4 ms·

That's because a large portion of homeless people have drug addiction and/or have mental disease. Just giving them a place to stay doesn't cure the root problem

That's because a large portion of homeless people have drug addiction and/or have mental disease. Just giving them a place to stay doesn't cure the root problem.

foldr 7y ago
>Just giving them a place to stay doesn't cure the root problem. reply I suspect that this is because the 'place to stay' usually comes with various strings attached. I doubt there are many homeless people who would choose to sleep under a bridge rather than in a bed (though not doubt there are a minority who would).
- SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
  The strings attached generally ensure the place meets a minimum standard of tolerability. For example, while drug abuse certainly can't be cured at a snap of your fingers, it can't be tolerated in communal housing situations either; any sane person would rather sleep under a bridge than a bed in a crack house.
criddell 7y ago
Homeless people, like everybody else, usually have many problems. You can fix their problem of not having a home by giving them a home. Once somebody has an address and a little more stability, your chances of dealing with other issues goes up.
- tathougies 7y ago
  Yeah the issue is that housing them together puts the woman down on her luck next to the guy with a violent drug addiction and then you have to kick him out when he starts attacking people.
  - criddell 7y ago
    So don't house them together.
    - tathougies 7y ago
      Oh? Which demographic is deserving of living with violence?
      - criddell 7y ago
        None, of course. You aren't suggesting that providing housing to the homeless will lead to more violence than when the homeless live on the streets, are you?
        tathougies 7y ago
        No, I'm suggesting that we bear less responsibility for violence experienced by homeless on the streets than the responsibility we would had if we provided housing and forced the homeless to live in them. In the same way the government is not responsible for discord in my relationship with my friends, but would be responsible for discord between me and the police.
jartelt 7y ago
Most homeless folks do not have drug addictions or serious mental disorders. The majority of them just recently lost jobs or were evicted for not paying rent and live in their car for some time in between shelters and figuring out how to get housing. These transient or temporarily homeless make up the majority of the homeless population (~75%) and can definitely be helped out with temporary housing and other measures. Chronically homeless folks make up only ~25% of the homeless population and of them less than half have mental illness or addiction issues. So, most chronically homeless people can be helped with housing and other measures. My point is just that the crazy yelling homeless guy you see on the street in SF is a minority when it comes to the homeless population. You are just much more likely to see him because he is yelling on the street in SF. However, for every crazy homeless guy yelling, there are >5 people living in their cars who just need some temporary help to get back on their feet.

That's because a large portion of homeless people have drug addiction and/or have mental disease. Just giving them a place to stay doesn't cure the root problem.

foldr 7y ago

>Just giving them a place to stay doesn't cure the root problem. reply I suspect that this is because the 'place to stay' usually comes with various strings attached. I doubt there are many homeless people who would choose to sleep under a bridge rather than in a bed (though not doubt there are a minority who would).

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
The strings attached generally ensure the place meets a minimum standard of tolerability. For example, while drug abuse certainly can't be cured at a snap of your fingers, it can't be tolerated in communal housing situations either; any sane person would rather sleep under a bridge than a bed in a crack house.

criddell 7y ago

Homeless people, like everybody else, usually have many problems. You can fix their problem of not having a home by giving them a home. Once somebody has an address and a little more stability, your chances of dealing with other issues goes up.

tathougies 7y ago
Yeah the issue is that housing them together puts the woman down on her luck next to the guy with a violent drug addiction and then you have to kick him out when he starts attacking people.
- criddell 7y ago
  So don't house them together.
  - tathougies 7y ago
    Oh? Which demographic is deserving of living with violence?
    - criddell 7y ago
      None, of course. You aren't suggesting that providing housing to the homeless will lead to more violence than when the homeless live on the streets, are you?
      - tathougies 7y ago
        No, I'm suggesting that we bear less responsibility for violence experienced by homeless on the streets than the responsibility we would had if we provided housing and forced the homeless to live in them. In the same way the government is not responsible for discord in my relationship with my friends, but would be responsible for discord between me and the police.

jartelt 7y ago

Most homeless folks do not have drug addictions or serious mental disorders. The majority of them just recently lost jobs or were evicted for not paying rent and live in their car for some time in between shelters and figuring out how to get housing. These transient or temporarily homeless make up the majority of the homeless population (~75%) and can definitely be helped out with temporary housing and other measures. Chronically homeless folks make up only ~25% of the homeless population and of them less than half have mental illness or addiction issues. So, most chronically homeless people can be helped with housing and other measures. My point is just that the crazy yelling homeless guy you see on the street in SF is a minority when it comes to the homeless population. You are just much more likely to see him because he is yelling on the street in SF. However, for every crazy homeless guy yelling, there are >5 people living in their cars who just need some temporary help to get back on their feet.