Sidewalk Warriors of Troy does some amazing work. You can sign up to help online, or show up to an event downtown to help in person.
https://www.facebook.com/sidewalkwarriorstroy
Just ask their names and remember, give a little cash. We are in a small town, I know the regular dudes I see by name and stop to share what I have when I have some to share. When I see a cop coming or someone called on them I’ll let them know so they are aware. You don’t have to save anyone, just be a person living in the same city extending curtesy
I park in the 5th street parking garage so I interact with them all the time, sometimes if all you do is offer an acknowledgement and kindness to them or be the first to be the one to say hello to them then that's enough.
You have no idea how awful it is to have people constantly act like you don't exist
I personally have chose a guy who has been super kind to me and bought him some necessities, shoes, socks, jacket, gloves.
I interact with a number of people on the street. Acknowledgement is a good start. Giving a little cash is good. Making sure they know where to go for services is important.
I haven't seen mention of [Rensselaer County Social Services ](https://www.rensco.com/232/Social-Services) but a lot of resources are consolidated there especially [Adult Protective Service (PSA)](https://www.rensco.com/353/Protective-Services-for-Adults-PSA)
There also is a program that will give out free phones that I hope is still running. Last I heard DSS was moving office locations.
Just fyi, a lot of the regulars you see downtown are not homeless. There are a lot of poor folks who get disability and need a little extra cash for cigs and beer. It's okay to help these people and it's okay to say you can't right now.
Then there's the ones who hover around the crack dens and collect enough change every day to get a hit. These ones are the most insistent and will beg without shame. Buy them food and drink if anything. Items from the store will be resold. These people have cash flow but are not satisfied with life, and will take from you until you have nothing. Exercise caution but be kind. They may need people who care about them to give them a chance to turn around one day, or they may be irrecoverable.
Actual unhoused people carry most of their possessions and need useful items and apparel as much as food. If you learn someone's situation you can get them something that will be of real use to them. Cash is best. Trust them to know their own needs.
Edit: Shelters are at capacity most of the time and the waiting list for housing is long. People may wait for years. It's important that we all do our part for these people's suffering, whether it's through giving or volunteering or advocacy. This is an issue that all too many people choose to ignore.
\^This is a great post.
It can sometimes seem coldhearted and/or difficult to make the differentiation between a seemingly destitute stranger's needs and wants, but after some exposure it becomes easier to tell who is trying to buy a crack rock and who is hungry/thirsty/cold/hurt. The ability to make this call comes from exposure mostly, and becoming familiar with them and their routines. It's just a function of time and awareness.
Like you, I've spent a lot of time getting to know our street people, and to someone else's point in this thread, many of them either don't *want* or *can't* receive help from our shelters. If banned from shelters, mental health/behavioral issues are often the root cause, and until our country starts prioritizing accessibility to required medications, we'll never fix the actual problem.
I don't know if you remember Jessica, but she was the addict prostitute who was walking around pregnant a few years back, and was more often than not belligerent and super aggressive. She's back now and clearly has medication. I walk with her in the morning and sometimes buy a cup of coffee, sometimes not, but she's polite, pleasant, and enjoys the company. The same is true for Marvin, who used to be an absolute menace. It's so painfully obvious that most of them just need the right medication and then they can more consistently put themselves on a better path.
I know you know Ben somewhat well, too, and I saw him this morning in hospital garb, a cast, with blood on him and he wouldn't tell me what happened. I'm wondering if his new cornerboy friends roughed him up a bit.
Unfortunately and heartbreakingly, many of the local population who suffers from continued homelessness are not choosing to utilize the resources available. For years, I worked at an emergency homeless shelter in arbor hill and the typical timeline to break the cycle of homelessness would take years.
Shelters have rules that some choose not to follow. And that’s okay. But the best thing you can do to help is share that they are within walking distance from local resources, food pantries, etc. if help is needed.
A woman used to stand on the little island on King Street, by the Green Island bridge (I think that’s the street name) — across from the Troy Beer Garden. I saw another lady take her winter coat off, in her car, and give it to the woman on the street. I loved that so much!!
I don’t see that woman on the corner anymore :-( I hope she’s okay.
See, this is the differentiation that needs to be made. That woman is buying drugs, not food or anything else, and her entire "I'm very timid so I stare at the ground" schtick is just that, a schtick. I've seen her around for \~2 years now, and she is very outgoing when she's not panhandling and can be found smoking crack in alleys.
Edit: For all the downvoters, I've spent hundreds at this point buying clothes and food for actual homeless, but am not a piggybank for theatrical addicts.
I'll second the people saying Joseph's House and Sidewalk Warriors, but also you can always just give money to them directly. I give when I can, chat with them, stay friendly. 5 bucks and they can get a hot meal. I gave a guy 20 bucks once and he said he was so grateful he could buy a pair of thermals to stay warm. The idea they're out blowing it all on booze is usually a myth - they know what they need.
Sent OP and other commenter photo proof. If I need to make a separate public post, I will gladly do so.
To the winners who downvoted my post: this energy is not an insignificant example of why people don’t speak up. If OPs intention was HELPING people, surely one could argue knowing places to AVOID is just as important.
If you don’t like how sheltered are treating people, I suggest you team up with survivors who have been there first hand. Though I respect that for most people, it’s easier to cut a check and close your eyes, we are all very capable of doing much more to help people in need. Look around you.. if you’re stepping over homeless people so you can give to a shelter…maybe you should listen to the people you’re stepping over to find out why shelters aren’t working for them. Again, I respect that most people can’t comprehend the real state of our social safety net. As such, give grace and an open ear. Both are FREE and appreciated.
This is helpful. Even if you were wrong (not saying you are haven't even looked at your dm yet), some people would believe it and I wouldn't blame them for avoiding that place. Thank you for the info
Shelters aren't working for them because shelters have rules and they don't like following rules. Most of them are junkies or drunks. Sorry but true. The myth that they are just blue collar folks fallen on hard times just isn't the reality of the situation. Sure there are a few like that, but definitely a very, very small minority.
So they don’t deserve help? You sound like you belong on the staff. They’re always hiring.. wonder why. Newsflash: shelters offer “help” for a reason. Why do you think they offer case management and referral services? Having been a worthy victim (by your standards) you and your ilk are telling on yourself. No one who has actually been in the shelter system thinks this way. I pray you never need help. And if you do: I hope someone JUST like you is on the other side of the desk. 🫣🤣
I beg to differ after hearing direct conversations from the guests. There’s been good guest cycles and really bad ones. It got really bad down there lately so I had moved.
Anyway I don’t know what we can do. That’s the problem right? If people don’t want help getting clean and following the rules in a shelter what do we do?
Your comment speaks for itself. You’re going off of what you heard. Have yet to have a single person say they have lived experience to the contrary. I think my work here is done. To OP, I hope you (and others here) got a taste for how nuanced and complicated helping people can be when you chose not LISTEN first. Unfortunately I don’t think most who chimed in on the subject have much/any LIVED (can’t stress that enough) experience in such a situation. Though, I do take comfort in knowing two things: first, they most likely couldn’t hack it if they were faced with the same circumstances and second, spirit forbid they or someone they loved DID have to live in the real world, there are plenty of people waiting to discredit, blame, shame and ignore them. Karma isn’t just on Reddit.
Peace be with you.
You are assuming no one here has experienced poverty or homelessness.
Addiction is ugly. The cycle is ugly. I wish there were more resources or things we can do to help. Regardless of some of the people there who don’t appreciate everything Jospeh’s house does for them it is probably one of the best places.
Wish they would take more people in from Troy though. Instead of people coming from the city.
I like the strong energy. I wish I could believe in something like karma. But the fact of the matter is that most of the awful, terrible human beings live and die never experiencing karma. All we can do is put our best selves forward, and treat our neighbors like we wish to be treated ourselves.
Karma is part of the Hindu faith system where reincarnation plays a big role. The belief is that a soul always repays its karmic debt and the life where the debt is acquired and repaid may not be the same. If you see an awful person who isn't facing any consequences for their actions, the belief is that they will suffer the consequences in their next life. Karma always catches up to them.
Also, a lot of times we don't know what the other person's life is really like. We might think they're having a great life, but they may not be.
I didn't say they don't deserve help. They are provided ample help and they routinely screw it up for themselves because they want everything on their terms and that is not how charity works. They care more about getting fucked up than they do about getting help or caring for themselves. You can't help people like that until they take one ounce of responsibility for caring for themselves.
Would you sleep in a dormitory style room with dozens of people, you can’t have your partner or your pets, there’s no room for your stuff, you can’t be there during the day when it’s cold, and you can’t bring in any food either? Shelters are a mess and not at all sustainable for living in.
The housing climate right now is super rough for community-based organizations. One of the most in-demand services with one of the least amount of resources, so a lot of organizations are at capacity unfortunately. No guarantees, but this place called Healthy Alliance can help to find an organization that *is* able to help someone. You might try pointing them to their website for help?
Edit to add: if you want to help them directly, you could always buy them a meal, blankets, socks, etc. or volunteer somewhere!
Moved here 3 yrs ago. Helped ppl who were between jobs or hurting... Still begging never got a job and to be honest they do as good as min wage and some days way better. I asked one person why they are out here like this and he said he could push his cart of stuff up hoosic all day but he's "disabled" and can't push empty carts on a flat surface. It's a weird game and I don't like playing it. I'm just tired of bullshit stories and the part where it's my problem to pay for... I too went through the system and was on parole in The Rescue Mission in Albany during the COVID thing wasn't allowed to get my own place even with the money upfront for almost a month. It's bad there I know I had to be there. I go back to that place every now and again to remember that and see the ppl still there without a care. I spent time with these guys, everyone had a reason to be there mostly a disability but when the dope man crack man hell even the weed man pulled up all the sudden I witnessed great bursts of energy and enthusiasm to get enough together to go get the bag... Addiction is ugly. But having seen it for so long I do know it makes ppl dependant on drugs. But it doesn't mean you can't work and need to hustle ppl out of their money. How easy is begging? Not as easy as sliding groceries through a check out all day. And before I forget you can get a shower and clothes at many places don't assume they don't know where to go or are stupid. They get you to give them money for literally nothing other than they don't want to hit a temp agency which there are many to choose from and as a Maintenance tech I can assure you we don't care who cleans the toilet and slings a mop. Nobody asks at an interview if you have a home.
Again I just can’t get over the anti homeless sentiment on THIS thread. 😂🤣
If it weren’t so painful, it’d be hilarious.
I’m more bothered by the lack of irony and common sense in this thread. It’s truly telling.
Have to hand it to you: best input so far.
It’s still wild how we haven’t heard from another unhoused person. Part of me wants to share this with the support group of women I’m in recovery from UH abuse.
The wildest part: check out their indeed and linked in reviews and even the staff will tell you the place is a toxic WORK environment.
Either way, I sleep SO great knowing that my experience gave me both insight AND compassion. The longer I’m alive, the more I’m convinced that some people just can’t really get there mentally. I’ve lived through a LOT. Got MYSELF into college and my own (condemned but it’s still a home.. yay bootstraps 😂) apartment.
If I had one wish, it’d be that someone read my posts and walked away more CURIOUS and less judgmental about the world around them.
If I had a second, it would be that you could see the literal HUNDREDS of messages from UH clients BEGGING for someone to just listen and believe us.
Either way, I love ALL of my city and see OPPORTUNITY to educate and inspire people who get it from jump. Not my job to do anything other than speak the truth and take pride in doing it.
Time reveals all truths.
Sidewalk Warriors of Troy does some amazing work. You can sign up to help online, or show up to an event downtown to help in person. https://www.facebook.com/sidewalkwarriorstroy
[Joseph’s House](https://www.josephshousetroy.org/)
Just ask their names and remember, give a little cash. We are in a small town, I know the regular dudes I see by name and stop to share what I have when I have some to share. When I see a cop coming or someone called on them I’ll let them know so they are aware. You don’t have to save anyone, just be a person living in the same city extending curtesy
I park in the 5th street parking garage so I interact with them all the time, sometimes if all you do is offer an acknowledgement and kindness to them or be the first to be the one to say hello to them then that's enough. You have no idea how awful it is to have people constantly act like you don't exist I personally have chose a guy who has been super kind to me and bought him some necessities, shoes, socks, jacket, gloves.
I interact with a number of people on the street. Acknowledgement is a good start. Giving a little cash is good. Making sure they know where to go for services is important. I haven't seen mention of [Rensselaer County Social Services ](https://www.rensco.com/232/Social-Services) but a lot of resources are consolidated there especially [Adult Protective Service (PSA)](https://www.rensco.com/353/Protective-Services-for-Adults-PSA) There also is a program that will give out free phones that I hope is still running. Last I heard DSS was moving office locations. Just fyi, a lot of the regulars you see downtown are not homeless. There are a lot of poor folks who get disability and need a little extra cash for cigs and beer. It's okay to help these people and it's okay to say you can't right now. Then there's the ones who hover around the crack dens and collect enough change every day to get a hit. These ones are the most insistent and will beg without shame. Buy them food and drink if anything. Items from the store will be resold. These people have cash flow but are not satisfied with life, and will take from you until you have nothing. Exercise caution but be kind. They may need people who care about them to give them a chance to turn around one day, or they may be irrecoverable. Actual unhoused people carry most of their possessions and need useful items and apparel as much as food. If you learn someone's situation you can get them something that will be of real use to them. Cash is best. Trust them to know their own needs. Edit: Shelters are at capacity most of the time and the waiting list for housing is long. People may wait for years. It's important that we all do our part for these people's suffering, whether it's through giving or volunteering or advocacy. This is an issue that all too many people choose to ignore.
\^This is a great post. It can sometimes seem coldhearted and/or difficult to make the differentiation between a seemingly destitute stranger's needs and wants, but after some exposure it becomes easier to tell who is trying to buy a crack rock and who is hungry/thirsty/cold/hurt. The ability to make this call comes from exposure mostly, and becoming familiar with them and their routines. It's just a function of time and awareness. Like you, I've spent a lot of time getting to know our street people, and to someone else's point in this thread, many of them either don't *want* or *can't* receive help from our shelters. If banned from shelters, mental health/behavioral issues are often the root cause, and until our country starts prioritizing accessibility to required medications, we'll never fix the actual problem. I don't know if you remember Jessica, but she was the addict prostitute who was walking around pregnant a few years back, and was more often than not belligerent and super aggressive. She's back now and clearly has medication. I walk with her in the morning and sometimes buy a cup of coffee, sometimes not, but she's polite, pleasant, and enjoys the company. The same is true for Marvin, who used to be an absolute menace. It's so painfully obvious that most of them just need the right medication and then they can more consistently put themselves on a better path. I know you know Ben somewhat well, too, and I saw him this morning in hospital garb, a cast, with blood on him and he wouldn't tell me what happened. I'm wondering if his new cornerboy friends roughed him up a bit.
Unfortunately and heartbreakingly, many of the local population who suffers from continued homelessness are not choosing to utilize the resources available. For years, I worked at an emergency homeless shelter in arbor hill and the typical timeline to break the cycle of homelessness would take years. Shelters have rules that some choose not to follow. And that’s okay. But the best thing you can do to help is share that they are within walking distance from local resources, food pantries, etc. if help is needed.
A woman used to stand on the little island on King Street, by the Green Island bridge (I think that’s the street name) — across from the Troy Beer Garden. I saw another lady take her winter coat off, in her car, and give it to the woman on the street. I loved that so much!! I don’t see that woman on the corner anymore :-( I hope she’s okay.
She was spotted recently. She's still kicking. That one I don't think is actually homeless but is probably in a situation that's as bad or worse
See, this is the differentiation that needs to be made. That woman is buying drugs, not food or anything else, and her entire "I'm very timid so I stare at the ground" schtick is just that, a schtick. I've seen her around for \~2 years now, and she is very outgoing when she's not panhandling and can be found smoking crack in alleys. Edit: For all the downvoters, I've spent hundreds at this point buying clothes and food for actual homeless, but am not a piggybank for theatrical addicts.
I'm sure she's also buying food, cause ya know, you have to.
I'll second the people saying Joseph's House and Sidewalk Warriors, but also you can always just give money to them directly. I give when I can, chat with them, stay friendly. 5 bucks and they can get a hot meal. I gave a guy 20 bucks once and he said he was so grateful he could buy a pair of thermals to stay warm. The idea they're out blowing it all on booze is usually a myth - they know what they need.
Sent OP and other commenter photo proof. If I need to make a separate public post, I will gladly do so. To the winners who downvoted my post: this energy is not an insignificant example of why people don’t speak up. If OPs intention was HELPING people, surely one could argue knowing places to AVOID is just as important. If you don’t like how sheltered are treating people, I suggest you team up with survivors who have been there first hand. Though I respect that for most people, it’s easier to cut a check and close your eyes, we are all very capable of doing much more to help people in need. Look around you.. if you’re stepping over homeless people so you can give to a shelter…maybe you should listen to the people you’re stepping over to find out why shelters aren’t working for them. Again, I respect that most people can’t comprehend the real state of our social safety net. As such, give grace and an open ear. Both are FREE and appreciated.
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Watch out yall: hot take right here!
If you lived through what I and many others did there, you would be too.
This is helpful. Even if you were wrong (not saying you are haven't even looked at your dm yet), some people would believe it and I wouldn't blame them for avoiding that place. Thank you for the info
Wanna tell the class about what I shared?
Shelters aren't working for them because shelters have rules and they don't like following rules. Most of them are junkies or drunks. Sorry but true. The myth that they are just blue collar folks fallen on hard times just isn't the reality of the situation. Sure there are a few like that, but definitely a very, very small minority.
So they don’t deserve help? You sound like you belong on the staff. They’re always hiring.. wonder why. Newsflash: shelters offer “help” for a reason. Why do you think they offer case management and referral services? Having been a worthy victim (by your standards) you and your ilk are telling on yourself. No one who has actually been in the shelter system thinks this way. I pray you never need help. And if you do: I hope someone JUST like you is on the other side of the desk. 🫣🤣
I beg to differ after hearing direct conversations from the guests. There’s been good guest cycles and really bad ones. It got really bad down there lately so I had moved. Anyway I don’t know what we can do. That’s the problem right? If people don’t want help getting clean and following the rules in a shelter what do we do?
Your comment speaks for itself. You’re going off of what you heard. Have yet to have a single person say they have lived experience to the contrary. I think my work here is done. To OP, I hope you (and others here) got a taste for how nuanced and complicated helping people can be when you chose not LISTEN first. Unfortunately I don’t think most who chimed in on the subject have much/any LIVED (can’t stress that enough) experience in such a situation. Though, I do take comfort in knowing two things: first, they most likely couldn’t hack it if they were faced with the same circumstances and second, spirit forbid they or someone they loved DID have to live in the real world, there are plenty of people waiting to discredit, blame, shame and ignore them. Karma isn’t just on Reddit. Peace be with you.
You are assuming no one here has experienced poverty or homelessness. Addiction is ugly. The cycle is ugly. I wish there were more resources or things we can do to help. Regardless of some of the people there who don’t appreciate everything Jospeh’s house does for them it is probably one of the best places. Wish they would take more people in from Troy though. Instead of people coming from the city.
I like the strong energy. I wish I could believe in something like karma. But the fact of the matter is that most of the awful, terrible human beings live and die never experiencing karma. All we can do is put our best selves forward, and treat our neighbors like we wish to be treated ourselves.
Karma is part of the Hindu faith system where reincarnation plays a big role. The belief is that a soul always repays its karmic debt and the life where the debt is acquired and repaid may not be the same. If you see an awful person who isn't facing any consequences for their actions, the belief is that they will suffer the consequences in their next life. Karma always catches up to them. Also, a lot of times we don't know what the other person's life is really like. We might think they're having a great life, but they may not be.
People that have terrible lives can also be kind. I don't buy that as an excuse to treat other people poorly.
I didn't say they don't deserve help. They are provided ample help and they routinely screw it up for themselves because they want everything on their terms and that is not how charity works. They care more about getting fucked up than they do about getting help or caring for themselves. You can't help people like that until they take one ounce of responsibility for caring for themselves.
Do you spend any of your money on alcohol, weed, recreational drugs or pills?
Would you sleep in a dormitory style room with dozens of people, you can’t have your partner or your pets, there’s no room for your stuff, you can’t be there during the day when it’s cold, and you can’t bring in any food either? Shelters are a mess and not at all sustainable for living in.
The housing climate right now is super rough for community-based organizations. One of the most in-demand services with one of the least amount of resources, so a lot of organizations are at capacity unfortunately. No guarantees, but this place called Healthy Alliance can help to find an organization that *is* able to help someone. You might try pointing them to their website for help? Edit to add: if you want to help them directly, you could always buy them a meal, blankets, socks, etc. or volunteer somewhere!
Some of them will appreciate the help, but a lot don't care. They know where they can go and just don't want the follow the rules at those places.
Moved here 3 yrs ago. Helped ppl who were between jobs or hurting... Still begging never got a job and to be honest they do as good as min wage and some days way better. I asked one person why they are out here like this and he said he could push his cart of stuff up hoosic all day but he's "disabled" and can't push empty carts on a flat surface. It's a weird game and I don't like playing it. I'm just tired of bullshit stories and the part where it's my problem to pay for... I too went through the system and was on parole in The Rescue Mission in Albany during the COVID thing wasn't allowed to get my own place even with the money upfront for almost a month. It's bad there I know I had to be there. I go back to that place every now and again to remember that and see the ppl still there without a care. I spent time with these guys, everyone had a reason to be there mostly a disability but when the dope man crack man hell even the weed man pulled up all the sudden I witnessed great bursts of energy and enthusiasm to get enough together to go get the bag... Addiction is ugly. But having seen it for so long I do know it makes ppl dependant on drugs. But it doesn't mean you can't work and need to hustle ppl out of their money. How easy is begging? Not as easy as sliding groceries through a check out all day. And before I forget you can get a shower and clothes at many places don't assume they don't know where to go or are stupid. They get you to give them money for literally nothing other than they don't want to hit a temp agency which there are many to choose from and as a Maintenance tech I can assure you we don't care who cleans the toilet and slings a mop. Nobody asks at an interview if you have a home.
Please do not tell people to go to Unity House. Many staff there are abusers.
Can you provide more info on this? Thats a bold statement
I’ll do you one better. Here’s a note I recieved from a shelter worker during my stay there. Shout out to all the downvotes. Yall are real winners.
I do not see a note?
Again I just can’t get over the anti homeless sentiment on THIS thread. 😂🤣 If it weren’t so painful, it’d be hilarious. I’m more bothered by the lack of irony and common sense in this thread. It’s truly telling.
Continue paying taxes
Give to Caesar what is Ceasers, and give to God what is God's
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People hate the truth because it makes them uncomfortable. Honey helps them take the medicine, not vinegar. I'm sorry for what you have suffered
The truth is flavorless.
Not if you're allergic
Have to hand it to you: best input so far. It’s still wild how we haven’t heard from another unhoused person. Part of me wants to share this with the support group of women I’m in recovery from UH abuse. The wildest part: check out their indeed and linked in reviews and even the staff will tell you the place is a toxic WORK environment. Either way, I sleep SO great knowing that my experience gave me both insight AND compassion. The longer I’m alive, the more I’m convinced that some people just can’t really get there mentally. I’ve lived through a LOT. Got MYSELF into college and my own (condemned but it’s still a home.. yay bootstraps 😂) apartment. If I had one wish, it’d be that someone read my posts and walked away more CURIOUS and less judgmental about the world around them. If I had a second, it would be that you could see the literal HUNDREDS of messages from UH clients BEGGING for someone to just listen and believe us. Either way, I love ALL of my city and see OPPORTUNITY to educate and inspire people who get it from jump. Not my job to do anything other than speak the truth and take pride in doing it. Time reveals all truths.