5 ms·

The cure for homelessness is a home. Doesn't have to be fancy or big. To keeps costs down even further, build community facilities. Those who can afford it can

The cure for homelessness is a home. Doesn't have to be fancy or big. To keeps costs down even further, build community facilities. Those who can afford it can pay some rent. I don't see that as a complex issue. It's simply rational. And where it's been tried, it works.

tim58 7y ago
Who pays for the home? Where do you locate the homes? How do you qualify for a free home? People will disagree endlessly about questions like these.
- jjeaff 7y ago
  Then who pays to maintain the home, pay the property taxes, utilities? Who pays to unclog the plumbing? Do you keep paying if they keep destroying things? Lacking a home is actually not the problem for the majority of the homeless. It's addiction and mental illness and both are very hard to treat, especially those unwilling to be treated.
  - 8bitsrule 7y ago
    Damn ... I never thought of it! Mental illness and addiction must be the cause! living in a homeless encampment might be the best solution for mental illness! How foolish to think that being homeless might drive someone to become addicted!
    - jjeaff 7y ago
      Who said a homeless camp was the best solution? I just said that buying and maintaining homes would not solve anything. You have to treat the source of the problem.
- 8bitsrule 7y ago
  Of course they will. Because action is painful for them.
miked85 7y ago
How does that work if the individual given the home can't pay for taxes, maintenance, utilities, etc? It seems like the area would quickly turn into a slum.
- 8bitsrule 7y ago
  Go look at Helsinki. That's how it works. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle...
umvi 7y ago
> The cure for homelessness is a home. "The cure for a cough is cough drops" I feel it is important to idenify the root cause, not merely treat symptoms. _Why_ is the person homeless? How could it have been prevented in the first place? _Why_ is the person coughing? Do they have allergies? lung cancer...?
- 8bitsrule 7y ago
  I would assert that -not having a home- is the root cause of a whole lot of stuff. No address, no phone, no toilet, poor rest, poor diet, poor hygiene, poor clothes, constant threats, theft, despair, etc. etc. etc. Where it has been tried, it works. (Yeah, a few fall off the wagon. So then ... it's either 100% success or a failure? Limp excuse-making) 95% of those who talk about the 'real' problems have no idea. They've never even been close. I've seen all of the condemnations and hang-wringing about costs. 95% of them are simply shitty attempts to create FUD so people will do nothing ... from people who really don't give a damn. Where it has been tried, it works. Prime examples: Helsinki, HousingFirst. But that would mean actually analyzing the problem. Emoting is so much easier.
  - umvi 7y ago
    > I would assert that -not having a home- is the root cause of a whole lot of stuff Agreed, but what's the root cause of not having a home? Drugs? Rent? Family? Local government? Solve that one, and the effects cascade to prevent the "whole lot of stuff" you mentioned. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, etc.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  For homelessness, not having a home is the very definition of the issue. We don't want to build "affordable housing" in the US. We literally feel it's better to let people be homeless than provide crappy housing. Then we run around claiming the nationwide, well-known not remotely a secret shortage of affordable housing is totes irrelevant and the homeless are all junkies and crazies. Studies show that increases in rent correlate 96 percent to increases in homelessness. Build enough housing. Make it cheap enough and possible to live life without owning a car. If that reduces homelessness by 96 percent and the remaining four percent are hardcore, seriously screwed up junkies and crazies, we can throw extra resources at them because we spend more on average on trying to help the homeless than annual rent would cost. Sometimes hospitals provide free housing to seriously ill homeless because it's a fraction of the cost of leaving them homeless and seeing them in the ER constantly and hospitalizing them regularly. You want to see fewer homeless? The single best thing you can do is advocate for more housing in your city.

tim58 7y ago

Who pays for the home? Where do you locate the homes? How do you qualify for a free home? People will disagree endlessly about questions like these.

jjeaff 7y ago
Then who pays to maintain the home, pay the property taxes, utilities? Who pays to unclog the plumbing? Do you keep paying if they keep destroying things? Lacking a home is actually not the problem for the majority of the homeless. It's addiction and mental illness and both are very hard to treat, especially those unwilling to be treated.
- 8bitsrule 7y ago
  Damn ... I never thought of it! Mental illness and addiction must be the cause! living in a homeless encampment might be the best solution for mental illness! How foolish to think that being homeless might drive someone to become addicted!
  - jjeaff 7y ago
    Who said a homeless camp was the best solution? I just said that buying and maintaining homes would not solve anything. You have to treat the source of the problem.
8bitsrule 7y ago
Of course they will. Because action is painful for them.

miked85 7y ago

How does that work if the individual given the home can't pay for taxes, maintenance, utilities, etc? It seems like the area would quickly turn into a slum.

8bitsrule 7y ago
Go look at Helsinki. That's how it works. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle...

umvi 7y ago

> The cure for homelessness is a home. "The cure for a cough is cough drops" I feel it is important to idenify the root cause, not merely treat symptoms. _Why_ is the person homeless? How could it have been prevented in the first place? _Why_ is the person coughing? Do they have allergies? lung cancer...?

8bitsrule 7y ago
I would assert that -not having a home- is the root cause of a whole lot of stuff. No address, no phone, no toilet, poor rest, poor diet, poor hygiene, poor clothes, constant threats, theft, despair, etc. etc. etc. Where it has been tried, it works. (Yeah, a few fall off the wagon. So then ... it's either 100% success or a failure? Limp excuse-making) 95% of those who talk about the 'real' problems have no idea. They've never even been close. I've seen all of the condemnations and hang-wringing about costs. 95% of them are simply shitty attempts to create FUD so people will do nothing ... from people who really don't give a damn. Where it has been tried, it works. Prime examples: Helsinki, HousingFirst. But that would mean actually analyzing the problem. Emoting is so much easier.
- umvi 7y ago
  > I would assert that -not having a home- is the root cause of a whole lot of stuff Agreed, but what's the root cause of not having a home? Drugs? Rent? Family? Local government? Solve that one, and the effects cascade to prevent the "whole lot of stuff" you mentioned. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, etc.
DoreenMichele 7y ago
For homelessness, not having a home is the very definition of the issue. We don't want to build "affordable housing" in the US. We literally feel it's better to let people be homeless than provide crappy housing. Then we run around claiming the nationwide, well-known not remotely a secret shortage of affordable housing is totes irrelevant and the homeless are all junkies and crazies. Studies show that increases in rent correlate 96 percent to increases in homelessness. Build enough housing. Make it cheap enough and possible to live life without owning a car. If that reduces homelessness by 96 percent and the remaining four percent are hardcore, seriously screwed up junkies and crazies, we can throw extra resources at them because we spend more on average on trying to help the homeless than annual rent would cost. Sometimes hospitals provide free housing to seriously ill homeless because it's a fraction of the cost of leaving them homeless and seeing them in the ER constantly and hospitalizing them regularly. You want to see fewer homeless? The single best thing you can do is advocate for more housing in your city.