the homeless issue

[pinkytoe]

I don't think that anyone can deny that our nation's homeless population has grown a lot the past few years. Every city of any size seems to be plagued by what to do about the homeless populating parks and public streets - panhandling, camping, doing drugs etc. It used to be primarily vets or the mentally ill but now there seem to be lots more young wanderers who are addicted to drugs or otherwise burdened. Since it seems to be growing unchecked, I think it might be one of the biggest problems we face as a society and I wonder about a whole generation of lost souls.

[razz]

Homelessness is a compound problem - no home, no contact point for employment opportunities, no loyalty or commitment to anything, a sense of lack of worth...
Part of the problem, IMHO and this is going to be controversial, is the emphasis by medical practitioners, the pharmaceutical industry and the consumer ads and public acceptance on drugs of all kinds as the solution to a problem. There is a very limited number of drugs that actually work. So instead of individuals, families, communities and society addressing the concerns and developing the understanding and skills to resolve the challenges, we pump in drugs (alcohol, tranquilizers etc) in ourselves, suggest the latest drug, prescribe drugs and take them with abandon.

Life has always had challenges. Drugs rarely solve them but postpone dealing with them.

[LDAHL]

I don't think that anyone can deny that our nation's homeless population has grown a lot the past few years.

I can. Homelessness has actually been declining nationwide over the past several years. There are of course outliers where it's gotten worse, such as Seattle and Washington DC, but the overall trend has been favorable.

That's not to say it isn't a continuing problem. I work with a non-profit with a mission of expanding home ownership for low-income people. But I think we should take credit where credit is due.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1117/US-homelessness-declines-What-s-working

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-astonishing-decline-of-homelessness-in-america/279050/

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/14/news/economy/hunger-homelessness/

[sweetana3]

We have a % of the homeless populaton that rejects any significant help. Our police and agencies are fully aware, compassionate, and try to be as helpful as possible. We even have a group that works with the camps and helps the humans and their animals.

We have another % who work the issue to pay their bills.

In one of our neighborhoods, the neighbors found a family with two teenage girls living under a bridge. The whole community assisted getting them assistance with one of our local agencies. Took much communication and many calls. We had the ability to help with food, shelter, and the things of daily living once we could sort out some help. The family refused to meet with the caseworker to figure out how to get help and disappeared. We had discussions on why and it could be as simple as fear (one girl was special needs) and as complex as the man being a registered sexual offender and knowing they should not be together. The police explained that there was little they could do other than the actions we did and we all agreed we would call them for Child Protective Services the next time we saw the family outside. It is a hard hard hard issue.

There is another elderly woman who crochets things to sell and sits on a downtown sidewalk. Is she homeless? She was featured once in our local paper. The only thing I absolutely will not stand for is the use of any children for panhandling.

[iris lilies]

I can. Homelessness has actually been declining nationwide over the past several years. There are of course outliers where it's gotten worse, such as Seattle and Washington DC, but the overall trend has been favorable.

That's not to say it isn't a continuing problem. I work with a non-profit with a mission of expanding home ownership for low-income people. But I think we should take credit where credit is due.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1117/US-homelessness-declines-What-s-working

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-astonishing-decline-of-homelessness-in-america/279050/

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/14/news/economy/hunger-homelessness/

i wasnt going to try to use logic or measures to show the premise is wrong, so good for you.

This Thursday, 4 days from now, the national census of the Homeless takes place. It is an annual event. In St. Louis there are those who gain by having bigger numbers and so there are sometimes shenangans to get more people out there on the street.

[pinkytoe]

Obviously, my observation of homelessness is my own and not tied to statistics. It seems that many are younger and whiter than in previous years. Some cities have turned the tide. I just know that visible numbers have increased from the city I moved from and the city I moved to. They are all over the place in both downtowns and many parks.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I agree homelessness has increased a lot lately here too, you see it ever single day, whole tent cities and even new one's springing up sometimes at places you wouldn't think would be the most likely. Increased from when though really? From 2008, it increased after the recession a lot and if it's gone down after that (it may have) it's never returned to prior levels to pre-Great-Recession levels.

[LDAHL]

It's sort of like gun violence. The statistics often seem to belie the perception, especially if the perception is consistent with our favored narrative. I'm certainly guilty of seeing what I expect to see based on my personal framework. I suppose we all are. Just as some were prepared to believe Trump's claim of New Jersey Muslims celebrating 9/11, and others were prepared to believe Trump tried to arrange a Soviet-style parade of tanks and mobile missiles for his inauguration.

I do find it depressing that between the Trump Administration, the opposition to the Trump Administration, and hostile intelligence services, the most reliable information seems to be available from the latter.

[creaker]

Obviously, my observation of homelessness is my own and not tied to statistics. It seems that many are younger and whiter than in previous years. Some cities have turned the tide. I just know that visible numbers have increased from the city I moved from and the city I moved to. They are all over the place in both downtowns and many parks.

There's a lot of homelessness that's not easily visible - one of the growing numbers of homeless are working families.

[jp1]

Curious about the actual statistics I came across this article from a little over three years ago. Apparently both Bush Jr and Obama's administrations implemented programs that had a fair amount of success in reducing homelessness. To be sure, having more than half a million homeless people on any given night is still a tragedy but not a growing one. Of course, none of us has any idea what the trump administration's plans, if they have any, are for dealing with homelessness so things could certainly get worse. Or maybe not.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-astonishing-decline-of-homelessness-in-america/279050/

[ApatheticNoMore]

It's sort of like gun violence. The statistics often seem to belie the perception, especially if the perception is consistent with our favored narrative.

yes your perception is that people do this, it's your favorite narrative, of course when trying to research this I just found a New York times article from spring of 2016 that says homeless rose again HERE last year by over 5% with increases in tents and homeless encampments. But that's just perception, what are you going to believe your lying eyes AND the New York Times or what someone on the internet asserts? Geez tough choice. Is the answer someone on the internet? Ding, ding, ding?

And instead of actually noticing and being alarmed at what is happening where you actually live, the important thing is to imagine how much homeless has gone down some place you may never even visit and not even notice the homeless problem all around you.


There's a lot of homelessness that's not easily visible - one of the growing numbers of homeless are working families.

that's certainly true, homeless are rumored to have huge encampments hiding away in the mountains and such (I tend to believe the source here, people I personally know for one thing but ymmv). I don't know to what extent all those homeless that aren't even really urban homeless anymore are counted, there's plenty of urban homeless but those are more easily visible.

[creaker]

that's certainly true, homeless are rumored to have huge encampments hiding away in the mountains and such (I tend to believe the source here, people I personally know for one thing but ymmv). I don't know to what extent all those homeless that aren't even really urban homeless anymore are counted, there's plenty of urban homeless but those are more easily visible.

I hadn't heard about these huge encampments in the mountains - I have heard of programs sheltering/helping the homeless, many people in the system receiving help are not as easily visible.

[Teacher Terry]

Madison, WI has a small home area for the homeless and some other places do to. I donated to their cause. If more cities did that it would go a long way towards solving the problem.

[catherine]

I have friend who was homeless for a long period of time, and he and his homeless friends created a "tent village" down by the river (no, none of them had vans). They resisted homeless shelters with a vengeance. The City let them do their thing. They created their own social rules to protect themselves and it wasn't ideal, but it worked for them.

[LDAHL]

yes your perception is that people do this, it's your favorite narrative, of course when trying to research this I just found a New York times article from spring of 2016 that says homeless rose again HERE last year by over 5% with increases in tents and homeless encampments. But that's just perception, what are you going to believe your lying eyes AND the New York Times or what someone on the internet asserts? Geez tough choice. Is the answer someone on the internet? Ding, ding, ding?

And instead of actually noticing and being alarmed at what is happening where you actually live, the important thing is to imagine how much homeless has gone down some place you may never even visit and not even notice the homeless problem all around you.



that's certainly true, homeless are rumored to have huge encampments hiding away in the mountains and such (I tend to believe the source here, people I personally know for one thing but ymmv). I don't know to what extent all those homeless that aren't even really urban homeless anymore are counted, there's plenty of urban homeless but those are more easily visible.

I was responding to the proposition that "no one can deny the homeless population is growing" by pointing out that the government and others have compiled statistics that indicate it is in fact shrinking. Not everywhere, but for the nation as a whole. I suppose you could categorize the government as "someone on the internet". The fact that homelessness in certain cities is growing due to mismanagement or bad luck, doesn't detract from the fact that the homeless population is in fact declining in America.

[Tiam]

I can. Homelessness has actually been declining nationwide over the past several years. There are of course outliers where it's gotten worse, such as Seattle and Washington DC, but the overall trend has been favorable.

That's not to say it isn't a continuing problem. I work with a non-profit with a mission of expanding home ownership for low-income people. But I think we should take credit where credit is due.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1117/US-homelessness-declines-What-s-working

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-astonishing-decline-of-homelessness-in-america/279050/

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/14/news/economy/hunger-homelessness/

To a large extent, I would venture to guess that the reduction in homelessness for those who fit the criteria's parameters. Homeless teens and families. But those people want and always wanted out of homelessness and they eventually get out. They landed in homelessness and succeeded in escaping it, probably with help. Those are a different kind of homeless but they would affect the statistics. (I did not read the links, I admit) I agree with the OP's original idea that it's endemic now and everywhere. The kind of homeless that is a kind of drop out or career homelessness. Tied to dropping out of society. Tied to lack of purpose.

[Rogar]

I don't know if homelessness is up or down, but it's different. I've seen more tent homes or little groups of tent homes this year than I can ever remember. Even recently in the middle of winter. They are usually a ratty old tent with a tarp covering the top with a shopping cart or beat up bicycle near by. Under bridges and in the edges of wooded public areas. I think a couple or few years ago the homeless were mostly in the inner city and it was rare to see this sort of thing out in the burbs. During the summer I would go out early for a bike ride and there would be a fellow rolled up in a sleeping bag or blanket asleep just a few feet off the trail and out in the open. I suspect drugs in some of those cases.

It's common for people to say there are more homeless here because of legal marijuana, but I don't know if that's true or an alternate fact.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I don't know if homelessness is up or down, but it's different. I've seen more tent homes or little groups of tent homes this year than I can ever remember. Even recently in the middle of winter. They are usually a ratty old tent with a tarp covering the top with a shopping cart or beat up bicycle near by. Under bridges and in the edges of wooded public areas. I think a couple or few years ago the homeless were mostly in the inner city and it was rare to see this sort of thing out in the burbs.

well there are programs some places to give out tents to the homeless, so if they have nicer tents, that might be why. It's a little more practical plan than "build houses for all of them", when the homeless population is several tens of thousands, it's like recommending plastic surgery to deal with a gaping wound that threatens to bleed one to death because: "it won't leave a scar". Or I'm not sure the kind of funding to make that possible exists in local government or charity (the Fed gov ok maybe). So may as well at least get them better tents, and organizations that do this exist I found out.

Yea the population has changed, some of them now are young, normal and clean looking, sane. (ok the crazy and drug addicted homeless population still exists as well of course). Some of them I just wonder why, like some ok looking, completely 100% sane seeming, 20 something homeless woman will be begging on the street corner and cynical me thinks: what are these militant feminists? or perhaps more likely serious victims of abuse ... because most women in that situation if they had no other choices would at least find a guy to live with, oh cynical, but ... likely true. There are also young homeless healthy looking, completely sane seeming men out there. They look like grad students I'm telling you, these young men and women, and instead they are our homeless!

[Teacher Terry]

The tiny houses are working well in some communities and are not that expensive to build if you have volunteers.

[pinkytoe]

A tiny house homeless village was built in Austin right before we moved and has from what I've heard has been successful:
http://mlf.org/community-first/