If you think you have a solution to homelessness....you don't. if you think you're instituting a program that will work for the homeless or end homelessness...you're not. if you think housing first or free housing with no strings attached will solve alot of the homeless issues...you're wasting tax payer money. you're wasting resources that could be used more effectively in another type of program. if you think welfare is helping....it isn't. not long term welfare anyway....it's enabling homelessness. missions and shelters should be temporary. anything else is taking up space that could be used for more temporarily homeless people and women and children that are encountering financial difficulties or homelessness for the first time. if you think the government should fund affordable housing on a long term basis for the homeless....they shouldn't. it's contributing to the debt and is actually encouraging alot of people to be homeless. you think anything other than job training, addiction treatment and a return to the workforce will help the issue....it won't. the money they spend for welfare and snap benefits should be poured into job creation and training. it should poured into addiction treatment and outreach for the mentally ill that walk the streets on a daily basis. if that were successful, homelessness would be cut by 70% or so. look....homelessness has always been around. unfortunately it always will be to some extent. only a small percentage of homeless people are truly disabled or unable to work. yes...the economy is bad. yes...it's tough to be homeless. yes....there are issues that are beyond a person's control that causes homelessness. but long term homelessness....it's the individuals fault in most cases and they could and should start to address the problems that caused it. i'm not saying it's an easy or short term fix. but the route we're taking and the way we address the homeless people themselves just isn't working. it hasn't worked for forty years and it's not going to miraculously start working today. you have to accept the fact that most homeless people have an issue that needs to be corrected in order for them to help themselves. that's where the money should be spent. either for job creation, training or addiction treatment...not for enabling. then the money could be spent on those with the truly debilitating issues that causes them to be homeless..like mental illness or physical disabilities. then you could spend money on women and children and get them housing and reintroduced into normal society. raising awareness isn't enough. i can do that by standing on a corner with a sign. meetings aren't enough. we have enough of those. websites and tweets aren't good enough. that's just another form of talk. charts, facts, figures, and demographics are good for research....not for solving. advocacy is ok....but it has to go way beyond being an advocate.
job creation...training...temporary assistance and aid...and no enabling. that's the answer. i know it's a fine line to balance, but we have to find a way to navigate it. i think they're waiting for it. i think you are too. i have experienced homelessness and all the ugly, difficult and hard times and lessons that come with it. i have lived with and around the homeless. i'm telling you things that i believe because of experiences and a first hand look into the lives and daily struggles of the homeless. i have listened to and spoken with the homeless daily. being homeless....i saw and still see a side of the homeless that advocates and agencies couldn't see. i came out of homelessness.
i'm an advocate of the homeless and i feel nothing but compassion and an honest willingness and sense of obligation to help them. while i do think we should expend every effort to assist and aid the homeless, i'm not delusional or blind. i can't blindly follow programs and efforts that i feel can't and won't solve the problem on a long term basis. i can't look past the hard truths.
see you around town