Quote Originally Posted by dmc View Post
That people who actually earn the things they have appreciate it more and take care of it.

Why should people who are able, get things for free? If someone wants a home why cant they contribute at least a little sweat equity. They may learn something and probably take better care of something they actually have helped put together.
Everyone has built into us a basic drive to create and to participate. If that drive in buried under mental illness, addiction, and trauma, then how do we help folks uncover their capacities? How do you decide if someone "is able"?

Providing opportunity for poor people, that is, people without money, to accumulate more money to be able to meet their basic life needs is a part of what it means to be in community and to be a human being. If someone is smelly and doesn't have access to a shower, let's build showers for them. Then once that person feels better about themselves - even mentally ill people are aware that they smell bad and that others turn away from them - the next need can be addressed, together, with shared resources.

If someone's basic need for food isn't met, they have a very hard time finding a job. If someone hasn't slept well in a year because they are in a tent on a hillside under the highway, they aren't able to think clearly, and need a safe place to sleep, probably for several weeks. THEN they can begin to address their need for a job and permanent housing. Have you ever thought about how hard it is to apply for a job without an address?

My baseline is that those who are homeless are doing the best they can under really horrific circumstances. Our obligation to our brethren is to help them out. So that they can get to the point of being able to have agency in their own lives, and in turn, reciprocate to help others.