Some people turn down shelter beds because of drug issues. Not all.
I posted an WaPo article about a homeless couple in DC. Their reason of turning down shelters is because they are a couple and they have a dog. So it does circle back to permanent housing.
I agree with what you are saying, which is why what I said earlier wasn’t good for the sake of argument but only good for venting purpose.
Homeless is a complex social problem. There are hundreds of different reasons why people become and stay homeless, even with all the help everyone else is offering. There is no single pattern you can identify that will give you an a-ha moment that if you address this and most of the problem will go away. If one wants to analyze this with raw data that person will probably needs to keep his head down for the next several years.
On the other hand, even though there is no clear pattern or idea of solving the homeless problem, we still need to keep the big picture in mind at all times. After throwing all these resources at the issue, there needs be a reality check to see whether what we are doing is still reasonable. Are we using the resources effectively, are we achieving results with the resources, and especially after spending has reached a certain level, are we still spending the resources in a way that is still fair to the rest of us. These questions need to be asked, but these are hard questions so it’s easier to just dodge them and continue to “show your compassion”. After all every human life is priceless so any cost is justifiable, right?
I actually don’t think every human life is priceless. By that I take it to mean we should save every human life no matter how high the cost.
Yes, I think there should be clear-eyed cost-benefit analysis to every problem, including homelessness. I also happened to think the “death panel” label that the right trying to stick to Obamacare is not such a bad thing. Why shouldn’t we do cost-benefit analysis on healthcare?
Most people forget we only have a finite amount of resources. Spending on one automatically means not spending on something else. A lot of our social ill has their roots in our restrictive housing and zoning policy. I am happy to see the YIMBY movement is getting stronger everyday and some of these root problems are starting to get tackled now.
Seattle spends $100k per homeless person. We could literally rent them all apartments and give them free drugs for less. How on earth is the spending that ineffective?
There should be no such thing as free permanent housing except for the disabled. It should be a temporary solution to get people back on their feet. Creating the cycle of dependency isn’t actually helping anyone. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that more generous programs create more people that opt-out of the workforce and become dependent on government. Just look at out of wedlock births.
There is nowhere to house them, that is why they are shifted from place to place and some bounce in and out of prison for misdemeanors. All of this is a drain on taxpayers. It was never about free permanent housing, but transitioning from what should be temporary stays in shelters (95% full IIRC), cars, emergency rooms, tents, etc into rental housing which would be affordable with assistance. The affordability problem also effects middle income earners ($62-120k/yr) and Microsoft has stepped up to support financing for more construction.
I don’t think I did this, nor did I say any cost was justifiable. Based on my own observations, posts I have read from others here tend to go the other way, simply dismissing most social problems as worthless expenditures.
I tend to agree with what manch has written, as he makes it easy to understand.
Thank you for sharing your personal exposure with section 8 landlording. It adds something real, as opposed to tv shows focussing on a few terrible cases.
Microsoft did a PR move. Time will tell if any of the financing gets used. I think it’ll be the equivalent of a Buffet saying he should have to pay higher taxes while taking advantage of itemizing every deduction a available.
There is housing available. The vacancy rate isn’t 0%. They might have to move further out to afford something, but housing in one of the most expensive cities isn’t a right.
I’m very skeptical of the shelter capacity numbers. The numbers were significantly lower until the city said they’d cut funding to shelters below a certain utilization rate. I think it was 90%. Suddenly, shelters were reporting to be much fuller than before. It was like a switch was magically flipped.
You can volunteer to help homeless people and get the first hand experience. First hand experience is invaluable. Just reading second hand information is dangerous.
At least visit SF and talk to a few representative homeless people in the street. If you offer them a hamburger, they may be willing to share their problems with you.
Some top Uber liberals are using the rhetoric to gain power. Those bottom Uber liberals are simply brain washed fools who are too lazy to get first hand life experience Those bottom Uber liberals are dependent on top liberals to have a thought since they are too lazy to think and observe the first hand experience and the the raw, unprocessed and unfiltered reality. They don’t think, they just fight blindly based on what they were told.
It’s like an ant colony. 99.9999% of the ants are work ants who have no thought process, just a busy body to perform what they were told to do.
Independent thinking and real life experience is the best way to treat brain washing. That’s why sometimes too much education can harm a person. Education blind spot? We need an acronym for this phenomenon
I have done some past volunteering and worked with children from low-income families (only one was sleeping in a shelter at the time). This has influenced my views. I do value comprehensive studies over a few miscellaneous stories done in sensationalist fashion to sway their audience.
Have you, BAGB (since you are in SF)? If you have, please do share. Otherwise, you don’t represent yourself as anything more than a troll to me, honestly speaking. When other posters have shared details of their personal experience with their low-income tenants, their credibility usually goes up in my eyes. That is whether or not their views align with mine. So, for example, if you have experience with Section 8 (I don’t), sharing some understanding or findings you’ve gathered could be helpful to others here who might be facing similar issues. It might also give readers a glimpse into the merits and flaws of this federal program and whether it is worthwhile.
I pay taxes too. So technically I am also talking about my resources. This is in contrast to right wing thinking? Talking mean and acting mean?
Nope. Rent control is still a public policy. You can think about it as a tax on rentals. Just like capital gain tax only applies to people with, well, capital gains.
I think section 8 is a good program to prevent homelessness, it’s 10x better than city programs. But I do think there should some incentives to encourage people to get off the support and no fears when their income goes up.
The chronic homeless people are much more complicated than the temporary homeless you saw. The one homeless person you saw are more helpable, and you can give them money and things directly, or rent your property to them or help them to live in your community somehow. Some drug addict would be a challenge and they require different forms of help.
About section 8 tenants, they are good people. They can teach you a lot. I suggest you to buy another home for yourself and rent your current home to section 8 tenants to learn from them and your neighbors.
Direct charity is 100x more effective than indirect charity and blindly punish the hard working ones to fake helping the ones that needs help. Some people take advantage of your good heart, then take advantage of your vote, then ruin your life without telling you
I believe the local city programs work with federal programs on vouchers. The number of organizations involved and the types of coordination needed between them is one major problem acknowledged by the city of Seattle. As far as what I read (from first hand accounts), there is a long waiting list for homeless to get on. Typically it takes several years, and by then the homeless are not always reachable. I think that there is preference for families with children.
I don’t know if I would buy another rental specifically for section 8 tenants, but I suppose it is a possibility. What are the requirements for a Section 8 landlord? Do you find it worthwhile?
Liberals are desperate to spin the story and control the narrative. It’s almost as if they don’t realize people can see all the tents. People have been harassed by homeless people. People are scared to walk in certain areas. People have seen the homeless use hard drugs in a park with children there.
Homelessness in Seattle is a problem. They way it was depicted on KOMO news was an unfair representation that drew criticism. Apparently KOMO news in Seattle is one of close to 200 TV stations operated by Sinclair Broadcasting. I don’t follow TV (especially not FOX TV), but the group has right-wing propanda programmed (forced) onto local stations. The brainwashing going on is truly frightening. In case you missed it:
Here is one point of the article posted above: King County’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma admits that “the majority of the homeless population is addicted to or uses opioids” (not one in four)
Does anyone doubt that opioids are a problem among homeless, or the general population for that matter? Over 200,000 people have died in the US because of opioids. Addiction and then inability to access the painkiller Oxycontin often leads to financial ruin and homelessness. It is beyond sick that Purdue Pharma (owned by Sackler family) knowingly created this death spiral by misleading doctors and marketing this drug; sometimes for minor accidents. Will these criminals be the people to go to prison for it, though?
Those bottom Uber liberals are dependent on top liberals to have a thought since they are too lazy to think and observe the first hand experience and the the raw, unprocessed and unfiltered reality. They don’t think, they just fight blindly based on what they were told.