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Thread: Homeless shelters

  1. #11
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    The state of Utah has a Housing First policy, seems to be working well:
    https://www.npr.org/2015/12/10/45910...cent-heres-how

    A selling point was that it actually costs less to house the chronic homeless than to pay for continually prosecuting them for vagrancy, etc. and it also lessens their need for trips to the ER.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    Open prisons, that is the trifecta of all of the above. That is what we in my neighborhood spent years and thousands and thousands of dollars fighting, and were successful.That was the state that was attempting to fook us over.

    We also spent many hundreds of citizen hours helping to/hoping to shape the rejiggered public housing complex down the block.. Sadly, the rejiggering was completed only for part of the area. That was the feds that were fooking us over.

    Stupid mf bureaucrats, a pox on them. Present company excepted.
    Comes with the territory.

    I was at a hearing once where they were considering a jail expansion that would encroach on a golf course. A (literal) little old lady in tennis shoes shouted that "the gates of Hell would open" if we did so.

  3. #13
    Williamsmith
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Comes with the territory.

    I was at a hearing once where they were considering a jail expansion that would encroach on a golf course. A (literal) little old lady in tennis shoes shouted that "the gates of Hell would open" if we did so.
    Well, if you build it close enough, you can subsidize the canteen with sales of errant golf balls that fly into the prison yard. Titleist Pro V 1 balls will fetch a couple bucks.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Williamsmith View Post
    Well, if you build it close enough, you can subsidize the canteen with sales of errant golf balls that fly into the prison yard. Titleist Pro V 1 balls will fetch a couple bucks.
    The problem we have with this little urban Par 3 course are all the claims coming in from cars damaged by shanked balls.

  5. #15
    Williamsmith
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    The problem we have with this little urban Par 3 course are all the claims coming in from cars damaged by shanked balls.
    Netting?

  6. #16
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Estimates are that 75% of the homeless have a severe mental illness. Why all the drinking, etc? They are trying to self-medicate their mental health issues. It is common in all socioeconomic groups for people to self medicate before actually seeking help. When Reagan emptied the psychiatric hospitals this was the inevitable result. Lainey, yes the humane approach is frequently the cheapest but people would rather vilify the homeless instead of helping them.

  7. #17
    Williamsmith
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Estimates are that 75% of the homeless have a severe mental illness. Why all the drinking, etc? They are trying to self-medicate their mental health issues. It is common in all socioeconomic groups for people to self medicate before actually seeking help. When Reagan emptied the psychiatric hospitals this was the inevitable result. Lainey, yes the humane approach is frequently the cheapest but people would rather vilify the homeless instead of helping them.
    +1

    An excellent observation. I routinely came into contact with homeless transients. As our environment can be cruel to homeless, they tended to pass through on their way south. A common practice for LEOs was to transport homeless people from the county inwhich they were found to the next county along the way.

    I became aware of a Priest at a local Catholic Church who had a mission serving the homeless. I knew the person would get a good bed to sleep in for a night and a hot meal. So I often called him and dropped them off at the church.

    I remebered something taught me as a child about “hungry, homeless, sick, naked, imprisoned and thirsty” marginalized people. And something about a hard heart being one thing to avoid. I believe, it makes a difference.

  8. #18
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    During the summer I was walking my big dog in a huge park that has a lot of homeless people. This guy about 30 petted Noki and we got to talking about animals. Turned out he was a vet tech but then got a felony conviction so could no longer work as one, etc. Very nice, not drunk, etc. I spend a lot of time giving him resources for jobs that he wrote down and what else maybe he could do with his degree, etc. He was new to the area so not having knowledge about what is available. Who comes walking along but my 44 yo son who was not very happy with me. He joined us for awhile but finally left because we were still talking. He said later he figured I was safe in daylight, lots of people and of course my big dog. This man was new to being homeless and I knew that if he acted quickly he could avoid getting ingrained into the life. He had the ability to work, had worked for a long time etc and I hope he used my leads to find work. He was not mentally ill. What did it cost me but an hour of my day. You are right WS. Once you have a hard heart you are truly lost. I always say but for the grace of God go I when I see someone in a bad situation.

  9. #19
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    I like what you did, Teacher Terry and Williamsmith.

    Here is a video of another good Samaritan who intervened to help a mentally ill woman. She was discharged from a Baltimore hospital in freezing weather conditions (note the Samaritan's visible breath) wearing only a hospital gown and socks.

    http://wwlp.com/2018/01/12/video-hos...n-frigid-cold/

    I think the homeless situation in our country is growing beyond the power of government agencies and charities to adequately respond. The whole economic system seems out of order.

  10. #20
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Back decades, there used to be homes with rooms to rent and meals provided or a home with rooms to rent sort of like a motel room. Where have these all gone? i know I rented a room when at university with a hot plate, a mini fridge and a shared bathroom. It worked and was affordable. Where do people go with minimal funds? Are all homeless people unemployed or low in funds? unhealthy or having mental issues or drug issues? It strikes me as a very complex issue for each community to deal with. To date, I have seen no clear sense of direction in managing the situation or are there examples of successful management?
    I actually just finished reading a book on this exact topic. "Living Downtown: The History of Residential Hotels in the United States." Long story short, there used to lots of low end housing opportunities, from rooming and boarding houses like you mention to single room occupancy hotels that rented cheap rooms by the week or month. But over the past 100 years concerted public policy (at least in the US, but probably in Canada too) eliminated most of these low end housing options because they were considered a menace to morals and such. Things like zoning laws and minimum size requirements for residential units all played a part.

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