I am homeless and sleeping on a park bench . Please help.

johne

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Jun 28, 2003
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Being a resident of NYC I am very familiar with the social services that one can get when hungry, homeless, needing medical attention, etc.
In contrast to this situation I am confused about certain aspects of life for the Dominican in the same boat and interested in understanding parts of the culture that might be the answer. I have tried for many years in getting certain answers but 2 plus 2 doesn't seem to add up.

For example-It seems to me, and I can be wrong, that everyone in the poor sector has some kind of roof over their head. However pitiful that roof might be they are not sleeping on a park bench.How and why?

No work, no money, there seems to be a culture within the barrio or family of sharing what they have amongest themselves to eat. Without this how would they?

My questions are simple. Can anyone share their thoughts how it is possible (without remittances) for the jobless to survive? Is it part of a process of the culture that can be explained here by someone that has experinced it?
 

Mirador

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johne said:
Being a resident of NYC I am very familiar with the social services that one can get when hungry, homeless, needing medical attention, etc.
In contrast to this situation I am confused about certain aspects of life for the Dominican in the same boat and interested in understanding parts of the culture that might be the answer. I have tried for many years in getting certain answers but 2 plus 2 doesn't seem to add up.

For example-It seems to me, and I can be wrong, that everyone in the poor sector has some kind of roof over their head. However pitiful that roof might be they are not sleeping on a park bench.How and why?

No work, no money, there seems to be a culture within the barrio or family of sharing what they have amongest themselves to eat. Without this how would they?

My questions are simple. Can anyone share their thoughts how it is possible (without remittances) for the jobless to survive? Is it part of a process of the culture that can be explained here by someone that has experinced it?


Now that's a great idea! a soup line for homeless and indigent expats in Sosua. Any NGO's out there interested?


-
 

sunshine_79

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johne said:
For example-It seems to me, and I can be wrong, that everyone in the poor sector has some kind of roof over their head. However pitiful that roof might be they are not sleeping on a park bench.How and why?

One of the things that continually amazes me in the DR is the closeness and devotion that defines most of the families. I have yet to meet a Dominican that is not fiercely loyal to their family - especially to their mother - so I think what you are witnessing is a result of this loyalty. Dominicans won't allow their families - even their extended families - to suffer, from what I've seen.

And the same with neighbors and friends - it seems that people truly take care of their loved ones.
 

Chirimoya

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There are definitely people sleeping on the streets, in the parks and under underpasses in Santo Domingo. Several people who look mentally ill wandering the streets as well, and probably don't have a place to go to at night.
 

bienamor

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Check the doorways

Chirimoya said:
There are definitely people sleeping on the streets, in the parks and under underpasses in Santo Domingo. Several people who look mentally ill wandering the streets as well, and probably don't have a place to go to at night.


Pass them everymorning on the way to work. I live in the colonial zone, and always, down by Paco's at least 5 or 6, same for the other end of el conde, and the side streets
 

Larry

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Chirimoya said:
There are definitely people sleeping on the streets, in the parks and under underpasses in Santo Domingo. Several people who look mentally ill wandering the streets as well, and probably don't have a place to go to at night.

I think frequently homelessness and mental ilness go hand in hand.

Larry
 

carina

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There are many homeless and mentally ill here in Puerto Plata as well.
Since haunted away from the bigger parks and the puntilla, they sleep under the bridge separating Separacion and Camino Real, the stay at abandonned houses etc.
Daytime they wander the streets.
The last 2 years I see more young people as well.

There are 2 groups being discussed here.
The ones with families and that are simply unemployed or dayworkers, and the homeless and mentally ill.
This is not the same group of people, and not always the same people in the unemployed group. You have a job today, bring some money in to the family, and maybe tomorrow you don?t and someone else has. Of course you still stay in your family.
Many of the people that are not employed are dayworkers, and there is a season for the needs of that ( i.e you paint a certain time of the year here, sugar cane fields, fruit pickers etc etc.. ), what means you maybe bring in money for a few months to the family, and not all around the year with a paycheque as an employed person does.

More than loyalty, it is about reality.
 

Mirador

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Larry said:
I think frequently homelessness and mental ilness go hand in hand. Larry

Larry, are you using yourself as the measure of sanity? like, 'I wouldn't be caught dead sleeping under a bridge'? The same thing has been said of drug addiction, crime, even poverty. More to justify its existence, and don't do anything about it...


-
 

Chirimoya

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The OP said he had the impression that no-one was homeless, despite the poverty. We're pointing out that there are homeless people, but in a way the OP has a point. Considering the extreme poverty so many people live in, the lack of jobs and social facilities, I would say that there is a remarkably low number of visibly homeless people. The exceptions are mentally ill people who are perhaps more likely to be rejected by their families, along with others who might not have any family.

I once met a very old man who was destitute (although not homeless - he still had a small shack in a very poor barrio) because his children had all left the country and no longer sent him any money.:(
 

AZB

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There maybe poverty in DR, but there is also food for everyone to eat. No one dies of hunger in DR. Many poor people eat simple food that cost very little ex: a few boiled green bananas or boiled yuca with a fried egg on top. This their dinner. Some poor haitian workers buy a pan de agua and put in a slice of white cheap cheese (queso de frier) and eat it like a sandwich. They always have someone who give them food. Domincians share everything with everyone. If someone is eating somthing in a bus, they will most likely offer you a piece if they see you looking at them.
Now I want to know one thing: what is this obsession with poverty in dominican republic?
AZB
 

Larry

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Mirador said:
Larry, are you using yourself as the measure of sanity? like, 'I wouldn't be caught dead sleeping under a bridge'? The same thing has been said of drug addiction, crime, even poverty. More to justify its existence, and don't do anything about it...


-
Mirador, I know that many homeless people are sane and are homeless for a variety of reasons (alcoholism, drugs, etc.). I do feel however that a high percentage of homeless are mentally ill and simply cannot deal with the responsibilities of life. They cannot work and earn a living like the rest of us. They just dont have the capacity to lead normal lives and end up on the street.

Now using myself as a measure of sanity is a little dangerous. Don't you think?:squareeye

Larry
 

Criss Colon

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"No $hit!" AZB!!!

It's like someone goes to Yankee Stadium,aand is surprized to see a baseball game taking place!!!!

This is The DR!

This is a really poor Country!


People live in "shacks"


Yes,that IS garbage everywhere!


Yes,the "lights" aare never on!


There is no clean drinking water!


Go back inside your "AI" and stay there! That way you can continue to believe that :Dominicans are always soooooo HAPPY! They have NO problems!!


OK? Give Us a REST!

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCc
 

Mirador

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Criss Colon said:
...
Go back inside your "AI" and stay there! That way you can continue to believe that :Dominicans are always soooooo HAPPY! They have NO problems!!
...CCC...

Reminds me of when a group of female Massachusetts Catholic missionaries visited, over two years ago, my closest neighbors, a hamlet of about 30 huts that goes by the name La Cabuyita. The group had been invited by the local bishop to help build a church at the site. For almost a week, the neighbors would watch with fascination the missionary women working like laborers, mixing cement, hauling bricks. However, the only contact the visitors had with the neighbors was a short tour of several homes, where they made quips like, "You people are so lucky, cooking on the ground on open fires with mesquite, your food must taste delicious?", and "Oh, your children run around naked, you must save a lot on diapers?" The insensitive remarks where not lost by the neighbors. By the way, the church was never finished.

-
 

AZB

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Criss Colon said:
It's like someone goes to Yankee Stadium,aand is surprized to see a baseball game taking place!!!!

This is The DR!

This is a really poor Country!


People live in "shacks"


Yes,that IS garbage everywhere!


Yes,the "lights" aare never on!


There is no clean drinking water!


Go back inside your "AI" and stay there! That way you can continue to believe that :Dominicans are always soooooo HAPPY! They have NO problems!!


OK? Give Us a REST!

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCc
Is this post directed towards me? Why?
maybe I asked "what is the obsession with poverty in DR?"
well, there is poverty among other things, ex beauty of this island etc. So why certain people only focus on poverty in this island? there is poverty in NY too. But do we talk only about the homless in NY?
Anyway, I still fail to see why the post was directed towards me.
nevermind, its friday and I can care less.
AZB
 

johne

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Another case of going off topic

AZB said:
Is this post directed towards me? Why?
maybe I asked "what is the obsession with poverty in DR?"
well, there is poverty among other things, ex beauty of this island etc. So why certain people only focus on poverty in this island? there is poverty in NY too. But do we talk only about the homless in NY?
Anyway, I still fail to see why the post was directed towards me.
nevermind, its friday and I can care less.
AZB

AZB--Don't know if it was directed at you or me--And I don't care since this has nothing to do with my OP.I do not have an obsession with poverty nor do I believe in social services for the most part. My inquiry was mearly an attempt to find out more about the CULTURE of this group of people.
Perhaps it is not a question that can be answered by an ex-pat and that is why I asked that people that had first hand knowledge reply.
BTW--I am interested in many things that have to do with the DR. Rich or poor no matter.Just not interested in postings such as "go back to your A1"
JOHN
 

xamaicano

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I thought it was an interesting question, I have wondered this myself. However, it's not unique to the DR, I have observe this in other islands and latin American countries. Maybe question should be what about American culture that allows for so many homeless people?

johne said:
AZB--Don't know if it was directed at you or me--And I don't care since this has nothing to do with my OP.I do not have an obsession with poverty nor do I believe in social services for the most part. My inquiry was mearly an attempt to find out more about the CULTURE of this group of people.
Perhaps it is not a question that can be answered by an ex-pat and that is why I asked that people that had first hand knowledge reply.
BTW--I am interested in many things that have to do with the DR. Rich or poor no matter.Just not interested in postings such as "go back to your A1"
JOHN
 

johne

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Jun 28, 2003
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Exactly my point

Chirimoya said:
The OP said he had the impression that no-one was homeless, despite the poverty. We're pointing out that there are homeless people, but in a way the OP has a point. Considering the extreme poverty so many people live in, the lack of jobs and social facilities, I would say that there is a remarkably low number of visibly homeless people. The exceptions are mentally ill people who are perhaps more likely to be rejected by their families, along with others who might not have any family.

I once met a very old man who was destitute (although not homeless - he still had a small shack in a very poor barrio) because his children had all left the country and no longer sent him any money.:(

Chirimoya--you hit the nail on the head. I started my posting with an analogy to poor people in the world and how I have an impression that this is not the case in the Dominican culture. Perhaps I'm wrong but I would be interested in knowing more from knowleable people.
This is not a discussion about poor people in the DR as Cris Colon would like to point out.My apologies to you Chris if you think I am trying to focus on the poor in the DR. (I already know that) My question has to do with cultural traits. I would love to hear from you on what you know about this subject.

JOHN
 
Feb 9, 2006
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CC is going through Men(tal)pause

Dont worry, Johne, he was just having a "hot flash".

To your post, keep in mind that NYC is not a place you can take pieces of tin and plastic and build a place to sleep...without it being quickly demolished. plus, its so cold no one could stay alive in a place like that.
 

sunshine_79

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AZB said:
"what is the obsession with poverty in DR?"

AZB

I don't necessarily agree that there is an obsession with poverty. A profound interest? Yes. A morbid curiousity? Definitely.

But I don't think obsession is the right word.

Poverty in a third world country is kinda like the proverbial purple elephant in the room - people may not talk about it but it's glaringly evident that it exists.