• Sarmyth@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    I feel like you are actively ignoring the fact that it’s not a visible solution. My problem isn’t so much the homeless person who seeks shelter and utilizes services offered as intended. I think they are the non-issue homeless you keep mentioning.

    These programs need immense public buy-in because they establish housing for at risk people in their neighborhoods. The homeless I deal with most often aren’t taking peoples mail and things out of cars to achieve a housing goal. They also aren’t trying to scam cash out of the EBT cards for food and housing. The problem is that addicts will trade away anything you give them to meet their goals, even at the cost of housing and sustenance.

    We can say “prioritize treatment,” but it’s already offered free in my area. We also just had another bus load of people dropped off in my city from Texas again… like giving people homes in an already densely populated area is a bit of a pipe dream while the area is also one of the most expensive in the nation.

    • Ookami38@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I’ll agree that it requires immense public buy in, that’s part of why I’m as passionate and emphatic about it as I am. For sure it’s going to require some changing minds.

      When I said non-issue, I’m talking from the perspective of societal problems. A person who wants housing and does not have it is an issue regardless of how. A person who does not want housing and does not have housing is a non-issue. They’re living in a way I don’t necessarily think is best, but they’re living how they want.

      As far as bussing goes, that’s just a shit practice by a shit group. Not really relevant to the broader discussion of solving homelessness. That NIMBY attitude is definitely part of the public buy in that needs to be addressed.

      • Sarmyth@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Well, the guy that doesn’t want housing and doesn’t have it but denies others the intended use of public spaces because they’ve converted them into their camp is actually an issue.

        We have parks that people barely use because sections get overrun by homeless and our biking and running trails are filled with campgrounds where people are attacked or screamed at when people attempt to use them for their intended purpose. It’s hard to convince my city to build public spaces because of how existing spaces get used by the homeless.

        As it stands, people in that position will be allowed to just keep committing crimes because they get protected from the law via being judgementproof.

        Until we can stem the tide from bussing folks in, creating a free housing solution will not be sustainable as people keep arriving to partake in free housing with a relatively high minimum wage. If I was getting federal minimum wage somewhere and found out I could get free housing and $22/hour working at Panda Express, that’s a huge quality of life improvement.