3 ms·

A lot of chronic problems from frequent flyers to the ER can be resolved by housing them.

exabrial 4y ago
Yes and then sort of no, but YES. The largest expense for running an ER is dealing with people that use it as a homeless shelter. I have first and second hand knowledge of this. Weather gets cold? Visit Er. Due to federal regulation, even if a person visits 13 times a day (facility record btw) they can’t be turned away. Progress needs to be made on both avenues. ERs need the ability to turn expensive frequent fliers away and be absolved of liability, but also shelter programs that are metrics based (job placement, illicit substance abuse, participation in mental health) need private funding. California funds an enormous prison population, a significant portion of them are non violent or victimless crimes. So that being said, the money is already available.
- ericmcer 4y ago
  My friend did part of her residency at an ER in Los Angeles. She went from being generally upbeat but overworked to being a full on misanthrope in 6 months. I am not sure what the solution is but we should recognize that our healthcare workers are critical members of our society and dealing with this shit burns them out fast.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - techdragon 4y ago
    The solution is reforming the American healthcare system… because at least from what I can anecdotally tell… usually it takes years of even decades (global average worldwide)to turn a upbeat medical resident into a cynical misanthrope. That’s astonishingly quick to have someone go negative on humanity that fast… and it really reflects on how fucked healthcare is in America… even in a state that’s trying it’s best
- lxm 4y ago
  Considering how geographically concentrated homelessness tends to be in large cities, wouldn't it be more cost-efficient for the state to run its own clinic or two in each major city?
  - dragonwriter 4y ago
    > Considering how geographically concentrated homelessness tends to be in large cities, wouldn't it be more cost-efficient for the state to run its own clinic or two in each major city? While they are administered at lower levels than the State (though significant funding flows through the state, including Medi-Cal funding, for them), there are more than “one or two” publicly-operated clinics in each of California’s major cities.
smileysteve 4y ago
But this isn't directly for currently homeless people, so it will be even more effective. Because it's not targeting the chronic homeless, whom are more likely to have begun a cycle of depression, disassociation, and addiction.
gamblor956 4y ago
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-26/skid-row-housing-trust-collapse-los-angeles-homeless-housing https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-26/skid-row... It turns out that housing is not the solution for the frequent flyers. Hospitalization is. (TLDR: drug addicted and mentally ill residents trashed up many of the Skid Row Housing Trust's units and buildings, rendering them uninhabitable, ultimately leading to the organization's demise.)
jseliger 4y ago
CA's biggest problem, however, is the limitations on housing construction and bureaucracy designed to prevent housing construction, not money and funding per se: https://seliger.com/2017/08/30/l-digs-hole-slowly-economics-fills-back-proposition-hhh-facilities-program/ https://seliger.com/2017/08/30/l-digs-hole-slowly-economics-.... That is from 2017 and as far as I can tell, little has truly changed since.
- bacchusracine 4y ago
  >CA's biggest problem, however, is the limitations on housing construction and bureaucracy designed to prevent housing construction Well what would the alternative be? Letting the poors live right next to the people who matter? They should only be seen when I want my expensive coffee milkshakes, right? </sarcasm> That sounds like a self-inflicted problem. What I don't understand is why so many stick around rather than finding some place that wants good hard working people and is willing to allow them to actually have a place to live. I know it's not easy to relocate but it can be done and is usually worthwhile in the long run.

Yes and then sort of no, but YES. The largest expense for running an ER is dealing with people that use it as a homeless shelter. I have first and second hand knowledge of this. Weather gets cold? Visit Er. Due to federal regulation, even if a person visits 13 times a day (facility record btw) they can’t be turned away. Progress needs to be made on both avenues. ERs need the ability to turn expensive frequent fliers away and be absolved of liability, but also shelter programs that are metrics based (job placement, illicit substance abuse, participation in mental health) need private funding. California funds an enormous prison population, a significant portion of them are non violent or victimless crimes. So that being said, the money is already available.

ericmcer 4y ago
My friend did part of her residency at an ER in Los Angeles. She went from being generally upbeat but overworked to being a full on misanthrope in 6 months. I am not sure what the solution is but we should recognize that our healthcare workers are critical members of our society and dealing with this shit burns them out fast.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- techdragon 4y ago
  The solution is reforming the American healthcare system… because at least from what I can anecdotally tell… usually it takes years of even decades (global average worldwide)to turn a upbeat medical resident into a cynical misanthrope. That’s astonishingly quick to have someone go negative on humanity that fast… and it really reflects on how fucked healthcare is in America… even in a state that’s trying it’s best
lxm 4y ago
Considering how geographically concentrated homelessness tends to be in large cities, wouldn't it be more cost-efficient for the state to run its own clinic or two in each major city?
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  > Considering how geographically concentrated homelessness tends to be in large cities, wouldn't it be more cost-efficient for the state to run its own clinic or two in each major city? While they are administered at lower levels than the State (though significant funding flows through the state, including Medi-Cal funding, for them), there are more than “one or two” publicly-operated clinics in each of California’s major cities.

smileysteve 4y ago

But this isn't directly for currently homeless people, so it will be even more effective. Because it's not targeting the chronic homeless, whom are more likely to have begun a cycle of depression, disassociation, and addiction.

gamblor956 4y ago

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-26/skid-row-housing-trust-collapse-los-angeles-homeless-housing https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-26/skid-row... It turns out that housing is not the solution for the frequent flyers. Hospitalization is. (TLDR: drug addicted and mentally ill residents trashed up many of the Skid Row Housing Trust's units and buildings, rendering them uninhabitable, ultimately leading to the organization's demise.)

jseliger 4y ago

CA's biggest problem, however, is the limitations on housing construction and bureaucracy designed to prevent housing construction, not money and funding per se: https://seliger.com/2017/08/30/l-digs-hole-slowly-economics-fills-back-proposition-hhh-facilities-program/ https://seliger.com/2017/08/30/l-digs-hole-slowly-economics-.... That is from 2017 and as far as I can tell, little has truly changed since.

bacchusracine 4y ago
>CA's biggest problem, however, is the limitations on housing construction and bureaucracy designed to prevent housing construction Well what would the alternative be? Letting the poors live right next to the people who matter? They should only be seen when I want my expensive coffee milkshakes, right? </sarcasm> That sounds like a self-inflicted problem. What I don't understand is why so many stick around rather than finding some place that wants good hard working people and is willing to allow them to actually have a place to live. I know it's not easy to relocate but it can be done and is usually worthwhile in the long run.