Homeless/Unhoused

[wobblie]

Have you noticed more desperation in your area? I live in a rural community, so it's not much of a problem here, but when I go into Birmingham there is so much sadness & despair. I've also noticed a trend in people posting videos of homeless encampments on YT. A hot commodity, it seems. 

This Xmas I will be handing out care packages to people I see on the streets. New socks are a godsend for some. Please keep the less fortunate in mind this holiday season.

✌️

[bungo the mungo]

your return to preludin has been a godsend, wobblie.

thank you for your timely reminder.

•sent via mobile•

[Half Machine Lipschitz]

Dec 19, 2021 1:01:41 GMT bungo the mungo said:

your return to preludin has been a godsend, wobblie.

thank you for your timely reminder.

•sent via mobile•

Just when you needed to get people on your side to run your alias-free cup competition. How fortuitous!

[Sneelock]

Early in the pandemic they cleared all the homeless from under L.A's freeway overpasses due to spreading concerns. the true size of the problem was suddenly there for all to see.

pup tents on curbs are a common sight now. local politicians trying to make a name for themselves champion "solving the homeless problem" measures which IMO do nothing of the sort. the effect of homelessness on property values and it's inconvenience for the homed seem more pressing to these politicians than the problem itself.

it's frustrating to see this issue reduced to such an open lack of empathy. the way things are going, a state of homelessness is a distict possibility for pretty much anyone. what is to be gained from heartlessness disguised as problem solving? it seems to me that this hardheartedness is being harnessed as a political power.

[tory]

What is the solution to homelessness?

You can alleviate it, and provide suitable care at times, but can you solve it?

I don't think you can. Look at San Francisco. A total disaster.

[Deleted]

Dec 19, 2021 14:08:00 GMT tory said:

What is the solution to homelessness?

You can alleviate it, and provide suitable care at times, but can you solve it?

I don't think you can. 

Of course you don't.

[Deleted]

Dec 19, 2021 14:08:00 GMT tory said:

What is the solution to homelessness?

You can alleviate it, and provide suitable care at times, but can you solve it?

I don't think you can. Look at San Francisco. A total disaster.

You can help the people who want help. It is a basic right to have a roof over your head. It isn't something you can dismiss with a shrug.

[Sneelock]

Here in Los Angeles, my opinion is that the right is taking up the issue of “homelessness” because it fits in the way they do things. The good guys are the ones who have homes and the bad guys are the ones who don’t. Maybe you think I’m being simplistic but I don’t think I am. I think the American Right is pretty much WRESTLING now and we all know in wrestling you CHEER somebody and you BOO somebody. My LA conservative friends see the solution to the homeless problem as making homeless people disappear. I agree that this will never happen. I believe it was Ricardo “Jesus” Rodriguez who said the poor will be with us always.

If, like me, you think that homelessness is largely the result of OTHER problems then you probably feel as fatalistic as I do. The Incredible Shrinking “Build Back Better” plan once contained provisions to help with health care & prescription costs, wage protections, access to costly resources... The kicker was that not enough people in either party could even ENTERTAIN the idea that the Super Rich in America in 2021 be subjected to George w. Bush era tax rates. Now they do what they always do when the Rich paying more taxes is unthinkable - they cry “how much will it cost???”

My LA conservative friends are convinced that homelessness is caused primarily by a lack of initiative on the part of the homeless even as many struggle themselves. Me and my granola eating buddies think skyrocketing costs and wage stagnation have more to do with it. Neither side wants to give in to the other - stalemate- for now. You watch, they are going to spend a bazillion dollars on ad campaigns that make it look like the only people who really CARE about the homeless are the ones who want to make them disappear. I susppect even a lot of granola eaters will be hoodwinked. The people who make those commercials are getting good.

[wobblie]

The numbers of homeless in LA County and the city proper is quite staggering. If those folks got organized they could take over Beverly Hills.

I saw the tiny home village that was built for 8 million $. Security cameras, lock boxes outside of the gate, full-time security. Seemed like prison to me, though I'm sure the lucky few who got a roof over their heads were thankful.

Only 200 homes, though. That still leaves roughly 60,000+ in the county. 1500 died on LA streets last year. We are no longer a first world nation, and honestly, I'm not sure we ever were.

[tory]

I'd like to see what people suggest for "fixing" homelessness.

The reasons for people being homeless are myriad. It could be a relationship breaking down, losing a job, substance abuse, mental health issues, abuse and many other things such as leaving prison or being in the army. A general observation is that people of Asian heritages are rarely homeless in the West, mostly I suspect because their family structures are far stronger as a whole, allowing for multi-generational households and the like. Perhaps Liberalism in itself and our drive for "individualism" at the behest of the community , has created a society where this sort of thing is more likely to happen. Landlords and buy-to-let have exploited the situation, particularly in the UK. One of the big issues here I think is that the housing market is, essentially, broken. The problem, though, is extraordinarily complex and not easily "solved". They say that a minimum of 300,000 houses should be built every year in the UK to alleviate the issue, and yet the last person to do that was Thatcher.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590464/Fixing_our_broken_housing_market_-_print_ready_version.pdf

We should do all we can to alleviate it, but I don't think solutions should be permanent. They should allow people to regain their dignity and get back on their own feet.

[souphound]

We are having the same discussions here, socially and politically, as can be expected. Everyone wants to see lots of housing built to help alleviate the "problem", but nobody wants that housing built anywhere near them.

On the strength of the "modern" family structure point, there must be sone truth to that. My own observations, limited as they are, suggest to me that the homeless population is getting younger and younger.

Maybe I'm just getting older and older. Maybe.

[wobblie]

Dec 19, 2021 21:21:20 GMT tory said:

I'd like to see what people suggest for "fixing" homelessness.

Your post deserves a more thoughtful response than this,  but to condense:

Don't be a dick!

Problem solved. 

[tory]

What does that mean? A person’s descent into homelessness may be, tragically, entirely their own fault. In any situation regarding this subject, there is a certain amount of individual responsibility involved. Sometimes that is small, sometimes it’s the major reason. People are prone to making very bad decisions sometimes. Society should try to help that person back on their feet, but it is not the responsibility of society to alleviate those problems entirely. The issue I guess is - how much of a safety net should there be and what form does it take?

[wobblie]

Basically I was just saying, do unto others... you know the rest.

I do believe in personal responsibility. When I see people camped on sidewalks, shitting in streets, I honestly can't fathom it at all. No matter how bad my life got I can't see allowing myself to live like that. There are options. Problem is many are completely uneducated. Some are just broken people with no hope. A small minority enjoys the freedom of the lifestyle, at least they have convinced themselves that they do.

Sneelock touched upon some great points in his post regarding wage stagnation, rising rent levels, etc.

I don't claim to have all the answers, I just think we have to be capable of doing better if we are going to call ourselves a society.

[Reactionary Rage]

Dec 19, 2021 21:47:21 GMT souphound said:

We are having the same discussions here, socially and politically, as can be expected. Everyone wants to see lots of housing built to help alleviate the "problem", but nobody wants that housing built anywhere near them.

On the strength of the "modern" family structure point, there must be sone truth to that. My own observations, limited as they are, suggest to me that the homeless population is getting younger and younger.

Maybe I'm just getting older and older. Maybe.

Aye, people don't want social housing on their doorstep and they don't want green field sites built on either.  Not only do we need to build more we need to repurpose more existing buildings in cities.  In Edinburgh, for example, so much housing these days is either private rentals or aimed at students.

A friend of mine was homeless as a young man.  That was down to family issues.  Given the obvious problems with the family unit I would expect that to impact on the numbers of young people being on the streets.