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I also spent time on the streets. It's _not_ just a home. Many of the kids I hung out with ran away from "homes". A home can isolate you from your family (other

I also spent time on the streets. It's _not_ just a home. Many of the kids I hung out with ran away from "homes". A home can isolate you from your family (other street kids) who are the only other people you care about at the time. Homeless kids need hope, they need time with people who will actually stick with them and really help them see the benefit of a job, going to bed on time (the shelter's had a curfew), how to be respectful, help getting off drugs (or staying off them). If you give homes to homeless people as they are, I think most of them would get trashed and abused until they are no more liveable than a park bench. Then what, evict the homeless people from their free homes? Give them another free home all fixed up? It really is hard work without a simple answer.

DoreenMichele 8y ago
For the record, I'm not personally talking about giving homes to people who are currently homeless. I'm talking about increasing supply of a certain kind of housing so that we see fewer people land on the street to begin with, as well as addressing other social issues, such as access to healthcare. "Throwaway" children are a hard issue to resolve. There are no simple solutions once things have gone that far. But I'm talking about focusing more on prevention generally. One side effect of that will be to have more per capita resources for those hard cases who do land on the street. One of the problems with most conversations about the issue of homelessness is the mantra of wanting to "help the homeless." It tends to lead to a sense of hopelessness. The problem seems too big and thorny to resolve. It's also not the most humane approach. I'm talking about creating a world where people are at less risk of homelessness because their lives aren't being suddenly and completely derailed by high medical bills, because they can find housing within their budget that works for them even if they have no car, etc. Such a world should generally see fewer throwaway kids as well. We really don't do enough to support parents in America today. It's dreadful.
- RobertRoberts 8y ago
  While I don't disagree with you in general, it does seem that there are a lot of things that can be done that our modern society simply won't tolerate. I think we could _easily_ provide shelter and food for every single homeless person in America right now. But I can tell you that most of the homeless people won't take that shelter. Because you'd have to remove weapons, drugs, violence, etc... to make the shelter safe. So then you have a jail system.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    I spent exactly zero nights in a homeless shelter in my years on the street. They were generally pretty revolting, for a very long list of reasons. I don't use recreational drugs and never have. I have no criminal record. I carried no weapons while homeless. I am not really for expanding the current shelter system. I am for improving supply of the right kind of housing, as well as providing adequate healthcare. Health issues and cost of healthcare are major factors in the equation here.
    - RobertRoberts 8y ago
      I spent time in youth shelters (I was young when on the streets) and they weren't terrible in some places. But it was still not totally safe. But if it weren't for a shelter, I would not have been able to stay clean and get a job. And if you can't get a job and maintain an income, you can't afford housing of any kind. There's a chicken/egg problem with housing/job. But you can't house people that won't/can't work in the same housing as people who will work. There's so many obstacles in the way that I think the focus should be on the people that recently became homeless and help them get back off as quickly as possible. It's the lifers I think that really may be beyond ever taking care of themselves, no matter how much help is given.
      - DoreenMichele 8y ago
        I'm glad you apparently got off the street. I'm not talking about dismantling the current shelter system. I'm leery of answers that entrench the problem. A lot of people want to "help the homeless," which is a very different goal than reducing the incidence of homelessness overall in the US. Focusing exclusively on "helping the homeless" has a tendency to entrench and even grow the problem by ignoring the need to solve other issues. It tends to create a situation where the only way you can help is to wind up on the street and there is no help available before the problem is that severe. Lesser problems don't count or get any assistance. I'm personally focused on those other issues. I don't deny that we will always need some emergency services, such as shelters and soup kitchens. I just am very leery of cries for more shelters and more soup kitchens and more port-a-potties as the only approach to the issue, thereby not bothering to address some of the root causes. I'm not trying to argue with you and I'm not trying to "win" some argument here. I'm trying to communicate my position clearly. I'm trying to let you know that my position isn't a threat to people getting the help they need once they are in crisis. You can have soup kitchens and homeless shelters and also affordable healthcare and affordable (missing middle) housing. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I just would like to see enough resources put into solutions like universal healthcare such that the homeless problem actually begins to shrink without anyone being "rescued." I'm trying to step away from this discussion. Have a great day.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

For the record, I'm not personally talking about giving homes to people who are currently homeless. I'm talking about increasing supply of a certain kind of housing so that we see fewer people land on the street to begin with, as well as addressing other social issues, such as access to healthcare. "Throwaway" children are a hard issue to resolve. There are no simple solutions once things have gone that far. But I'm talking about focusing more on prevention generally. One side effect of that will be to have more per capita resources for those hard cases who do land on the street. One of the problems with most conversations about the issue of homelessness is the mantra of wanting to "help the homeless." It tends to lead to a sense of hopelessness. The problem seems too big and thorny to resolve. It's also not the most humane approach. I'm talking about creating a world where people are at less risk of homelessness because their lives aren't being suddenly and completely derailed by high medical bills, because they can find housing within their budget that works for them even if they have no car, etc. Such a world should generally see fewer throwaway kids as well. We really don't do enough to support parents in America today. It's dreadful.

RobertRoberts 8y ago
While I don't disagree with you in general, it does seem that there are a lot of things that can be done that our modern society simply won't tolerate. I think we could _easily_ provide shelter and food for every single homeless person in America right now. But I can tell you that most of the homeless people won't take that shelter. Because you'd have to remove weapons, drugs, violence, etc... to make the shelter safe. So then you have a jail system.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  I spent exactly zero nights in a homeless shelter in my years on the street. They were generally pretty revolting, for a very long list of reasons. I don't use recreational drugs and never have. I have no criminal record. I carried no weapons while homeless. I am not really for expanding the current shelter system. I am for improving supply of the right kind of housing, as well as providing adequate healthcare. Health issues and cost of healthcare are major factors in the equation here.
  - RobertRoberts 8y ago
    I spent time in youth shelters (I was young when on the streets) and they weren't terrible in some places. But it was still not totally safe. But if it weren't for a shelter, I would not have been able to stay clean and get a job. And if you can't get a job and maintain an income, you can't afford housing of any kind. There's a chicken/egg problem with housing/job. But you can't house people that won't/can't work in the same housing as people who will work. There's so many obstacles in the way that I think the focus should be on the people that recently became homeless and help them get back off as quickly as possible. It's the lifers I think that really may be beyond ever taking care of themselves, no matter how much help is given.
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      I'm glad you apparently got off the street. I'm not talking about dismantling the current shelter system. I'm leery of answers that entrench the problem. A lot of people want to "help the homeless," which is a very different goal than reducing the incidence of homelessness overall in the US. Focusing exclusively on "helping the homeless" has a tendency to entrench and even grow the problem by ignoring the need to solve other issues. It tends to create a situation where the only way you can help is to wind up on the street and there is no help available before the problem is that severe. Lesser problems don't count or get any assistance. I'm personally focused on those other issues. I don't deny that we will always need some emergency services, such as shelters and soup kitchens. I just am very leery of cries for more shelters and more soup kitchens and more port-a-potties as the only approach to the issue, thereby not bothering to address some of the root causes. I'm not trying to argue with you and I'm not trying to "win" some argument here. I'm trying to communicate my position clearly. I'm trying to let you know that my position isn't a threat to people getting the help they need once they are in crisis. You can have soup kitchens and homeless shelters and also affordable healthcare and affordable (missing middle) housing. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I just would like to see enough resources put into solutions like universal healthcare such that the homeless problem actually begins to shrink without anyone being "rescued." I'm trying to step away from this discussion. Have a great day.