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What is with all the homeless people so against shelters? In every interview of a homeless person, every time someone asks them about taking them to shelter fo

What is with all the homeless people so against shelters? In every interview of a homeless person, every time someone asks them about taking them to shelter for help, they recoil in fear and say "No, they steal/are violent/evil." etc... I have no doubt that homeless people are treated poorly by society. Maybe they are also treated poorly by shelters. But I can't believe how common the general dislike/avoidance of shelters seems to be.

29athrowaway 4y ago
Because you cannot be high or drunk at the shelter.
ok123456 4y ago
It comes with all the social dynamics of being "institutionalized." All things being equal, they'd rather go on their own than be in a prison. Being in a low-trust environment is stressful in itself, and you run a good chance of having whatever possessions you carry around with you getting stolen.
braingenious 4y ago
>What is with all the homeless people so against shelters? … > In every interview of a homeless person, every time someone asks them about taking them to shelter for help, they recoil in fear and say "No, they steal/are violent/evil." etc... … > Maybe they are also treated poorly by shelters. I would venture to say that if every person interviewed said the same thing every time, “What’s the problem??” becomes much less of a head scratcher. The only way you could arrive at “Maybe they are treated poorly” logically would be if you think that there is a good chance that every person interviewed was lying every single time. If that’s your view on things, you’ll literally be mystified forever.
msrenee 4y ago
The shelters are full of folks who are homeless for whatever reason. Presumably the people who are homeless because they are assholes that feel entitled to other people's things and those who are homeless because they're mentally ill and don't understand what they're doing make it an unpleasant place for those who are in dire straights for the same or other reasons. The tragedy of the commons distilled down to those who found themselves unable to afford a place to live. If we roll back in history, England sent theirs off to the colonies. Largely the US and Australia. Now that there's quite the (legitimate) general outcry against transportation as a punishment, we have to deal with them here. It's uncharted territory, not sending the less fortunate to prison or into exile to die in places where Europeans haven't yet settled.

29athrowaway 4y ago

Because you cannot be high or drunk at the shelter.

ok123456 4y ago

It comes with all the social dynamics of being "institutionalized." All things being equal, they'd rather go on their own than be in a prison. Being in a low-trust environment is stressful in itself, and you run a good chance of having whatever possessions you carry around with you getting stolen.

braingenious 4y ago

>What is with all the homeless people so against shelters? … > In every interview of a homeless person, every time someone asks them about taking them to shelter for help, they recoil in fear and say "No, they steal/are violent/evil." etc... … > Maybe they are also treated poorly by shelters. I would venture to say that if every person interviewed said the same thing every time, “What’s the problem??” becomes much less of a head scratcher. The only way you could arrive at “Maybe they are treated poorly” logically would be if you think that there is a good chance that every person interviewed was lying every single time. If that’s your view on things, you’ll literally be mystified forever.

msrenee 4y ago

The shelters are full of folks who are homeless for whatever reason. Presumably the people who are homeless because they are assholes that feel entitled to other people's things and those who are homeless because they're mentally ill and don't understand what they're doing make it an unpleasant place for those who are in dire straights for the same or other reasons. The tragedy of the commons distilled down to those who found themselves unable to afford a place to live. If we roll back in history, England sent theirs off to the colonies. Largely the US and Australia. Now that there's quite the (legitimate) general outcry against transportation as a punishment, we have to deal with them here. It's uncharted territory, not sending the less fortunate to prison or into exile to die in places where Europeans haven't yet settled.