Backroads

Very nice. I got stuck with the relish tray this year, which meant agonizing over various marinated and pickled veggies instead of just buying a tray like a sane person. (But I found some amazing garlic and pepper-stuffed olives and black garlic gloves). My brother-in-law did the turkey because he's obsessed with cooking and it was amazing.

I once read a rather good article on how the skills to survive as homeless are often opposite those to live sheltered. Planning for the long-term is, sadly, often a bad idea and destruction to fulfill immediate needs is too often what happens

The husband would sometimes do security shifts down at The Road Home and says it was a nightmare. Celebrated solutions like Palmer Court and The Magnolia are horror stories in and of themselves.

I intend this as the most straightforward way to pose the question without any hidden implications. Read an article about needs for more beds for the homeless because winter is coming. Invariably, someone in the comments section asks why the LDS church doesn't use the church as a homeless shelter during the week or at night. Now, this isn't the first time I've heard this question. Apparently it is a decades-old, world-wide question of why churches aren't always homeless shelters. While of course you'll always find a few examples of churches that have done exactly this, in the western world it's just not much of a thing. The big reasons tend to be. 1. It costs money. Even in the best of circumstances that's a lot of extra wear and tear on a building. Security guards, clean-up, repairs, etc. That's a money pit when that same money could be used in other ways to help others. 2. It's usually illegal. Turns out a lot of places have standards for homeless shelters that most churches don't reach. Plus a homeless shelter may not be zoned for the area. 3. Many churches just want to be a house of worship first and foremost. So, while I think our church could actually afford to handle this and legalities are ultimately red tape that could be changed, do you think this is a direction we would ever go?

So I believe this is the third or fourth year they've done this. While I don't doubt the good it has done, there are issues each year. Last year, for example, was very much a lot of base model AirPods-type complaints, and after the fact. (The admin had put parameters on gift requests because, hey, they're relying entirely on volunteers who may or may not be able to afford everything, and families would then complain about not getting more stuff once they were matched with a donor.) My personal favorite was the lady who went straight to the group to complain about not getting new computers for each of her five children.

Thanks, all, for the thoughts and advice on the matter.

Folks, I'm a horrible person again. Perhaps I just need a little prompting to do some good. I'm part of a local-needs-style Facebook group, and the admin of the group are actually to the point of trying to make it a proper non-profit. Every year they try to do a Christmas drive. You know, the usual, gather up families in need, get 'em a few things. This year, I actually have a bit of money I could sponsor a family with. But every time I come close to volunteering in this group... I just can't. The past two years have had disasters. Since it's Facebook and not yet a proper organization, there's no real way to vet anyone. So you're getting all manner of choosing beggars and those looking to stock up on all the gifts. I still may sponsor a family for Christmas, but not through there. I suppose, like a GoFundme or whatever, I can't trust it. Yet, does that make me uncharitable? If I were truly giving, it wouldn't matter what the actual needs were, right?

I get how real estate is an investment, but I just can't get fully behind the idea of only seeing it that way (in some ways I want to blame this attitude for the some of the market issues). I don't necessarily like my house's value having risen. I still can't sell it and buy anything better.

This is a good point. It could very likely that they don't have as much money as I might assume.

This is definitely my biggest area of critique (after actual greediness). While I know not everyone has insurance or good insurance, insurance still is a common thing. So when I see seemingly wealthy people asking for money, I get suspicious. You seem like you could afford the insurance that would cover the majority of this crisis. What exactly are you going to do with these raised funds?

I've never actually used Twitter. So to a very high degree, I couldn't care less about it or what is said or can't be said on it. That said, a Facebook group I'm in is soon to archive itself as they switch to this style of forums. The group is fairly niche (parents of kids with various special/health needs) and does a lot of good. But, because of the nature of the group, it's not uncommon for "trigger words" to get flagged by Facebook. This is a group of parents asking for advice, not trying to be the bad guys. So I certainly appreciate the free speech angle.

Advice requested in behalf of a parent. A relative has found themselves homeless, kicked out of their apartment. So they've approached my parents about staying with them a few days. Everyone including this relative's sibling (another state) are advising no, absolutely not. In short, homeless relative is the type that likely would not stay a mere few days. My parent is giving to a fault, but is dealing with a lot and doesn't need this in their plate. They brought up, though "What would Jesus do?"

A definite wheat vs tares thing. Mind you, I don't want to excuse true policies under a terrible version of "spirit of the law", but it can be quite easy to do things that are good and right without being good and right. Those pondering and praying won't find room for excuses.

Funnily enough, his schtick is scammer-baiting. I could see him one day moving into MLM baiting.

Too late. My brother (admittedly an adult) fixed his roof and goes annually to Disney on his YouTube income. He's mentioned wanting to quit his day job but the wife nixed that.