4 ms·

A friend of mine because of his job encounters the homeless on a regular basis. He is very plugged in to homeless resources and offers to get them a roof tonigh

A friend of mine because of his job encounters the homeless on a regular basis. He is very plugged in to homeless resources and offers to get them a roof tonight. The #1 response to this offer is, "can I do anything I want there?" -- in other words, will I get kicked out for doing drugs? Once we stop judging addicts as being intrinsically bad people and see it as a mental health issue, we can solve a lot of this problem.

ben509 8y ago
> Once we stop judging addicts as being intrinsically bad people and see it as a mental health issue, we can solve a lot of this problem. I suspect what mental health issues mean to most people is you now have a vaguely scientific explanation of why someone is intrinsically bad.
- TallGuyShort 8y ago
  Mental health issues aren't intrinsic. Like physical health issues, you might be born with them or you might acquire them as a consequence of your environment. But they should be seen in the context of how to cure or manage them. They don't need to be a defining characteristic of who you are. I know we don't like to imply that things about people's personality is "wrong", but if you're unable to be self-sufficient, I think addressing whatever is preventing that is reasonable.
  - amanaplanacanal 8y ago
    I agree with you 100%, but you are coming from a more liberal viewpoint. From a moralistic viewpoint, these people are bad, and should not get help, since it is their own damn fault. From a more conservative viewpoint comes the moral hazard argument: Some believe that if you help that person then they will never have to deal with their "bad" behavior. And it will encourage other people to engage in the same "bad" behavior so they can get whatever free goodies you are giving away. People have all these different mental models of homelessness.

4 ms·

A friend of mine because of his job encounters the homeless on a regular basis. He is very plugged in to homeless resources and offers to get them a roof tonigh

by Domenic_S 8y ago

ben509 8y ago
> Once we stop judging addicts as being intrinsically bad people and see it as a mental health issue, we can solve a lot of this problem. I suspect what mental health issues mean to most people is you now have a vaguely scientific explanation of why someone is intrinsically bad.
- TallGuyShort 8y ago
  Mental health issues aren't intrinsic. Like physical health issues, you might be born with them or you might acquire them as a consequence of your environment. But they should be seen in the context of how to cure or manage them. They don't need to be a defining characteristic of who you are. I know we don't like to imply that things about people's personality is "wrong", but if you're unable to be self-sufficient, I think addressing whatever is preventing that is reasonable.
  - amanaplanacanal 8y ago
    I agree with you 100%, but you are coming from a more liberal viewpoint. From a moralistic viewpoint, these people are bad, and should not get help, since it is their own damn fault. From a more conservative viewpoint comes the moral hazard argument: Some believe that if you help that person then they will never have to deal with their "bad" behavior. And it will encourage other people to engage in the same "bad" behavior so they can get whatever free goodies you are giving away. People have all these different mental models of homelessness.