[moondowner]

> The homeless centre told them Ronnie needed an address to get a job, Rob said, but "to get an address, you need a job".

> "That's the Catch 22 that loads of homeless people are in."

Breaking this systemic barrier would make life easier on a lot of people.

[speleding]

Yes, it's not just homeless people with this bootstrapping problem. When I first arrived to the US in the nineties as a student I needed a social security number, for this I needed a P.O. Box (they did not accept the dorm house as address). For the P.O. Box I needed a social security number. Most international students ended up breaking the deadlock by making up a social security number.

[bbarn]

I had a similar issue living abroad. My wife had a work visa (which was the reason we we moving) and I was allowed to go being a spouse, but once there getting a permit to work for myself was impossible without a job, and a job was impossible without a work permit.

There were ways around it, but it took finding a job at a really big company to make it work - they had dealt with it and had HR people that specialized in it. Once "on paper", I was pretty free to move around. I would not be surprised if their method was just putting in all zeros in the system or something until the permit number came back.

[redwall_hp]

Similarly, you need ID to get an ID. You also need proof of address to get an ID. And you need an ID to get an address or a job.

[aleph_minus_one]

If you look for an evil of the world, it is often written down in the rules and laws.

[moffkalast]

You'd be hard pressed to find someone more callous than an old bureaucrat.

[tclancy]

Yes. I’d like to think having a mobile phone would be enough but there’s still how work can write you a check and how you can deposit it. Not sure if any bank will go without a fixed address.

[afiori]

A reasonable solution is to get a free "address" from the post office with optionally phone notifications for mail

[pstuart]

The homeless centre should be able to be used as a home address for a job.

[hexis]

I wonder why they require it?

[dfxm12]

Systemically & historically, the US favors landowning white men and discriminates against others wherever possible.