- Joined
- Mar 27, 2014
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- Location
- Tennessee
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- Undisclosed
I'd love for them to have jobs! Of course I would! So take a look at that homeless person with that shopping cart. How exactly is he going to get a bath, get cleaned up, shaved, brush his teeth, get his clothes clean and pressed (assuming he has any clothes appropriate for the job), and get to work...and just as importantly, how's he going to do that day after day? It's not like he has a place to keep his clothes neat and clean until the next day.
This, btw, is one of the things that paying for apartments for the homeless does - it makes it easier for them to get and keep jobs.
And the reality is that guy is probably mentally ill, or addicted to drugs or alcohol, likely both, and is in a downward spiral that's tough to stop on your own. It is tough for those with support - family, friends, lots of money. Put them on the streets and there is little actual chance. If the housing first approach works, my guess is it does so by providing a way for someone to 'fail' a few times and not be immediately back on the downward spiral on the streets and so gives them an actual chance to make it long term. It's a guess, but we know from our own population that lots of them take 2 or 3 or 4 tries before it "sticks" long term. We expect it and plan for it.