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INTEREST: Fighting the Monotony of Homelessness with Granblue Fantasy


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Crabtree1



Joined: 14 Mar 2018
Posts: 106
Location: Aberdeenshire
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 5:54 pm Reply with quote
Ignoring the obviously pretty pricey looking laptop, here in the UK the council are legally required to provide accomadation for any homeless people who ask for it, does the US not have that?
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5521
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:07 pm Reply with quote
Crabtree1 wrote:
Ignoring the obviously pretty pricey looking laptop, here in the UK the council are legally required to provide accomadation for any homeless people who ask for it, does the US not have that?


Most cities do not. And laptop is probably like 5+ years old
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#854626



Joined: 04 Apr 2016
Posts: 171
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:10 pm Reply with quote
As sad as I feel for someone without a home, when he mention fgo I think I know where the debt came from.
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Engineering Nerd



Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 897
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:13 pm Reply with quote
#854626 wrote:
As sad as I feel for someone without a home, when he mention fgo I think I know where the debt came from.


As costly and addictive as gotcha game can be, I highly doubt people would be in debt for it (it’s almost like gambling that needs assistence if it is true. )
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Replica_Rabbit



Joined: 23 Aug 2015
Posts: 354
Location: Portland
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:15 pm Reply with quote
Crabtree1 wrote:
Ignoring the obviously pretty pricey looking laptop, here in the UK the council are legally required to provide accomadation for any homeless people who ask for it, does the US not have that?

Not all the States and that cause a problem for the States who have accommodation for the Homeless to be overcrowded by people from different States that don't have the same level of accommodation.
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Replica_Rabbit



Joined: 23 Aug 2015
Posts: 354
Location: Portland
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Crabtree1 wrote:
Ignoring the obviously pretty pricey looking laptop,

The laptop looks like the ones Rent-A-Center carry, they probably pay it off before becoming homeless or they haven't pay it off and just took with them. I'm a little worry they sleeping in people homes, it won't in well if they get caught
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Vanadise



Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 487
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:49 pm Reply with quote
Crabtree1 wrote:
Ignoring the obviously pretty pricey looking laptop, here in the UK the council are legally required to provide accomadation for any homeless people who ask for it, does the US not have that?

I'm not sure why you think that laptop looks particularly pricey, but even if he sold it for a few hundred dollars, it's not like that's enough to buy a residence.

That aside, the federal government basically provides no direct assistance to homeless people. There are homeless shelters, which are usually run by non-profit organizations or churches; many of the receive government subsidies, although if they receive government funding, they're required to require an ID to stay there, and if you're homeless, there's a good chance you either don't have an ID or don't want to show it for various reasons. A lot of homeless people also choose not to use them, because abuse, drug use, and theft are often rampant, and you have to leave during the day, anyway. Sleeping on a park bench may be safer, although in many places you then risk being arrested for vagrancy. (yes, there are many places in the USA where it's basically illegal to be homeless) Breaking into an abandoned house and sleeping there is actually one of the safer options, as long as people don't spot you and call the police.
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DRosencraft



Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 665
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:25 pm Reply with quote
Engineering Nerd wrote:
#854626 wrote:
As sad as I feel for someone without a home, when he mention fgo I think I know where the debt came from.


As costly and addictive as gotcha game can be, I highly doubt people would be in debt for it (it’s almost like gambling that needs assistence if it is true. )


While not directly 1-2, an addiction to gaming is easily destructive. Like any other addiction, it's not usually paying for the addiction directly that leads to problems, but paying for all the other stuff the money you should have been paying for but instead fed into your addiction. You hear stories of people paying thousands of dollars into these games. Well, if they've got an addiction issue, that could easily mean spending money on the game instead of paying a credit card bill, or a light bill, or a water bill. Or maybe they just missed a mortgage or rent payment by a bit one month... and then they couldn't pay the late fees so they missed the next too... I don't doubt for a minute that an addiction to gacha games could bankrupt a person.

As for homelessness in the US, it is very much left up to localities (cities, towns, etc.) to handle. It's questionable if the federal gov't has the Constitutional authority to mandate anything regarding the homeless, and states generally spend little on assisting the homeless in any substantial way. It usually only comes up when a city has so many homeless that folks start talking to their local representatives about it, and even then it's usually treated more as a nuisance to be gotten rid of than a problem to be taken care of. ordinances being passed to ban sleeping in the park or unauthorized congregating in public areas, etc. Every once in a while (usually close to the holidays if they get a lot of harsh weather) big cities will put a show of trying to do more because it starts to look bad if folks start showing up dead in the snow near Christmas.

And some places do try to do some stuff to help the homeless, but they run into the NIMBY complex and the stigma that is socially attached to the homeless. I once lived in a city where the council was able to pass a pretty big package of aide for building, staffing a homeless shelter. It was going to have training programs to help get folks skills to get a job, have people there to advise them on money management, legal aide, and mental health. They even got a private business to help fund part of the project. But every time they picked a place to build the facility, the community complained up and down about it. The whole project languished for years bouncing from one community to the next before everyone involved gave up.

The poor lack, obviously, the financial capital to get people's attention, but they are also not a large enough demographic to impact voting. By being homeless, they can't even register to vote, thus they don't even show up in voting rolls to say they have an impact on the vote for any candidate at any level. The entire system is very broken.
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TsukasaElkKite



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 3945
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:12 pm Reply with quote
#854626 wrote:
As sad as I feel for someone without a home, when he mention fgo I think I know where the debt came from.


Don’t make assumptions.
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Calsolum



Joined: 11 May 2010
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:57 pm Reply with quote
I love how so many people connected fgo to debt so great it'd make you want to disappear.
I don't doubt it's really easy for some vulnerable people to spend obscene amounts of money on it... but like there's really no link.
Still, it sounds like a hilarious cautionary tale to the FGO and gatcha games community.
"Better watch your spending or you'll end up like toby"
"Are you waifus worth homelessness, cause thats where you'll be."
"True fans know that homes are temporary, digital lovers are eternal(until the servers shut down)"

ha ha oh... Toby wherever you are I hope you're safe and find a stable life soon.
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Zeino



Joined: 19 May 2017
Posts: 1098
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:12 pm Reply with quote
I'm sorry but whatever is the point of this article? The destitute should be aided in anyway they can but this feels... rather cynical in it's aims. Like it cares more about making a story of "interest" out of Toby than helping him out of his unjust and desperate situation.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5886
PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 11:56 pm Reply with quote
#854626 wrote:
As sad as I feel for someone without a home, when he mention fgo I think I know where the debt came from.


You can be homeless even without being in debt.

- You could have a home that's burned down to the ground or severely damaged in a storm.

- You have your rent or your mortgage become too high to pay on whatever salary you're making.

Shit happens.
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MiloTheFirst



Joined: 10 Dec 2014
Posts: 429
PostPosted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:00 am Reply with quote
Zeino wrote:
I'm sorry but whatever is the point of this article? The destitute should be aided in anyway they can but this feels... rather cynical in it's aims. Like it cares more about making a story of "interest" out of Toby than helping him out of his unjust and desperate situation.


The point of this article is to inform, to let the community know that the world is filled with situations we might not have even imagined, that sensitive issues such as homelessness are not as foreign to the community as we might have believed (one should be somewhat well off if they are able to spare time in their day to care about the frivolity that is anime news), that tragedy can be found close to home and that tomorrow any of us could be the next Toby.

The article seemed very neutral and unbiased to me, it lays the facts without adding the writer's opinion on the matter, as good journalism should be. It seems to me as if you are the one being rather cynical of news outlets.

you say his situation is unjust and desperate but we don't know that. He didn't share which circumstances led him to be homeless, it isn't always a big bad bank fooling people into debt, sometimes people find themselves in bad situations due to their own mistakes and decisions, i know a guy that became homeless because he was such an asshole to his family that they kicked him out. Also, if he is able to plan his daily schedule dedicating time to go to a library and play video games he must not be feeling that much pressure.

Finally, this is how reporters help people in bad situations, by raising awareness so guys like you and me can get off our butts and demand our representatives take action on the matter
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King Pickle the Wise



Joined: 21 Apr 2019
Posts: 37
PostPosted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:14 am Reply with quote
MiloTheFirst wrote:
Also, if he is able to plan his daily schedule dedicating time to go to a library and play video games he must not be feeling that much pressure.


That did stick out to me as odd. If Toby has time to be sitting around playing video games then Toby has time to get a job.
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Crabtree1



Joined: 14 Mar 2018
Posts: 106
Location: Aberdeenshire
PostPosted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:32 am Reply with quote
Thanks Replica_Rabbit and Vanadise, it seems like as per usual it's whether or not the government can afford to be bothered to help these people which is a shame.

The only reason I commented on the laptop was because I've got a "similar" looking one which could rent out he place I'm living in for ~3 months, 3 months isn't a huge amount of time but it could be enough to get yone's life back on track.
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