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Maybe we should think about providing houses for homeless people instead of trying to kick them off public transport then ...

• midoridensha 4y ago
  They tried that in places like New York, and it hasn't worked out well. The problems are much deeper than people just not having a place to live, for many of them.
  • dools 4y ago
    Then perhaps they need a house and a job, and mental and physical healthcare. And perhaps that needs to be provided for a few decades to reverse the generational trauma caused by involuntary unemployment and poverty.
    • midoridensha 4y ago
      The people causing the problems people complain about can't hold down a job, and will trash any house they're given. What they need is to be put in a mental institution, but that became unfashionable during the 80s for some reason. With proper help, some of them probably could be returned to society. And of course there are many who are just victims of circumstance; those really should be helped with housing and jobs, though it's arguable that being homeless for too long has caused some of these people to turn into those needing acute mental care, so there is that.
      • dools 4y ago
        Sure thing. My brother needed to go to a psychiatric hospital, and of course it's very difficult to be involuntarily committed. We got him there in the end, mostly due to the enduring support of his partner. My lesson from that was that, with the right support, and a bit of patience, people can get the help they need. Takes a bit of time though. I think in the vast majority of cases if we offer a job to anyone who wants one at a socially inclusive minimum wage doing work in their community, in addition to stable housing, within a few years they'll be doing better, and within a generation the negative impacts of involuntary unemployment and homelessness will be a relic of the past.