In Disney's shadow, homeless families struggle

[hobie16]

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- When they moved from Georgia to the theme park playground of central Florida four years ago, Anthony and Candice Johnson found work at a barbecue restaurant and a 7-Eleven. Their combined salaries nevertheless fell short of what they needed to rent an apartment, so the couple and their two children have instead been hopping among cheap motel rooms along U.S. 192.

"What's hard for us isn't paying the bills," Candice Johnson, 24, said. "It's just trying to get our feet in the door" with the combined expense of application fees, security deposits and first month's rent needed for a place of their own.

The Johnsons are among a growing number of families living in hotels in this Florida tourist corridor because they can't afford anything else and because their county has no shelters for the estimated 1,216 homeless households with children.

The problem has created a backlash among the mostly mom-and-pop businesses, with some owners suing the county sheriff to force his deputies to evict guests who haven't paid or who have turned their rooms into semipermanent residences. It also shines a light on the gap among those who work and live in this county that sits in the shadow of Walt Disney World, and the big-spending tourists who flock here.

full article

[felinefan]

They make it sound like it's Disney's fault. Hey, guess what? In the shadow of the Hollywood sign, lots of homeless people struggle, too! And don't forget in the shadow of Nazi Fairy Farm/Knott's Berry Farm, as well! And while we're on the subject, people struggle with poverty where there are no major attractions at all! It's a fact that nationwide, there is only one temporary shelter bed for every 10 homeless people. The majority of the homeless who are mentally ill, drug and alcohol addicted actually became that way after, not before, they hit the streets. The number one cause of homelessness is poverty. For some it's just bad luck. Others, it's other reasons, like the foreclosure crisis. People lose jobs, they have catastrophic illnesses in their family, etc.. There's no safety net.

[drcorey]

yeah, look at the white house.
it's in the center of the poorest part of town. all ghetto all around it

[shilohmm]

median rent is $800 a month. Motel rooms can go for just $39 a night.

I never understand why articles like this phrase it like that. Forty bucks a night is $1200/month, half again as much as $800/month. "Just" $39/night is crazy expensive compared to renting.

These kind of newspaper articles also make it sound like "it'd take so little to fix this -- if these people just had the down payment/some other reasonable sum under $1000, they'd be good to go." It's so common (in newspapers and real life), that hubby and I actually got a fund set up for that sort of thing at our church, a no interest loan that they can pay back as they can, and then we'll loan it to someone else. The guy who inspired it had said he had been certified or licensed or whatever in his last state and made good money, but he couldn't afford the fee to take the test this state required to transfer it, but hubby suspects he was blowing hot air, because, while he appreciated the thought, he was not going to touch that money and he was sure it'd all work out somehow.

I appreciated that he didn't take the loan and then never pay it back, at least. But over the years I've gotten a lot more skeptical about the whole "it'd take so little to fix this."

Ironically, just read David Kennedy's Don't Shoot, which is about dealing with gang violence, and there I believe it really would "take so little to fix this" -- however, what's being fixed is the number of people killed, and it isn't so much that the solution is cheap and easy, it's just that it's cheaper and easier than everything else we've been trying, and most of the expensive part is already in place. But I digress, as usual...

They make it sound like it's Disney's fault.

In light of the sixth paragraph, it's Disney's fault because Disney doesn't pay "a living wage" for entry-level jobs. And, of course, in terms of education and skills, Disney's got a lot of entry-level jobs going, even if it's college students and retirees working them a lot of the time.

I do think Disney has a responsibility, but it's not moral responsibility so much as causal; a lot of people think, "Hey, I worked for a local amusement park once; I can work at Disney! Disney is huge, Florida is warm year 'round, there's beaches -- it'll be great!" But what they're not considering is that Disney has the pick of college students and retirees from all around the country. Back home, they were competing with the locals, and they may have been shining stars among the locals, but the competition at Disney is fierce, so it may not work out that way at Disney. People who have the resources say, "Well, that was a bust," and move on. People who don't have the resources, who were in a rough place before they came out and were kind of "wishing on a star" making the move in the first place, are now far from home and family and resources and often depressed and hopeless to boot.

Disney didn't make them move there in any meaningful sense, but at the same time, Disney was a big part of the draw.

[felinefan]

Sorry to raise an old thread from the dead, but lately, the issue of homelessness has hit me personally.

My roommates and I were illegally evicted from a house we had been renting for 5 1/2 years. The plumbing was shot, no heat, and the place was fast becoming a drug den. We left May 15th this year, and for two and a half months I lived with friends from my church. I had to leave because they had family coming out who needed my room. They've been wonderfully generous to me. I've been looking for a new place, and everything is full or way out of my price range--I only work part-time. I looked up the cost of housing in California, and the most unaffordable counties are San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda tied for first place, and Orange county is second. Housing authority lists are closed, subsidized housing even without a Section 8 voucher is full up, and everyone in my church who has room in their home is loaded with guests.

Despite what the media may claim, we are in a depression and have been for some time. Not recession, not correction, depression. Jobs haven't actually been added, and the economy is getting worse, not better. We Americans shouldn't have to learn a second language in order to get even an entry level job. English has been the official language of the U.S. since 1776, by the will of the people (beating out German by one vote), and is the official or majority language in 112 countries; Spanish, a distant second, is spoken in only 54 countries.

For the past week I've been hopping from one hotel to another. Today at church I was introduced to a lady who was interested in a roommate situation; she's living in a temporary place, and her lease is up in September. So she's looking for a new place. There was one near the church, but when she called the voicemail box was full. That happens alot--you call a shelter, they don't answer their phone at all, or you leave a voicemail and they never get back to you. Both buying and renting here in the OC is overpriced; you have to be making $55/hr. to afford the lowest-priced 2 bedroom apartment. And almost nobody in the OC makes that much.

I plan to go to an intake interview on Wednesday morning--my 60th birthday--for a women's shelter that offers a maximum 6 month stay. They charge a weekly fee based on a sliding scale. If the roommate situation doesn't happen, I hope this does. I'm sick and tired of hopping from one hotel to another. And I really hate the OC.

[shilohmm]

Despite what the media may claim, we are in a depression and have been for some time. Not recession, not correction, depression. Jobs haven't actually been added, and the economy is getting worse, not better.

I think jobs have been added, it's just that they're mostly part time or low paying jobs, not the kind of jobs most people need. The situation right now reminds me of the late seventies, when Carter was president; gas is much cheaper than it was then, but things just are not good for a lot of people.

California is a terrible place to be homeless. Not that there's anywhere where it's good to be homeless, but in California housing is so crazy expensive that getting back on your feet has got to be more of a challenge. California supposedly has the highest percentage of homeless people in the US, and I'm guessing a lot of them are in the Los Angeles area. I'm glad you have such a supportive church but it's still a tough place to be.

I hope you've found a place by now and that things are looking up for you.

[felinefan]

Actually, I've been living in a motel near the Tustin border; I'm paid up until the 24th, but don't get paid until the 29th. Though a couple who used to go to my church paid me for work I did for them Saturday, and another couple in my church gave me money, it's still not enough to make it to payday. A miracle is my only hope. I turned 60 nearly 2 weeks ago, and this is definitely not what I thought it would be like. My family can't help. I love California, but things have got to change.

[felinefan]

I have good news! Tomorrow I will be moving from my pastor's house to a women's transitional center , WISE Place for Women. It's a 3 month program geared to giving you the push to get a job, save money, and get your own place. I'm trying to get into H&R Block's income tax preparation classes. Beats doing janitorial!

[delsdad]

I have good news! Tomorrow I will be moving from my pastor's house to a women's transitional center , WISE Place for Women. It's a 3 month program geared to giving you the push to get a job, save money, and get your own place. I'm trying to get into H&R Block's income tax preparation classes. Beats doing janitorial!

Fantastic News !! So happy to hear this ! Well Done !

[felinefan]

Just finished my first week at WISE. Still need a TB test--some communication problems with the clinic--and start finding another job to get more hours--stupid Caljobs site won't let me log on and access my ancient resume'.