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Not much of the programs work because we aren't institutionalizing them. Jail is just a free meal and warm place to sleep. One homeless man bashed all the windows out of our post office last winter so he COULD go to jail. Sadly, many of them are hopelessly addicted to drugs, cannot be saved, and will be found dead on the streets. Meth addiction for instance has a less than 10% recovery rate. But, not dealing with the drug problem, and in fact only greatly encouraging it by decriminalizing smaller amounts, is just plain stupid. EVERY drug dealer now knows that he just has to carry a small amount, and return to his stash to restock several times a day and won't be arrested anymore. Then, these addicts obviously need money to buy drugs, so where does that come from? They shoplift, break into homes and cars, assault people on the street, and so on.
where we differ is that i dont believe that people cannot be saved, that some are hopelessly addicted to what ever their self medication of choice is, be it heroin, cocaine, meth, alcohol, what ever. once you get to the real root of their problem, and once they understand their real problem, it does in fact make it easier to end the physical addiction to their drug of choice.
these people can be saved, if they are WILLING to be saved. but what they need for that to happen is different in every case.
I am being repeatedly misquoted on this thread. Posts with viewpoints the opposite of mine are being attributed to me for some reason.
Bottom line (again) ... it is not a crime to be poor, homeless or addicted to drugs (although possession of drugs is a crime) BUT theft, fraud, assault, trespassing, dumping garbage, public defecation, trespassing, lighting bonfires under freeways and bridges etc. etc. are all crimes.
Here in Seattle a core population of several thousand criminals who live on the streets are committing these crimes on a regular basis with complete impunity courtesy of our ultraliberal DA and judges.
It should definitely be declared an emergency. The problem here in California, is that there is this collective feeling that we need to be so compassionate about the issue to the point that everything that comes along with it (such as open drug use, tent cities popping up everywhere, feces, etc) is ignored, tolerated, and accepted.
Oh but lets just tax people more and more to make it sound like we are building towards a solution and give the morons who run the State have the opportunity to smile in front of the t.v. cameras and tell us how much they are going to make things better and poof, the money magically disappears.
I don't know how we fix the problem. But it definitely doesn't help to allow people to openly commit crimes such as using drugs while at the same making it more difficult and expensive for build more affordable housing.
This is exactly the hot topic right now on the San Francisco bay area forum. City officials in San Francisco aren't helping get these type of people out of such a lifestyle, but more so, giving them a place to continue the lifestyle. In essence what city leadership is doing is basically giving people incentives to just do drugs and not become a positive contributor to society, all at the expense of the hard working tax payers. They give them needles free of charge so they can shoot up drugs and live longer. Space in a building free of charge so they can shoot up their drugs and live longer. supplying police, firefighters, and paramedics with drugs that counteract the effects of overdosing on various drugs such as heroin, again, so they can live longer. All in the name of "living longer" which really means so they can live another day shooting drugs up.
Setting up and running such a system becomes more like an easy way out or "fall back on" type of situation for many, if not most of these people. One thing for sure, I've not heard any reporting by such city leadership as to how many or the percentage rates of their system getting people actually completely off the street, off the drugs and becoming a positive contributor to society. All I hear in the news is the numbers of those in such the situation, and every week, month, year those numbers are only climbing higher. And the only outcome from the system currently in place is that most, if not all of these people will always be a burden to the tax payers. City leadership is not spending money on getting these people out of such a lifestyle, simply just funding their destructive lifestyle.
All these comments from alt-right conservatives always prove to me how true it is that ignorance is bliss...
Simply consider the "answers" offered. Amazing how easy it is to dismiss what a difficult challenging problem homelessness really is and of course rather than truly address the problem intelligently, much easier and far more comfortable to spout ridiculous comments that hardly deserve the time of day!
Of course homelessness shouldn't be "okay" for anyone, and who actually thinks there is any sort of simple quick fix given all the issues that cause homelessness and perpetuate it?
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff donates $30 million to study homelessness
Some of you conservatives should send your solutions to Benioff (and just about every mayor in the country) to save them and all the rest of us a whole lot of money! Or better yet, get a clue already...
I haven't been able to read all the comments in this thread, but the subject is one "near and dear" to me for several reasons...
Frustrating because there aren't that many problems so easy to witness just about everywhere, involving people (not animals), and so difficult to turn around in any significant way. Despite all the efforts of all kinds, from draconian to compassionate, the numbers continue to grow. I follow the progress (or lack thereof) closely, especially here where I live, because NO ONE is okay with just about anything having to do with homelessness.
Not sure if this has been posted in this thread yet, but after reading so many comments about the answers, some related to other countries that have done better, I was curious to look up which they may be. Apparently Finland has found a way, but of course conservatives who think this problem can go away with wishful thinking won't like their approach either...
"In the last year in the UK, the number of people sleeping rough rose by 7%. In Germany, the last two years saw a 35% increase in the number of homeless while in France, there has been an increase of 50% in the last 11 years.
These are Europe’s three biggest economies, and yet they haven’t solved their housing problem. Across Europe, the picture is much the same.
All these comments from alt-right conservatives always prove to me how true it is that ignorance is bliss...
Simply consider the "answers" offered. Amazing how easy it is to dismiss what a difficult challenging problem homelessness really is and of course rather than truly address the problem intelligently, much easier and far more comfortable to spout ridiculous comments that hardly deserve the time of day!
Of course homelessness shouldn't be "okay" for anyone, and who actually thinks there is any sort of simple quick fix given all the issues that cause homelessness and perpetuate it?
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff donates $30 million to study homelessness
Some of you conservatives should send your solutions to Benioff (and just about every mayor in the country) to save them and all the rest of us a whole lot of money! Or better yet, get a clue already...
From the best I can tell, all libs want is to distribute “supportive housing” throughout every city and town until everyone is forced to live near an out of control addict living in free housing.
Tell me I’m wrong.
Your dream will never happen. We will fight back and defend our communities. Count on it.
It should be considered an emergency, no? This is happening all over the US cities right under our assaulted noses, because feces do not smell rosy, and nothing changes. Therefore, it must be acceptable. How much are we going to take and what happens when it gets worse because we accept it as normal.
That doesn't happen in the town I live in.
I guess that the people that live in those other towns need to decide for themselves.
So what has the GOP proposed to address the homeless problem?
Bus them from city to city?
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Then, these addicts obviously need money to buy drugs, so where does that come from? They shoplift, break into homes and cars, assault people on the street, and so on.
