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I understand and agree with your sentiment, but this NIMBYism is part of the problem. If no one wants homeless/shelter services near them, where are they supposed to be?
No shortage of local ordinances are designed to work around State and Federal Fair Housing Laws regarding disabilities to prohibit/ minimize group homes in single family residences.
Why don't they just admit that for every 100 people they house in supportive housing units that there will be thousands more homeless filling their place.
They can try to arrest the homeless but the truth is with skyrocketing violent crime rates in the last several years that the jails in many cities are always infringing on inmates constitutional rights with the rampant overcrowding.
There is no solution to homelessness, no matter how much they spend. Many of these cities have no chance to improve the situation.
The honest truth is no matter how much Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Washington DC spend on homelessness that it will just continue to get much worse.
Many big cities these days are basically a toilet full of infectious disease, with rampant mental illness on display.
Seems like single-room occupancy solutions are out. Private landlords require 3 to 4 times monthly gross wages usually plus high credit scores and usually a flawless background check. Unrelated adults renting homes to save money in many cases is banned by NIMBY's for no reason.
In general there is a perfect storm brewing for massive amounts of homelessness, disease and mental health issues on display in America's cities.
Usually, I think everything you post is pablum, but you have a point here. When the cost of the basics
( housing, food, energy, medicine ) have outpaced the wages of the average joe, you will see this kind of havoc on the streets. Salt Lake City has done an excellent experiment with " housing first". It's worth a read.
As it relates to LA County’s 2017 Annual Point in Time Count, the biggest jump in unsheltered homeless is youth, age 18-24. Blacks are the largest ethnic/ racial group, comprising 40% of the unsheltered homeless.
On the other coast, in Palm Beach County, the number of unsheltered homeless increased 11.5%. The Point in Time Survey identified 4,295 chikdren living in spaces not designed for human habitation.
When adjusted for county population, the homeless rate in this county is not too different than LA county.
Florida has had a long standing tradition of housing homeless families in one room motel units. They too are facing a “ no room at the inn” challenge.
In general there is a perfect storm brewing for massive amounts of homelessness, disease and mental health issues on display in America's cities.
Here in Sarasota, Tampa and Florida in general there is quite a bit of homelessness (Sarasota is Trump Central and farms are within a few miles....so not exactly Megalopolis ).....
Homeless tend to go to where the weather is warmer.
In addition, Homeless are very often made so because they are Vets (problems, PTSD, etc.) or they have been made broke my medical problems....
I'd bet dollars to donuts that poor mental health is endemic among the (few...tiny percentage of the country) rural people as it is among urban - and, again, many of the homeless are from somewhere else.
The "perfect storm" to me is Americans who could care less about people not in their "caste".
We could solve most of the homeless problems. But some retired General would have to make only 500K instead of 2 million on the contracts he steers to friends and associates....and so on. But we don't want to. We worship money and not people, despite what people say or hear in church.
When money is worshipped, the homeless are considered to be sub-human....not really unlike many other times in history when certain populations were considered so. But if you stopped to talk to them you'd hear many interesting stories including family members who are living well but refuse to help their parents.
America has a mental health problem - whether among homeless or the rich. It won't be solved because no one want to solve it and a nice new bomb or tank is so much more important.
One needs only look at the actual cost of living - if one were to truly pay the bills (and not have someone else do it).....
For a single person:
1. Health care = 11K per year.
2. Rental of basic unit with utilities = $12K per year.
3. Basic car, insurance, gas, repairs, etc = $2500 per year.
4. Food - eating cheap = $2,000 per year.
5. Clothes and the very basics = $500 per year.
6. Misc including communication (can't do stuff without at least a basic phone) and unforeseen but regular expenses (parking and traffic tickets, etc. etc) = $1K per year
I'm sure I forgot some stuff but we are at about 30K per year. Also, a BIG problem is that if you don't have an initial "stake" of many thousands of dollars (cushion, security dept for apartment, money for car or credit, etc.) you can't even get started.
Min wage her in FL is in the 7's I think - so if said person made $10 an hour, that would be $20,000 a year - a 10K shortfall.
Most ALL homeless are not just some forever single loser. If you talk to them many have had jobs and careers and families but sickness (mental health) or war (large % are vets) or something else made them give up on the American Dream. Of course, the American Dream has been somewhat proven to be just that anyway.
It's interesting. Society will spend 100's of thousands on your or my "downs" child through programs, resources and other means, but ask them to spend on the homeless and they shout "NIMBY".
Let me close with the verse that many of us have heard...probably originated from the Bible.
"A society is measured by how it treats the least among them". We fail our children AND our adults in this regard.
"Mahatma Ghandi who said “A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."
"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members". ~Pearl S. Buck"
"Nelson Mandela — 'A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it's lowest ones'"
"“the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped." Hubert Humprey!
Bible:
"Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered."
"A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge."
"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?"
"Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished."
I certainly hope the OP and others "down" on the poor will not be punished.....
On the other coast, in Palm Beach County, the number of unsheltered homeless increased 11.5%. The Point in Time Survey identified 4,295 chikdren living in spaces not designed for human habitation.
When adjusted for county population, the homeless rate in this county is not too different than LA county.
Florida has had a long standing tradition of housing homeless families in one room motel units. They too are facing a “ no room at the inn” challenge.
They also live in the woods. There are many homeless camps In suburban areas.
One needs only look at the actual cost of living - if one were to truly pay the bills (and not have someone else do it).....
For a single person:
1. Health care = 11K per year.
2. Rental of basic unit with utilities = $12K per year.
3. Basic car, insurance, gas, repairs, etc = $2500 per year.
4. Food - eating cheap = $2,000 per year.
5. Clothes and the very basics = $500 per year.
6. Misc including communication (can't do stuff without at least a basic phone) and unforeseen but regular expenses (parking and traffic tickets, etc. etc) = $1K per year
I'm sure I forgot some stuff but we are at about 30K per year. Also, a BIG problem is that if you don't have an initial "stake" of many thousands of dollars (cushion, security dept for apartment, money for car or credit, etc.) you can't even get started.
Min wage her in FL is in the 7's I think - so if said person made $10 an hour, that would be $20,000 a year - a 10K shortfall.
Most ALL homeless are not just some forever single loser. If you talk to them many have had jobs and careers and families but sickness (mental health) or war (large % are vets) or something else made them give up on the American Dream. Of course, the American Dream has been somewhat proven to be just that anyway.
It's interesting. Society will spend 100's of thousands on your or my "downs" child through programs, resources and other means, but ask them to spend on the homeless and they shout "NIMBY".
Let me close with the verse that many of us have heard...probably originated from the Bible.
"A society is measured by how it treats the least among them". We fail our children AND our adults in this regard.
"Mahatma Ghandi who said “A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."
"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members". ~Pearl S. Buck"
"Nelson Mandela — 'A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it's lowest ones'"
"“the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped." Hubert Humprey!
Bible:
"Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered."
"A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge."
"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?"
"Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished."
I certainly hope the OP and others "down" on the poor will not be punished.....
Florida min wage is $8.25. Still not much better
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