My mother's past life - homeless woman in the 1960s, USA

[Sheeply]

Hi all!

I just wanted to post this story and ask if anyone here had any information about the area and time period. I’m too young and also in a different country from where it takes place.

My Mum was born in 1968,
Her memory was this:

She remembered being a woman with shoulder length brown hair, maybe in her late 20s early 30s, who ended up being homeless. She said that she felt that being homeless was her fault, that she perhaps had a male partner and she regretted leaving him.

She says she wasn’t sure why her memory self didn’t go back or try to reach out to other family. But she felt she regretted it.
I was wondering, did men get conscripted to a war in the 60s?

She states that she thinks it was America, when I asked she said she just felt it was, but she didn’t know where.

She had memories on sleeping in parks and being scared of being moved on by the police, stating that she wouldn’t get much sleep because they kept moving her on. Also whilst being homeless in the park.

She remembered being there one summer when there were a lot of hippies dancing to music, and she said it felt like a really happy day for her, as one hippy danced with her and they didn’t mock her for being homeless.

She felt she was homeless for a few years, and had memories of eating in soup kitchens.
After that, she said she started to become ill, and a couple took her into their home. She says she thinks they were middle aged and Christian.
She said she became bed ridden and her back really hurt. She doesn’t know what she died of but I think it was a traumatic death because she (her memory self) was crying in the bed in terrible pain.


I was wondering if anyone knows much about homelessness in America around that time. If not, no worries

Thank you!

 

[Eva1942]

I don’t know much about homelessness in America around that time, but I do know what you’re talking about.

My mother was staying with us one time, and knowing that I was into dreams and stuff, she told me about her ‘awful’ dream she had had during the night.

She proceeded to tell me her dream, and I instantly realised she was telling me a past life memory. I didn’t mention it because my mum doesn’t go for it all, but after some research, I realised her “dream” was a memory from the bombing of Dresden, Germany at the end of WWII. I found out later, in that lifetime she had died of starvation like most elderly did in Dresden in 1945.

A few years later, with the help of my guides and a few late nights researching, realised who she really was to me in that lifetime. I hope that soon, you have the same luck I did, and I wish you all the best. Sorry I did not have much to add, but I thought that it would be good to know that you’re not the only one whose mother revealed past life memories to their children whether they be aware of them or not.

Eva x

 

[fireflydancing]

I was wondering if anyone knew much about homelessness in American around that time.

Hi Sheeply,

No, I don't have experience of homelessness in the US. I just wonder why a woman in that era would leave the comfort of a home and not relying on a spouse or relatives like parents.
Perhaps she was a drugaddict. Perhaps she became pregnant out of wedlock (but you don't mention a child with her). And the last possibility is that she had escaped a toxic environment (mental and physical abuse), maybe the spouse, maybe the parents, maybe the inlaws, maybe a combination of several toxic people.

You tell us she was born in 1968, so her encounter with hippies was in the beginning of that hippie-era. It also means she was not one of them. Maybe she was an illegal immigrant, trying her luck for a better future (what apparently failed).

 

[SeekerOfKnowledge]

Hello Sheeply,

you asked about men going to war in the 1960's. Well, many men went to Vietnam. Some didn't return, some deserted, some returned with heavy trauma.

I just don't understand if her ex lover went to war or who else.
If your Mom was a woman in the 1920's or 1930's, she and her ex partner would have been 50+ years old in the 1960's. Would a man that age have gone to Vietnam?
Or do I misunderstand something here?

Did your Mom become homeless in the 1920's/30's or later?
I don't know about being homeless in the US, but it sounds about right that in many countries the police would move homeless people from public places like parks.

Concerning the sickness, I am not a doctor. But cancer can come with horrible pain. Lung cancer can cause pain in the (upper) back. If she didn't get anything against the pain, she would have suffered horribly. In the US she wouldn't have gotten free treatment. She or the people who took her in would have had to pay for medicine or a hospital. As a homeless, she couldn't have afforded that, and maybe the couple couldn't afford it either (or they did not want to pay that much money). There may be other diseases which can be deadly if they aren't treated. Even a flu or infected wound can kill you if you don't have access to medicine. It definitely makes sense that she died from something that causes pain in the back and that this experience was traumatizing.

 

[Sheeply]

Hello Sheeply,

you asked about men going to war in the 1960's. Well, many men went to Vietnam. Some didn't return, some deserted, some returned with heavy trauma.

I just don't understand if her ex lover went to war or who else.
If your Mom was a woman in the 1920's or 1930's, she and her ex partner would have been 50+ years old in the 1960's. Would a man that age have gone to Vietnam?
Or do I misunderstand something here?

Did your Mom become homeless in the 1920's/30's or later?
I don't know about being homeless in the US, but it sounds about right that in many countries the police would move homeless people from public places like parks.

Concerning the sickness, I am not a doctor. But cancer can come with horrible pain. Lung cancer can cause pain in the (upper) back. If she didn't get anything against the pain, she would have suffered horribly. In the US she wouldn't have gotten free treatment. She or the people who took her in would have had to pay for medicine or a hospital. As a homeless, she couldn't have afforded that, and maybe the couple couldn't afford it either (or they did not want to pay that much money). There may be other diseases which can be deadly if they aren't treated. Even a flu or infected wound can kill you if you don't have access to medicine. It definitely makes sense that she died from something that causes pain in the back and that this experience was traumatizing.

As I said my mum (not her memory) was born in 1968, since she was talking about Hippies I presume (if the memory is real) she would have died just before she was born. She states that her self looked around 20/30s, and she wasn't sure how long the woman was homeless for, but when she got sick the older couple took her into their home.
I asked if she felt her memory self had a drug addiction and she said no. I found it interesting she said that she was happy when the hippies were in the park because they didn't insult or mock her like other people usually did.

I just think she had no family to go to and no money to help her get out of being homeless. I imagine that social welfare stuff in the 60's was a bit dire in America and Europe?

She said she doesn't remember having any children, just that she regretting leaving the man, but wasn't sure why she didn't go back. She says she didn't feel a connection to any other family than him. I was wondering perhaps she ran away from home, or perhaps she had no parents anyway, to be with him, so then when she left him she had no one at all.

Thank you

 

[Sheeply]

I don’t know much about homelessness in America around that time, but I do know what you’re talking about.

My mother was staying with us one time, and knowing that I was into dreams and stuff, she told me about her ‘awful’ dream she had had during the night.

She proceeded to tell me her dream, and I instantly realised she was telling me a past life memory. I didn’t mention it because my mum doesn’t go for it all, but after some research, I realised her “dream” was a memory from the bombing of Dresden, Germany at the end of WWII. I found out later, in that lifetime she had died of starvation like most elderly did in Dresden in 1945.

A few years later, with the help of my guides and a few late nights researching, realised who she really was to me in that lifetime. I hope that soon, you have the same luck I did, and I wish you all the best. Sorry I did not have much to add, but I thought that it would be good to know that you’re not the only one whose mother revealed past life memories to their children whether they be aware of them or not.

Eva x

Thanks for your reply. I've never felt a connection to America unfortunately. Only really been interested in the Victorian and early 1900s. (I think I was probably a farmer or farm hand) and then another vivid memory of being what was probably a very low level minister, or some sort of aid for a local lord in Japan. Better than being a peasant but nothing fancy haha. And if the Japan one were true it would have been at least 300 years ago from the scenery of what I saw. (not a Samurai or anything interesting like that XD).

 

[helz_belz]

Not sure if this will be much help, but I've had a few memory fragments from a life around the same time, 1950s-early 1980s, as a young woman. She had a good family, but the relationship with her mother was particularly difficult, so she left home to live her own life as soon as she could. I don't think she was homeless exactly, but she didn't rely on her family for financial assistance as far as I can remember.

 

[Klaud]

Sounds like she described something close-ish to the end of the Vietnam war, where many men were drafted.

I wasn't alive during the 60s, but I would assume there would have been a homeless population somewhere

 

[Blazealiste]

That was awful, we are so very lucky today that most of us have not experienced that kind of drought, war, hardships like the people in the past suffered from.

 

[DiscoKitten]

In the late 1960's is when the Vietnam War was going on. There was a huge hippie movement during this time. Peace Love and Happiness. Many were against the Vietnam war. Hippies were generally kind people who accepted people from all walks of life. They would be the ones who would be most accepting of a homeless person. Police always have been unfriendly towards the homeless or those sleeping on park benches, etc. A lot of businesses dont want homeless near their businesses since it drives customers away. As a result police keep homeless away from park benches, neighborhoods, businesses and prevent them from panhandling without a license.

Your memories sound like they were memories during the Vietnam era. The war was in the background. Do you know if you suffered from any type of mental illness. There were less resources for a person with a mental illness background in those days. Often sadly they found themselves homeless.

Do you have any memories of your husband from that time? What could have caused you to leave him? Was he abusive in any way? Was he unfaithful?

 

[Sheeply]

In the late 1960's is when the Vietnam War was going on. There was a huge hippie movement during this time. Peace Love and Happiness. Many were against the Vietnam war. Hippies were generally kind people who accepted people from all walks of life. They would be the ones who would be most accepting of a homeless person. Police always have been unfriendly towards the homeless or those sleeping on park benches, etc. A lot of businesses dont want homeless near their businesses since it drives customers away. As a result police keep homeless away from park benches, neighborhoods, businesses and prevent them from panhandling without a license.

Your memories sound like they were memories during the Vietnam era. The war was in the background. Do you know if you suffered from any type of mental illness. There were less resources for a person with a mental illness background in those days. Often sadly they found themselves homeless.

Do you have any memories of your husband from that time? What could have caused you to leave him? Was he abusive in any way? Was he unfaithful?

hi, sorry for the late reply, but these are my mums memories.
She didn’t have any memories of him, just that he existed and that for some reason she left him which caused her to be homeless, so perhaps it was drastic measures？
She said she didn’t know why she left, and my mum didn’t know why the woman didn’t go back to him either, but to me if she became homeless to leave him either he must have forced her out or she must have run away.

She didn’t report having any mental health issues but it’s a possibility. She didn’t say she ever seeking helped beyond going to soup kitchens and I know many homeless people who have mental health problems.

she generally reported feeling sad and scared. And at the end of the memory the woman was in bed and crying. My mums felt that perhaps that was her just before she died. It must have been a very scary and painful way to die...

I’m guessing health care for homeless people was non existent in the 60s? (I know there is Obama care now but still not great?)

 

[GuySittingintheStands]

Summer of Love, summer 1967, San Francisco, California and the hippie movement:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Love

Tour of the Haight Ashbury district, San Francisco, California, filmed in Black&White, March or April, 1967, a couple of months after the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park (San Fran) in January 1967, and a couple of months before the Summer of Love, San Francisco, summer 1967:

Tens of thousands of young people flocked to the San Francisco Bay Area for sex, drugs, rock and roll and the new Spirituality movement that summer (eastern religions, peace and universal love and long hair); a separate movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, also took off in 1967 (March 1967 -- 50000 protesters Central Park to UN building NYC and SF; October 1967 -- 100,000+ protesters at Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC), although there were scattered anti-draft/ anti-war protests in various big American cities before 1967.

The escalation of the war began in mid-1965 into 1966 when the US troop presence went from around 40,000 US military "advisors" to over 500,000 American GIs "in-country".

There were all sorts of deferments for men eligible for conscription ("the draft"), ie., young men 18-25 years old, but I think the one that might apply in your mom's case was the marriage deferment which put married men at the bottom of the selective service induction rolls at least until LBJ ended this deferment August 26, 1965. If your mom's memory self didn't want to get married just to get her boyfriend out of the draft then maybe she just left.

Tens of thousands of young American men chose to flee to Canada or Sweden to avoid conscription ("the draft") during the Vietnam war. Maybe your mom's memory self's boyfriend chose to leave and she chose not to go with him.

Medicaid (hospital and health coverage for the poor and indigent) was signed into law July 30, 1965 by the US federal government but wasn't implemented until the following year in most states including California. In fact California didn't fully implement Medicaid until 1973:

"California Medicaid History
Medi-Cal was established in 1966, and is now the nation’s largest Medicaid program in terms of enrollment. . . . Medi-Cal has expanded coverage and implemented new policies over the years, including introducing Medicaid managed care plans in 1973 . . . ."

Either lung cancer or metastatic breast cancer sound about right as far as cause of death goes. Both awful.

 

[AlteSeele]

I was wondering, did men get conscripted to a war in the 60s?

Not conscripted, but they were drafted to fight the war that was going in the Vietnam at the time.

She remembered there being one summer where there were a lot of hippies dancing to music, and she said it felt like a really happy day for her, as one hippy danced with her and they didn’t mock her for being homeless.

It sounds like she was in San Francisco. Big cities tend to have a number of homeless people. In the 1960s a section of the city called Haight-Ashbury was "hippie central". As the previous post pointed out, 1967 was the "Summer of Love". Based on your description, I strongly suspect she bore witness to that. She might find that some of these photos may have a sense of familiarity to her: https://www.motherjones.com/media/2...ll-haight-street-photo-book-insight-editions/

 

[Speedwell]

Not conscripted, but they were drafted to fight the war that was going in the Vietnam at the time.

As I'm not from the United States, I don't understand the meaning of the term "drafted" in this context. According to Wikipedia (which may contain errors of course),

Conscription, sometimes called the draft in the United States

which suggests that they are different words for the same thing?

 

[GuySittingintheStands]

Basically they are the same: a conscript is the same as a draftee; to be conscripted means the same as to be drafted. Both are non-voluntary inductions into military service. Conscription implies mandatory enlistment for all eligible men for military service; while (whilst) the draft in American usage implies (implied) mandatory registration for all eligible men (in the Vietnam war era, 18-25 year old men) for service in the US Army. After registration , if the government needed you, you were "called up" and expected to report to the nearest Army induction center for military service. So mandatory enlistment vs. mandatory registration would be one subtle difference.

For example, registration for the draft was still around in June 1974, a month after I had turned 18. Since the government was no longer inducting men into the military (read: US Army), I never served. (All inductions into the US military had ended by June 30, 1973, around the same time US military involvement in the Vietnam war had come to an end.). But I still had to go to my high school guidance counselor's office, check a few boxes, fill in a couple lines, on a pre-paid postal card and mail it (post it) to the government agency handling all such matters (The Selective Service Agency). I registered for the draft because it was still the law of the land even though I knew that it was just a formality by 1974. I really didn't think twice about it.

To further illustrate, I have a brother 5 years older than myself. He turned 18 in December 1968 while the Vietnam war was still hot. Because he was accepted into university shortly afterwards, he received a "college" draft "deferment", meaning he was able to temporarily claim exemption from service (ie., from being inducted into the Army) so long as he stayed matriculated at a university or college, which he was able to do for all 4 years of his university experience (1969-1973). He was never called up and never served.

So, in short, mandatory conscription would mean that you were going to serve in the military for a specified time period regardless of whether the government needed you or not. The mandatory draft registration meant that if the US government needed you, you were going to go into the US Army, which from 1964 - 1973 (and especially from 1965 - 1972) meant that it was likely the government was going to ship you to Vietnam if you couldn't get some sort of deferment (temporary or permanent exemption from serving in the military) or you weren't somehow lucky enough to be stationed somewhere besides Vietnam (Japan, South Korea, Western Europe, the UK etc.).

 

[Speedwell]

Thank you @GuySittingintheStands , that really does help to explain what it means/meant, both technically and in how it applied in reality. Very helpful.

 

[RedSunshine]

Basically they are the same: a conscript is the same as a draftee; to be conscripted means the same as to be drafted. Both are non-voluntary inductions into military service. Conscription implies mandatory enlistment for all eligible men for military service; while (whilst) the draft in American usage implies (implied) mandatory registration for all eligible men (in the Vietnam war era, 18-25 year old men) for service in the US Army. After registration , if the government needed you, you were "called up" and expected to report to the nearest Army induction center for military service. So mandatory enlistment vs. mandatory registration would be one subtle difference.

For example, registration for the draft was still around in June 1974, a month after I had turned 18. Since the government was no longer inducting men into the military (read: US Army), I never served. (All inductions into the US military had ended by June 30, 1973, around the same time US military involvement in the Vietnam war had come to an end.). But I still had to go to my high school guidance counselor's office, check a few boxes, fill in a couple lines, on a pre-paid postal card and mail it (post it) to the government agency handling all such matters (The Selective Service Agency). I registered for the draft because it was still the law of the land even though I knew that it was just a formality by 1974. I really didn't think twice about it.

To further illustrate, I have a brother 5 years older than myself. He turned 18 in December 1968 while the Vietnam war was still hot. Because he was accepted into university shortly afterwards, he received a "college" draft "deferment", meaning he was able to temporarily claim exemption from service (ie., from being inducted into the Army) so long as he stayed matriculated at a university or college, which he was able to do for all 4 years of his university experience (1969-1973). He was never called up and never served.

So, in short, mandatory conscription would mean that you were going to serve in the military for a specified time period regardless of whether the government needed you or not. The mandatory draft registration meant that if the US government needed you, you were going to go into the US Army, which from 1964 - 1973 (and especially from 1965 - 1972) meant that it was likely the government was going to ship you to Vietnam if you couldn't get some sort of deferment (temporary or permanent exemption from serving in the military) or you weren't somehow lucky enough to be stationed somewhere besides Vietnam (Japan, South Korea, Western Europe, the UK etc.).

I gain more knowledge from this one. Thanks, GuySittingintheStands.