This is Billy Bob and the Consortium
Let’s Have a Conversation Today
Darn! A New Concept, Will It Work?
Billy Bob, I hope you are ready for one of our real good talks this morning. I have one that will stump the group for sure. Well, good morning, Pete. How much coffee have you had this morning? Oh, it is not about the coffee today, it is about the conversation, but about this unbelievable concept, I read about. I cannot wait for the group to get here and tuck in for the morning.
Alright, I see your challenge this morning, and I raise it. But let’s wait until everyone gets here, since it is a hot-button topic, we want everyone to enjoy. No problem, more coffee for me before we start talking, that is always good. Pete, be nice to us today, your topics make us think too much sometimes. Keeps us young.
Hey, good morning, everybody, coffee and treats this morning. Pete, you are bouncing way too much, what are we in for today? Barb, I have a topic that will stretch your imagination like it has not been in years. Billy Bob, where did you find him this morning? He found me with coffee and treats! Okay, buckle up, we are in for an interesting ride.
What is the first thought that comes to mind when you hear the words, storage container? Barb, what word for you? I would say a good place to hide, the shadows are great. Great thinking, we have all done that. Johnny Boy, how about you? Pete, I love to lay down them as the train starts rolling and move around this area without anyone seeing me. Frankie, how about you? Me I don’t go near the tracks anymore, so they mean nothing to me. Frankie, I am sorry, I truly forgot, forgive me, I had no ill intent. I know, it is okay. Billy Bob, what say you about containers? Pete, they are great hiding places when they are still, but if they are moving, no thanks.
Okay, now it is time to flip the script on containers and mess up your thinking this morning. Be nice, Pete, or you’ll be wearing coffee instead of just drinking it. Okay, settle down, eat, relax, it is an amazing concept and idea. Containers as homes for the homeless! What, no way, they are dirty, nasty, confined, how could they be homes? Cleaned out, windows, all tricked out with the basics needed for life off the streets for a literal fraction of the cost of a traditional house. There is no way, Pete, that they can be converted to a living space, no way. Oh, Barb, you should see some of the homes that have already been built just with containers.
Pete, you are telling us the truth, those dirty, nasty, old containers we see on ships and the trains can be made into structures that we could live in comfortably? Yip, and it is already being done, just not for the homeless, but someone should get the idea of a better way to end homelessness, and get us off the streets. How does it work with a container for a home? They clean them out, stabilize them, windows, door, heat and cool, basic kitchen, bathroom, and bed area, and you are set to live and be at peace. Dang, that sounds divine, but the cost is probably the problem, right? They are not cheap, but I believe compared to normal homes, they are far cheaper.
Pete, those containers we see are not that big, are they? Some of them are up to thirty feet long and ten feet high and about 8 feet or so wide, enough to be comfortable compared to being out here sleeping under the stars. I mean if you have a family, they can put a couple of them containers together and make a larger space for a family!
Wait a stinking minute Pete, just wait a minute, so in the dream world that we are living in right now, you are saying that someone who has a heart for the homeless could get land, get the permits, buy a bunch of these converted containers and get us off the streets fairly quickly? Yes, Frankie, that is exactly what I am saying. Remember our line crossers and rule breakers, one of those could be the one who decides enough is enough and takes the leap and blows the ‘shelter system’ out of the water with this ‘crazy idea!’ Pete, that would cause a stir, money would not be going into their pockets anymore. Exactly why homelessness is not being solved, it is too profitable.
Now we have talked about this before, could you make the change, could you change and live in a home once again, where you are safe and have a roof, or would it be a struggle? Pete, I think the village idea, like you briefly said, would be the greatest answer. We have not been alone out here, and then we would still have each other to help with the transition. Frankie, yes, the outside world does not comprehend homelessness, so being there with and for each other, if this were to ever come true, would be great. I know for a darn fact if I don’t have someone near me from out here, I could never make the transition, it has been too long and the fear of being found is still too great. Barb, that is why I think the village, we each work on recovery, but we are not alone. Frankie, how about you? No, not for me, I know nothing but the streets, I don’t think I could make it inside anymore.
Okay, break, breathe, coffee, food, and reset, this was a little more intense than I expected, but I believe it was because we all hope that one day we will have a roof over our heads and it won’t be a coffin lid. Pete, this is real, these containers are being used for housing for all kinds of reasons and people. Yes, Billy Bob, I may come up with some wacky topics, but I do not lie or bring made up ones to us to discuss in the morning, that is not how I move. I can almost promise this, if it happens, it will be one of the rule breakers or line crossers, they are the only ones brave enough to try and do something this outline the lines.
Do you think any town would allow a tiny village of storage containers to spring up behind fences and be gated for all to be safe and kept from bugging each other? I know city and state governments do not like solutions that decrease the flow of money into pockets that ought not have that money, so who knows. Billy Bob, are we just dreaming again? IS hope really gone from our lives and is there no hope for a better tomorrow?
There is always hope if we are breathing, Barb. Pete, in all your searching and computer stuff, have you seen these homes? Yes, Johnny Boy I have, I would not have stirred the fire this morning if I had not seen them myself. I mean a door that closes, where it is quiet, where it can be you alone with your thoughts, without being afraid, without worry and concern, that is a dream world. Yes, Frankie, we still can dream, but enough for today, let’s get going before we get too comfortable and lose our spot here.