The debate over addressing homelessness is complicated, but it boils down to some lawmakers wanting to focus on housing and others wanting to prioritize treatment.
Start paying mental health workers, low level medical workers, and teachers better. That'll not only boost the current helping system, but also prevent future hobos, and also make current workers more effective at doing their job.
Simple. First you address the underlying issues that have caused the homelessness. Drug rehab, mental health rehab, physical rehab. Qualified professionals with the resources needed to house, feed, care, and most importantly watch over the homeless. But society as a whole especially most government agencies do not have the real desire to fix the problem.
There are many who are in the situation because they were playing around with drugs, it became a habit and they couldn't work, take drugs, and pay increasingly high rent. There are so many different homeless categories...many have mental health issues and are a danger to themselves, they need to have hospital care. Don't give them a dollar, give it to agencies that know from years of experience that they need to get off a drugs and alcohol, so they can get on with their lives.
Treatment needs a home and distance from the people who contributed. Realistically most of these people need to be in a living facility outside the city in order to distance themselves from the environment that got them addicted to begin with.
@@EvanIEvan for many, getting a home will be the biggest step towards sobriety and mental health. This is where differing needs become apparent. Some were attempting to self medicate due to a fractured mental health system, some were numbing pain due to circumstances, some have a hard core addiction problem that could benefit from a sober living home with long term treatment and some were priced out due to being on fixed incomes. The largest growing demographic is over 55 and not addicted. The most visible have addiction and mental health unmet needs but they don't represent the whole.
Something needs to be done. All over the Valley is looking dirty and trashy due to all the trash the homeless are leaving behind. The exits all along the I-17 need to be patrolled and cleaned on a weekly basis. No sense in our exits and freeways looking like they do. I understand people have fallen on hard times but when people are slumped over due to heavy drug use, screaming random curse words AND REFUSING help after Phoenix Cares has been dispatched, then roaming the streets and leaving filthy trash all over shouldn’t be an option.
Ah, yes they are throw away people, they threw themselves away years before and now the taxpayer is on the hook to keep them from the final drop off the cliff which they daily edge towards. END IT. This stupidity will go on forever because the policies are weak and enabling.
Each homeless in the US costs taxpayers $135,000 mostly in medical care caused by drugs, alcohol as well as living conditions. That means the total income of 2 average US workers to support just one homeless. As for housing involve government and it costs $250,000 to house just one. That is also very insufficient
Yes you are so right & I am so sick of it. Wasting taxpayer's money on programs & such that are not working, but enabling these people to keep doing what they are doing. The cycle continues. Same crap, not doing any good over and over again expecting something different. They threw themselves away. I do my part, take care of me, work & pay my taxes. While my tax money goes to support people who don't do their part. Most of the homeless I see are able bodied, half the age of me or more, but yet they are not working, on drugs, depending on those of us which are working.
Anyone with an addiction and on the streets or whatever has to be the one to make the choice to sober up. We can talk and actually help a little. And, if they want help, it’s gotta be done right, with a lot of education. Some people wanna learn about their addiction. And that’s where change can happen.
UBI for all the homeless. Don't force office workers to physically come into work just turn all those tall office building into housing for the homeless. Repeal the Right to Work law. Go after RealPages for bumping up the prices for rent continuously.
I am currently homeless due to Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and their is a lack of places to work and get on my feet. CASS is horrible and needs security guards to actually check the dorms. The wait lists are very long for the nicer shelters. There is many fake shelters I call Jesus Jails (Phoenix rescue mission, church on the street, victory outreach) that force people not to work for 10 months to a year, forcing radical Christianity and indentured servitude. Fraud Group homes that force you not to work so they can scam medicaid. TLC and Step One make you work and you save nothing so you can pay for "rent". Make these illegal, open more beds for working people, and bring back institutionalization for the insane and anyone who doesn't wanna work. These are my suggestions
For anyone who thinks I'm making excuses, I'm in a medical respite bed looking for a place to work, and I used to sleep outside day labor. I'm no bum. I have the right to suggest these things.
Multiple solutions are needed. The main one must be a safety net that catches people before they hit the street. All homeless people know they are headed that way long before they get there. Most of them are employed and see themselves failing but don't know what to do. They search for low cost living arrangements. But only fine laws that prevent them from achieving it. If they tried an RV live it's doomed to failure for multiple reasons. The answer lies in the 230,000,000 homeowners in the United States. If a law could be crafted nationwide that allowed every homeowner to rent out one or more rooms in their home and get a complete tax break in every conceivable way to do so. When people would never hit the street homeowners would seek out anyone who's having trouble that they know and can trust and will immediately want to move them in while they are still working. We must catch people before they hit the streets at that point they will quickly slide downhill and become unemployable and more indigent by the day. The upside also on this would be that homeowners who are in financial stress would get some much needed relief. And could take advantage of tax breaks on improving their homes for this purpose. As well as a complete tax write off for the income earned.
@@sarbantz Not all homeless are druggies and there are a lot more homeless people than you think because they stay away from people and try not to be seen.
OK I would like to weigh in on this subject and the reason I would like to it’s because I’ve been on the street for 10+ years I don’t do drugs I don’t smoke I don’t even drink my issue is that I never had a family dynamics and I realize something they are no different than we are sure you might look upon them with a different pair of eyes after I give you some advice the people who you see on the streets went to high school maybe they even got a degree but then something happened that made them feel like they weren’t worth anything and that’s why I wanted to weigh in on this subject because I think the only way to stop homelessness worldwide is to help them believe in themselves again even the ones that we call critical do you know the ones that talk to themselves when they’re on the streets because honestly some of them are not as bad as one might think. If you actually sat down for a moment and talked with one of them ask them what it would take for them to get off the streets their first answer to you would be at home I don’t believe they’re talking about an apartment they’re talking about a family dynamic they’re talking about a program that even if they’re screaming at the top of their lungs and make a mess it’s not gonna turn their back on him I should know I have seen firsthand what can happen when people believe in themselves so once you start getting someone believing in themselves everything else will fall into place but we don’t have any programs like that we don’t have programs to make people feel like family I have never seen a program where if you came off the street made you feel like you were at home because to them it’s all about money it’s all about funding but what if it wasn’t what if there’s a program out there for the people now I know what you’re thinking you’re thinking I’m crazy nope if you seriously want to end homelessness you can ask me how to do it
If SSA would allow those on SSI and SSDI to live outside the US all year much of the homeless problem would be solved. $1000 USD would spend like $3000 in Mexico where basic private rooms with a twin bed, chair and dresser, kitchen, bathrooms and TV room down the hall and includes Wifi and utilities for $104 a month. Drug addicts not welcome of course. For that you need other solutions. And not send too many to any region as it typically raises rent and other costs for Natives if too many Americans come. So not a complete solution but a start.
The government could create a more organic safety net by simply giving very generous tax breaks to homeowners who rent out a room, For mother-in-law cabin On their property, Or possibly a regulated RV in their home. The income the homeowner gets from it would be non taxable. As well as they could take advantage of home improvement tax breaks. This would mean that they would rent out their rooms to people before they actually hit the street and fell into a state of non employability. It's important to catch people at that point while there's still employed but realized they are heading into homelessness for whatever reason. Of course many will still fall short of this safety net. But by making it a national program Homeowners will be encouraged financially to seek out candidates who are still employed and in somewhat good health and condition. This would also lower the cost of renting apartments due to have fundamental migration from high priced home and apartment rentals to low cost room rentals. Of course local regulations would be needed to fit each geographic area. But formalizing it in this way would help homeowners who are on the brink of losing their homes as well as the homeless and then near homeless.
A good start would be making panhandling against the law. There are very few people who have become homeless through no fault of their own. Everytime I stop & get gas a crowd of homeless people come & ask me for money. These are people half of my age, able bodied, but refuse to work. I'm barely making it. I'm a 1 member household. My husband is dead. I'm on my way to a job I despise. I'm trading my time I rather be spending with my loved ones in exchange for money. That's money I'm not giving away to a person that refuses to work. Call me selfish, not empathetic that's fine.
It’s very insensitive to assume that many homeless individuals have a substance abuse or mental health issue. It can ALWAYS happen to you, never feel like you can be immune to being homeless. Some people end up homeless for a variety of reasons. Young adults age out of foster care with no resources or an apartment voucher and frequently ends up on the streets, a woman is escaping an unsafe marriage, has no place to go and ends up homeless. An elderly man with a fixed income is priced out of the apartment he’s living in, and ends up living in his car. The LGBTQ individual is not accepted by their family, gets kicked out, and ends up sleeping on a bench, because they have no other place to go. We’re all one job loss away from homelessness, so being compassionate and understanding for people’s journeys - without judgement - is crucial.
@sabrina.natalie I was homeless once through no fault of my own. My husband died & he didn't have a will. In NV if someone doesn't have a will & no children half goes to the remaining spouse and 1/4 to each living parent. So I had to sell our home & split the proceeds with his parents. They got half of everything. They tied up everything in probate court for 5 yrs. After I was forced to sell our home I was homeless. I had the same job for the last 15 yrs. So I was homeless working, not on drugs. I got myself out of that hole. I think there is a fine line with being compassionate. Not everyone is there through no fault of their own. The majority of homeless people I see are half my age or more. Physically able to work. But they are not, they are on drugs. Then they ask people like me for money. I'm sorry. 0 compassion there. I go to a job I hate. Not giving that money to a person who refuses to work because they are high all day.
Stop adopting Democrat policies, get control over price gouging for homes and apartments, and green light more construction for apartments and housing, and work on job growth
It’s the usual playbook of blaming parties instead of discussing policies and finding who can expand and implement them first. If you go on California local news, there will be parrots saying: you get what you vote for. This is just demonstrating low level of civic awareness and engagement and preference for tribalism.
I've been homeless I've had a stint being homeless for a year and 3 months. Honestly there's no excuse to be homeless. Get out there and grab Life by the horns.
Lower the cost of living so people and family members can take people in and also remove everyone from section 8 who has more than 2 years using the service and start with new people who have never used section 8
I think your idea has potential. Once someone gets into section 8, create a goal plan to get them out within a certain amount of time. The issue I've seen people have in section 8 is once they get their life in order they discover the financial burden that comes with trying to work and navigate in the system. If that financial burden can be lessened, accompanied with your idea of a limited time in section 8, that could make a difference.
If I had a safe place to live then I be able to get a job to take care of what needs to be taken care of, just a chance for a home is all I need to get back up
There's a documentary about a guy in England who did a 60 day homeless experiment. He gained 20-25 lbs because the only food he was getting was bread based items. I've often thought why don't they spend $1.50 on a packet of chicken at Walmart to get their protein? I think you're half right about the mental illness and well fed addict. Alcoholics gain weight because of the carbs, mentally ill can't always differentiate between ultra processed and raw foods. I agree throwing money at them isn't going to solve the problem, its going to be the long difficult path of educating them. Thoughts?
@@EvanIEvan have you seen a food box? Zero produce or lean protein. All starch, processed (cheap) foods. This is why diabetes is epidemic. Convenience stores charge 3X's more and that's all many have access to due to transportation. They can afford items from the dollar menu but don't have enough money to buy sandwich fixings for 2 wks at once even though it's cheaper in the long run.