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We as a nation are sadly lacking in compassion for the homeless.
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ReplyDeleteHere in Seattle we do not turn a blind eye to the homeless but we do have a very ineffective city council. They seem to cater to the lowest denominator.
ReplyDelete"Don't offend them by insisting they seek treatment and shelter." (But we won't spend the allocated money properly).
When we did have sanitation services in the form of self-cleaning toilets, they became drug closets that were defaced within months.
I myself favor SROs (single room occupancy) hotels and subsidized housing; not only for the homeless but for low income and young professionals. Shitting on the streets and shooting up on the sidewalk, not so much.
Did you see the added 30 minutes of 60 Minutes on Sunday? Those dudes are doing wonderful things by building 3-D printed houses for the homeless outside of Austin, TX.
ReplyDelete@Rad,
ReplyDeleteI live in Montreal nd you were right to point out how the city and the provincial governments are acting to provide maximum help for the homeless people.
The worse situations as the number of homeless people are in Toronto and Vancouver as their numbers are 5 times more than here in Montreal.
All over the country cities are doing their best to help them and surely more on the freezing winter temperatures. Which is often deadly for them.
One of the issue is the drug addictionsed as you mentionned we provide supervised injection places to prevent overdose and refer them to a hospital if their lives are in danger. Must mention that ALL our citizens will have nothing to pay for medical help as we have our universal health care system.
There are also some shelters for them to go to sleep and have good meals.
One of the problem is also the mental health of those who were many years ago thrown out of mental health hospitals.
Sur it's a social issue and we try to help them as best as we can.
Must say that some of them don't want to go to live in appartments, don't have the capacity to do it, financially or intellectually too or just like to keep their freedom to live in the street.
Here, we are not very religious people as the Catholic Church was from year to year abandoned since the 60's but our heart, love and charity over the poorest of us still is there no matter religion.
Let me share this link of how Finland addressed its' homeless population---13 minutes---
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/kbEavDqA8iE?feature=shared
I live in Denver, Colorado. The homeless population is prevalent here just as anywhere else. Let me ramble a bit. What bothers me most is the amount of young people I see. My question has always been how are we as a society-all in this together-going to get them out. Not all individuals who are homeless are mentally ill or have substance abuse problems. Let's be clear that being homeless could lead to these issues. The above link that I shared may provide solutions that other places can enact according to their state and city's charter. I like the idea of housing first then one works backward to address specific needs.
An observation--- every day going to the gym I pass this old abandoned, boarded-up motel on one of the busiest streets in Denver. There is a chain-linked fence around it and the windows and doors have been covered with plywood. According to signs the building will probably be torn down because of asbestos. Over time I have seen some really good graffiti on the building. I mean good stuff. If I had the resources I would investigate who did the illustrations. I would say there is a talent being untapped and would translate to an advertising, and branding company. I now see that some of the shuttered doors have been pried open and folks are living inside. As with the cycle, the owner will come through to resurrect portions of the fencing that has been opened, remove the graffiti, and close up the open doors and windows. And then the cycle will start again.
As I suspect there are different types of homeless people. There are folks who panhandle to make ends meet but have a place to stay. And then we have others who are truly on the street and have no roof over their heads.
I have been to other states where there are places where folks park their campers and this is where they live. There are churches that open up their parking lots during the week where folks can park their car and rest. There some places in the United States where they are places where people can park and facilities are provided for them. There are teachers who live in cars. And the examples go on.
As a society, no matter where you live, we need to take a hard look at how we treat our homeless people and the reasons for this. The first blush for me is the corporate greed in America and wages not being in pace with the cost of living. Another thesis for another day.
Best!!
Rad & JiEL - Canada is so much more humane that the U.S.
ReplyDeleteBig Dude - You are correct.
LeftField - Portland's city council is similarly ineffective.
Pat - I missed that but just looked up the story. Impressive.
VRCooper - Thank you for that link! So much could be accomplished but for capitalism's greed.
Thanks for calling this to - reminding us - of this horrible problem.
ReplyDeleteAs flaky as it might be to drive by an older, empty building with fencing around it and boarded-up doors and windows, keeping people out of that location is more about public safety than not. The building obviously is older and crumbling in many areas, without electricity and water service (and sewer use), so keeping it off-limits is better than not. Especially as some homeless people create messes and might not be "good Boy Scouts" as to starting, maintaining, or extinguishing "camp fires" inside of these buildings. Might they be refurbished? By whom and at what cost? Very possibly, BUT who wants to spend a million dollars USD to do that with minimal financial returns on that investment?
ReplyDeleteThere is no ONE answer to the "homeless" issue, although the "default mode" is to move them out of normal sight. Or dismantle them, as if they will suddenly disappear, yet re-form in another location. Destroying their camping areas does nothing to solve the issues of why they are there in the first place! As many of them are deemed to be "losers" by many in our societies, with little desire to "do better", apparently. Although helping them to "do better" would benefit the complete society, it seems.
"Affordable housing" has been mentioned a lot over the past decade, yet no hard figures of what it amounts to has ever been mentioned. It seems few operatives are building "efficiency apartments" any more, which rented for $200.00/month back in 1972, in many areas. Something of that nature might work well if administered correctly, I suspect. "A hand up rather than a hand-out", as GWBush used to say.
By observation, the sub-set of homeless veterans (US) can be easier to handle and deal with. At least that is a start which can be maintained and prioritized.