we need is a resource based economy with no monetary system at all. Let technology work for us and bring humanity back so we can find our true values in life, like helping others and sharing our abilities. Its not Utopia but it shure as hell is better than what we have now..
you are not speaking from experience zabaot. You are simply assuming that homelessness springs from alcohol use or other deliberate vices. You are wrong. In most cases, the use of substances follows the fall from society. It is a form of anesthesia to take the edge off misery. Personally, when I drop a couple of euros in a hat, I don’t give a damn how it’s used, I just hope it makes that person feel fractionally better, if only for a moment.
Inequality is the source of these problems. We have always had those who’s mental capacity precludes them from accepted social norms, but the situation facing society has hugely exacerbated poverty and homelessness. You obviously find this hard to believe, but, it’s NOT their fault.
You are assuming I have said What I haven´t said, I proposed a sort of monastery where they and I included if fallen, could recover, with right food and right advise about booze ingestion, and a lot of Mr. Gere spitituality, no kidding. That´s all. If the fall is political or whatever is not of our bussiness. In my view that kind of place has more dignity that receiving direct charity. You can give charity to the place if you will.