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I once heard someone make that argument. Do you think there's any truth to that?
If someone was truly a bad person, they would've found a way to avoid homelessness...by mooching off people, stealing, engaging in illegal occupations such as drug selling, scamming people, or using less common shady strategies to stay above water.
And people with drug problems and mental illnesses make up another large percentage of the homeless population. And another large group are entire families sleeping in cars and shelters because their parent lost their job. Facts and Figures: The Homeless . NOW on PBS
Personally I believe a fair percentage of the homeless are good people that don't resort to crime, instead they go to the only place their finances will allow them (homeless in shelters, cars, and on the streets.)
And people with drug problems and mental illnesses make up another large percentage of the homeless population. And another large group are entire families sleeping in cars and shelters because their parent lost their job. Facts and Figures: The Homeless . NOW on PBS
Personally I believe a fair percentage of the homeless are good people that don't resort to crime, instead they go to the only place their finances will allow them (homeless in shelters, cars, and on the streets.)
Your links are stuck in 2009. Do you have any with current trends?
I'm old. I'm from back in the day when the do-gooders (who don't think things through) emptied out mental hospitals and these people wound up out on the street (deinstitutionalization) because "it was the right thing to do." Then, they closed the state mental hospitals after the first wave was gone so that it was harder to put new people with mental illness in one.
These are not the situational homeless, who may be temporarily homeless.
"Most of those who were deinstitutionalized from the nation's public psychiatric hospitals were severely mentally ill. Between 50 and 60 percent of them were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Another 10 to 15 percent were diagnosed with manic-depressive illness and severe depression. An additional 10 to 15 percent were diagnosed with organic brain diseases -- epilepsy, strokes, Alzheimer's disease, and brain damage secondary to trauma ...[/b]
The whole PBS article is here. I highly recommend it.
Homeless people are far from harmless. They carry knives in order to survive and defend any turf they've staked out, like a nice dry out-of-the-way sleeping spot, for example. Homeless people are perfectly capable of assaulting people, and in some cities, they do. That's why there are "aggressive panhandling" laws. Geez, don't be naive. And some do engage in drug selling. They don't make enough to pay a rent and other living expenses, they may just get enough for some meals. But some homeless do sell drugs. Anything to survive, you know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by froglipz
Many are mentally ill and are unpredictable as to what behavior they will respond with to a given situation.
these are correct, the homeless are far from harmless. in fact on day i was attacked by one of those "harmless" homeless people. i was working as a manager at a property here where i live, and i told the guy to leave the property, he started to, but as he neared teh end of the property, he turned back and told me to get away from him as he walked towards me, while i wasnt moving. i was merely watching him leave the property as was my responsibility. he decided to get into a fight with me. cops were called he was arrested, and i went back to making preparations to take a new job in new mexico.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chad3
Personally I believe a fair percentage of the homeless are good people that don't resort to crime, instead they go to the only place their finances will allow them (homeless in shelters, cars, and on the streets.)
i actually do agree with this. i have worked with the homeless in the salvation armys hospitality house here, and most of the homeless we dealt with were decent people that had bad things happen to them over the years. some were addicts, some were alcoholics, some were just in a bad way.
I once heard someone make that argument. Do you think there's any truth to that?
If someone was truly a bad person, they would've found a way to avoid homelessness...by mooching off people, stealing, engaging in illegal occupations such as drug selling, scamming people, or using less common shady strategies to stay above water.
Seems absurd to speak in absolutes.
Some homeless people are great honest people that will never ever commit a violent crime. Some homeless people will commit violent crimes (and have) if given a good opportunity to do so for gain.
Some homeless people are great honest people that will never ever commit a violent crime. Some homeless people will commit violent crimes (and have) if given a good opportunity to do so for gain.
they dont even need any kind of real gain to commit a crime. sometimes they just do it for laughs.
Your links are stuck in 2009. Do you have any with current trends?
_"Homelessness increases under de Blasio administration, residents protest new shelters in their neighborhoods"_
"The city has seen a 6% increase in homelessness since the mayor took office in January."
Your links are stuck in 2009. Do you have any with current trends?
"We’re not going to rest until every Veteran who has fought for America has a home in America.”
— Present Barack Obama.
"As of January 2014, overall veteran homelessness is down 33 percent since 2010, and we have achieved a 42 percent decrease in unsheltered veteran homelessness." https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/ve...g-homelessness
"From 2013 to 2014, a period of ongoing recovery from the Great Recession (aka GW BUSH), overall homelessness decreased by 2.3 percent and homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation: unsheltered persons (10 percent), families (2.7 percent), chronically homeless individuals (2.5 percent), and veterans (10.5 percent)."
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