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> There are also private nonprofits like churches that help with homelessness It's honestly shocking that the US has absurdly wealthy churches and we have grea

> There are also private nonprofits like churches that help with homelessness It's honestly shocking that the US has absurdly wealthy churches and we have greater than zero homeless people on the streets. Helping the poor is the core tenet of the christian faith. If they practiced what they preach, it should be impossible to lay down on the street for more than five minutes and not be swarmed with offers for help.

RobertRoberts 4y ago
Many people _refuse_ housing for these reasons: (I've been directly told these, or have seen them reported) * Housing is dangerous/scary (robbery, rape, physical violence, etc...) * Housing is a conspiracy (to control people or other irrational ideas) * The rules of housing are too restricting. (can't have a pet, visitors, noise rules, cleanliness rules, curfew rules, behavior rules, etc...) There are others as well, but can't recall immediately. A church can't fix these problems, no matter how rich.
- mullingitover 4y ago
  A church doesn't have to satisfy every one of concerns, they simply should make the offer to shelter those in need. The core argument for forced normalization of slum conditions is that there's no alternative, because there are more people than than space in shelters. The lack of available shelter is a choice, and wealthy churches are choosing to keep billions on their asset sheets rather than perform the duties they nominally exist to perform.
  - dragonwriter 4y ago
    > wealthy churches are choosing to keep billions on their asset sheets rather than perform the duties they nominally exist to perform. While some churches do physical charity, that’s not the nominal function of a church in the general sense (it may implicitly be part of why churches are legally treated as charities in the US, getting not merely tax exemption but deductibility of donations for donors, but that is more an indictment of that policy than anything else.)
chaostheory 4y ago
The chronically homeless are really just mentally ill people who refuse treatment. It’s a product of Ronald Reagan when he simultaneously defunded mental hospitals and required that mentally ill people give consent for treatment. No private organization can fix that immediately no matter how rich

RobertRoberts 4y ago

Many people _refuse_ housing for these reasons: (I've been directly told these, or have seen them reported) * Housing is dangerous/scary (robbery, rape, physical violence, etc...) * Housing is a conspiracy (to control people or other irrational ideas) * The rules of housing are too restricting. (can't have a pet, visitors, noise rules, cleanliness rules, curfew rules, behavior rules, etc...) There are others as well, but can't recall immediately. A church can't fix these problems, no matter how rich.

mullingitover 4y ago
A church doesn't have to satisfy every one of concerns, they simply should make the offer to shelter those in need. The core argument for forced normalization of slum conditions is that there's no alternative, because there are more people than than space in shelters. The lack of available shelter is a choice, and wealthy churches are choosing to keep billions on their asset sheets rather than perform the duties they nominally exist to perform.
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  > wealthy churches are choosing to keep billions on their asset sheets rather than perform the duties they nominally exist to perform. While some churches do physical charity, that’s not the nominal function of a church in the general sense (it may implicitly be part of why churches are legally treated as charities in the US, getting not merely tax exemption but deductibility of donations for donors, but that is more an indictment of that policy than anything else.)

chaostheory 4y ago

The chronically homeless are really just mentally ill people who refuse treatment. It’s a product of Ronald Reagan when he simultaneously defunded mental hospitals and required that mentally ill people give consent for treatment. No private organization can fix that immediately no matter how rich