LogFAQs > #956618970

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Criminalising dumping their s*** in the middle of the street, not homelessness.

So... make it illegal for homeless people to own more than they can carry on their person at all times. Got it.

InfestedAdam posted...

I live in Los Angeles County and about 10-15 miles from Downtown Los Angeles. I am willing to support programs to help the homeless but I am truly stump on what would really make a difference regarding said issue. I have read/heard stories from former street dwellers about how mental issues are a major thing and said people must want to seek help instead of help being given/forced on them.

I have read meaningful and detailed explanation from others on what probably needs to be done but I still cannot help but feel a lot of these good ideas are only ever good on paper. Even then, I feel we still gotta try.

Look into what Medicine Hat, Alberta did. To oversimplify it, they pretty much just gave every homeless person a home. They then immediately proceeded to also offer whatever supports were needed (since it's so often much more complex than just "I can't afford a home), along with routinely checking up on people to make sure things were on the right track to get their lives in order. It's a little more nuanced than that, but the bottom line is that they've successfully eradicated chronic homelessness and the vast majority of the people they've gotten off the streets that haven't already graduated from the program are well on track to do so. Even better, they've saved money doing it, because it's actually cheaper to just pay for a barebones apartment for somebody than to pay cops to chase them around indefinitely and for emergency medical care on a regular basis. Who knew?

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