Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In a wealthy country like America, the homeless problem is a national disgrace. Shouldn't we use our considerable economic resources, to eliminate homelessness once and for all? And what do you think would be the best way, to go about doing so?
For starters, people are going to have to choose to work, and choose to live within society. They should be given assistance to find a job and support themselves.
The homeless problem started up in the 80s, after Reagan became President. And it's been going on now, for over 30 years. Homelessness has continued to increase, since the great recession began over two years ago.
In a wealthy country like America, the homeless problem is a national disgrace. Shouldn't we use our considerable economic resources, to eliminate homelessness once and for all? And what do you think would be the best way, to go about doing so?
The problem of homelessness can be fixed by the same ruthless strategy used to control vermin. An American gulag where the message that people have to provide for themseleves can be ground into people until they get the message. The Soviets and Nazis called this political-social reeducation where corrective social labor was the lesson. For those incapable of learning the basic lession on how to be a sucessful citizen such people can be liquidated after all vermin need to be annihilated least they over run our nation and destroy our environment.
Don't tell me that America isn't a wealthy country. We've been spending billions on wars and corporate bailouts. And even if homelessness is triggered by something, the point is, how do we make sure that those who might become homeless, don't?
Positive cash flow and positive net worth are very, very different things.
And are you sure homelessness has increase since 1980? Do you EVER do research before starting these threads?? You seem to continually make outlandish claims with no factual backing. I guess I am imagining the high poverty rate seen pre-1980!
And broken out by age, to smooth the graph a little
There were people that were homeless before the 80s. But homelessness didn't become a widespread problem in America, until the 80s.
Homelessness has not been a widespread problem since the Great Depression. The only reason we perceived it as "widespread" in the 80s is because the media finally paid attention to it. As quickly as everyone pretended to care, everyone quickly forgot about the homeless by the 90s even though the situation remained unchanged through 2000.
Reminds me of the "crack epidemic" where in reality usage was minuscule until the media starting running stories 24/7. After the media had thoroughly saturated the airwaves about the drug everyone started wanting crack and drug use soared.
Quote:
Originally Posted by artwomyn
Many of the hippies, were homeless by choice. As for the Vietnam vets, they didn't start showing up on the streets en mass, until housing prices started to skyrocket, in the 80s.
Housing prices fell in the early 80s, they did not rise. The late 70s housing bubble was steeper by comparison.
The homeless problem started up in the 80s, after Reagan became President. And it's been going on now, for over 30 years. Homelessness has continued to increase, since the great recession began over two years ago.
In a wealthy country like America, the homeless problem is a national disgrace. Shouldn't we use our considerable economic resources, to eliminate homelessness once and for all? And what do you think would be the best way, to go about doing so?
You could open your home to the homeless :-)
I would be nice if the churches took their money to help the needy built and or purchased buildings not in use and housed the homeless :-)
Of course even then some wouldn't take it because they might have hear them talk about GOD all day and would rather take their food stamps and get more beer.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,774,755 times
Reputation: 3587
Lots of the homeless are often mentally ill or have drug or alcohol problems. I do not really know what we should do. I am of the opinion that honestly they should be removed and taken to a facility that can find out why they are homeless and get them help if they want it. Maybe we should consider using closed military bases as "homeless re-education and shelter" places. If they are mentally ill, we need to see to it that they get the treatment they need in a mental institution- not one like the old days- but a nice, clean and humane facility where a Psychologist can evaluate them and put them on meds. If they can be released one day on meds, all the better. If they have to stay there for life, it is still better than freezing to death under a bridge.
If they are not mentally ill but simply economically homeless, then keep them at the closed military base shelter and help them get back on their feet with finding a job, job training or GED classes.
The nasty thing about the homeless is that it is a vicious cycle. Homeless people tend to look and smell different from what society including HR people expects. Thus they find no jobs (provided they are seeking jobs in the first place). Without jobs they remain homeless and outside society, which leaves mental traces the longer that situation lasts.
The homeless problem started up in the 80s, after Reagan became President. And it's been going on now, for over 30 years. Homelessness has continued to increase, since the great recession began over two years ago.
In a wealthy country like America, the homeless problem is a national disgrace. Shouldn't we use our considerable economic resources, to eliminate homelessness once and for all? And what do you think would be the best way, to go about doing so?
I disagree with your time frame, but there were and are huge factors that gave us a surplus with Reagan. And there are no simplistic answers.
You are going to have mentally ill on the streets until it is decided that they need to be placed somewhere and it has to be better than it was 40-50 years ago. As it stands there is like this revolving door which actually wastes more money. They refuse to or can't afford to take the meds, they live on the street, they have a psychotic break and are either treated and released from mental health facilities or wind up in jail or prison. Sometimes they are arrested for crap like loitering so they don't freeze to death over the winter. That will take a commitment. No more placing them in homes where they pay the caretakers 5 bucks an hour that do not give a damn because they are making 5 bucks an hour.
A portion of the street people are runaways or those who were wards of the state that as soon as possible hit the road and now have nothing. I think there has to be a decision that runaway is a crime just to get them to a locked down facility. A committment has to be made to their education and a hella better transition program in place. Many of those kids that were wards have never been allowed to make their own decisions. Every movement is determined by a court order. So, there can be something like 140K dollars on one child and the kid walks out with not one thing to show for it.
Some of that above group are LGB & T youth, who have figured out that they are second class citizens. It takes a commitment.
Drug/alcohol addiction. The 12 step program does not work for many, many individuals. It does not. And there is an enormous amount of money that is directed towards the use of that program in many rehabs. Secondly, there are a lot of people that wind up homeless first and then become alcoholics or drug addicts.....because being homeless sucks big time. They are in limbo, they can't even begin to figure out how to get out of it.
For families that have lost everything, there is more coming.
I think that now is the perfect time to start taking a very deep look into what programs are out there and restructuring them without a bunch of crap. The welfare money shifted to church programs needs to be cut off and returned to the state and federal government so that we can begin to make a dent in it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What will it take to end homelessness once and for all?
