He has 8 kids. 6 grown and moved on. Not one of them refused to let him be homeless? Had a couch for him to sleep on? A computer to search for jobs on?
My father refused to take any real help, till his final days.
In his own words, he wanted to "free" his children from the burden he had turned into - he wanted us to go out and succeed & never blame him for holding us back.
All I could do was get him his pills and sit by his bed & promise him that it wasn't a sacrifice (and that I would live my life, soon).
Not that it did any good to his self-worth, but it helps me sleep well at night, at least.
He didn't blame anyone did he? He basically said he made all of the decisions, one by one. The source of those decisions may or may not have been what you propose as the explanation. But I think the characterization 'this article may have been unfairly billed and titled' seems...off, regardless. But maybe I'm missing something.
Why do you think his pride stopped him accepting help? Would you put up someone down on their luck?
As a father, to be unable to support yourself, let alone your kids, can be a destructive blow not only to your self-respect, but to your children's respect for you. I suspect that that's what he was trying to avoid, and I find it wholly reasonable. His children's respect might never return, and it's clear from the article that his relationship with his children is part of what he valued most.
If it was easy to avoid the situation, he would have.