I don’t know what the solution is but it isn’t the status quo. A lot of the west coast cities are having a disproportionate problem with homeless. It’s not clear if people are bussing their homeless or the housing prices or what.

The amount of trash generated by these homeless camps is nuts and ruins virtually every public space. In Portland, it is common to find hypodermic needles littered in the parks. You’ll walk past people on the sidewalk passed out with a needle in their arm or actively doing drugs. Human excrement on the sidewalk. I wish I had some solution but the current situation sucks for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (9 children)

I'm with you that that is inappropriate in public, and west coast cities are being hit super hard. The dirt little secret is that many interior cities do also run their homeless out.

But the research shows the fastest, most sure fire way to reduce the problem is to just give folks a permanent address that is safe.

Every effort should be made to give these folks a home, even if that home is some sort of rapid mass manufacture box with a door that locks.

I do acknowledge that the states on the west coast shouldn't be the only ones that need to follow that approach, and there clearly isn't a solution for that. I.e. a state should be rapidly obligated to house IT'S homeless, not ALL OF AMERICA'S homeless... But that is a very complicated layer

[–] BabyVi 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It seems like any state by state solution will fall prey to states that want to displace their homeless population instead of providing attainable housing. If we lived in a reasonable society the Federal government would intervene, but no dice.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Agree.

I strongly believe the federal government needs to step in, with some sort of "new deal" conservation/work corp.

As the unhoused are able, they can work for the work corp. The work corp will obviously be shit pay, but you should get basic federal healthcare, and basic housing provided. If you are unable to work, that's not a blocker to receiving this basic housing.

Anyway, we could be doing this right now, across the country, providing a safety net for so many people who are near-homeless, while also improving our country through the other projects the work corp could take on. Republicans should be happy as folks are incentivised to try to work, as their basic needs are met and they can operate from stability.

I'm just spitballing here.

[–] 1void1love 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

A lot of the homeless are elderly or ill or handicapped. Many are homeless because they cannot work.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I addressed that

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