4 ms·
My mother was one of those "crazy bums". She spent the last 3 years of her life on the streets there. She lived in the East Bay before, so when she finally los
by pstuart 13y ago
My mother was one of those "crazy bums". She spent the last 3 years of her life on the streets there.
She lived in the East Bay before, so when she finally lost it it was natural to migrate to the nearest large city where she could "live in peace" on the streets.
I think a key problem is not just that the mental institutions are closed, but that it's now impossible to detain them unless they are an immediate threat to themselves or to anybody else. So you can be very sick but if you aren't lying in a pool of your own blood or waving a knife or gun then you are free to do your own thing.
The way I would like to address this would be to build micro communities out in the sticks, fashioned as quasi-monasteries. The energy of the city is not healthy for these people and the programs eat up a lot of cash. My understanding is that SF spends ~$200M/year on homeless services.
- ams6110 13y agoWhy did you let your mom live on the streets?
- kevingadd 13y agoA fair question, I suppose, but before judging too harshly it's worth remembering that many people do not want to be helped.
- alan_cx 13y agoIf we are getting deeply and uncomfortably honest, some people simply don't like their parents, and dont want anything to do with them. Not all parents are particularly great to their kids, to greater or lesser extents. In no way am I suggesting this is the case with the example bravely given.
- collyw 13y agoI heard a good few years ago that Denmark had 16 homeless people. 16. I think these are probably the few that don't want to be helped. "Many don't want to be helped" is probably an overstatement.
- morethan16 13y agoThe number is more likely around 5000. [2011] http://www.english.umd.edu/sites/default/files/interpolations/pdf/arielle_kroloff.pdf http://www.english.umd.edu/sites/default/files/interpolation... [2007] http://udenfor.dk/uk/Menu/News/The+number+of+homeless+people+in+Denmark http://udenfor.dk/uk/Menu/News/The+number+of+homeless+people...
- justin66 13y agoI'm pretty sure you missed the "impossible to detain" line in his post, or misunderstood it. There is not necessarily a way to commit a mentally ill person in CA if they're not a threat to themselves or others.
- sigstoat 13y agoi think you interpreted the question in the least favorable light. i read it as "why didn't you take care of her yourself?" not "why didn't you call for big burly men to stuff her in a box?"
- pstuart 13y agoShe was in a "care home" and checked herself out against doctor's orders. I wasn't in a position to have her live with me, and had been dealing with her illness for about 30 years and was, quite frankly, so frustrated and burnt out that I had given up. I had no resources to work with, what the hell was I to do? Edit: I shared my story for 2 reasons. The first was to point out that these "bums" are somebody's family member -- it's easy to forget that. The other was the bit about rethinking what to do with them. I think the "monastery" approach is the most humane and cost effective.
- GuiA 13y agoI don't have anything to say- but just wanted to post to say that you have no requirement whatsoever to defend your life circumstances to complete strangers on the internet for whom it is very easy to judge you, comfortably behind their screens.
- kakali 13y agoI know the poster before you got a lot of down votes. But I thank you both for asking and answering a serious question. It's hard to comprehend that situation until you are stuck in the middle of it.
- e40 13y agoThat is an incredibly insensitive and provocative question, one that doesn't seem to take into account the simple information contained in the comment to which you replied.
- acjohnson55 13y agoThat must have been an extremely painful situation. Sincere thanks for sharing your story and some real-world perspective that's sometimes lacking in policy discussions here.
- judk 13y agoHow would a monastery work successfully? We still have the issue that people can't be compelled to stay in residence.
- pstuart 13y agoI think the primary way of compelling people is to make it a nice place to live. A private tiny home for privacy and security, a large garden to work in, a group kitchen, library, rec room, crafts, and of course tv/internet. Most of these people in question are repeat offenders, so they could be offered the choice of a year in jail or 2 years in the country. This wouldn't be free for the taxpayers, but remember, they are already paying a lot. I erred in the other post -- apparently it's ~$100M on homeless services. That's a nice chunk of change for servicing ~7000 homeless people. http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/06/04/sf-homeless-services-budget-item-025-percent-larry-ellison%E2%80%99s-net-worth http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/06/04/sf-homeless-services... http://www.sfgov3.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=4831 http://www.sfgov3.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=4...