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Cities up efforts to criminalize homelessness...

MickeyW

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A new report says cities nationwide are enacting more policies that criminalize homelessness.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty said Tuesday many cities have banned living in vehicles, camping in public areas and panhandling.

The center says policies that criminalize homelessness harm communities because they create barriers to employment, housing and education.
Report: Cities nationwide enacting more policies to criminalize homelessness - CBS News
 
Why work to solve the problem in any meaningful way, when you can just shift it somewhere else?

Which is exactly what these laws are designed to do.

Another glorious day in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
 
Why work to solve the problem in any meaningful way, when you can just shift it somewhere else?

Which is exactly what these laws are designed to do.

Another glorious day in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Name that "meaningful way".
 
Name that "meaningful way".

Let me ask you this, is criminalizing someones economic and social circumstance a "meaningful way" of solving the problem?

I don't have all the answers, but I know bull**** when I see it.
 
Why work to solve the problem in any meaningful way, when you can just shift it somewhere else?

Which is exactly what these laws are designed to do.

Another glorious day in the land of the free and the home of the brave.


One of the rare times I agree with you.
 
As harsh as it may sound... these laws are a good thing. They help keep cities cleaner and protect public space.

To solve homelessness there has to be mental health treatment. Nearly any homeless person is going to qualify for state aid, many of them essentially "choose" a life of homelessness due to crippling mental illness or drug addiction/substance abuse. I've volunteered to help homeless populations for over a decade and my father used to be the CEO for a local rescue mission, many of them have no idea what resources are out there for them or they genuinely want to live a life of being high/drunk all the time and don't want anyone changing that.
 
As harsh as it may sound... these laws are a good thing. They help keep cities cleaner and protect public space.

To solve homelessness there has to be mental health treatment. Nearly any homeless person is going to qualify for state aid, many of them essentially "choose" a life of homelessness due to crippling mental illness or drug addiction/substance abuse. I've volunteered to help homeless populations for over a decade and my father used to be the CEO for a local rescue mission, many of them have no idea what resources are out there for them or they genuinely want to live a life of being high/drunk all the time and don't want anyone changing that.

So in other words, you want to "criminalize" mental illness? Your post makes no logical sense Digs. You say you support these laws because although "harsh...they are a good thing"....but then go on to rightfully discuss how we desperately need mental health treatment.

How can you justify criminalizing "mental illness"?
 
Why work to solve the problem in any meaningful way, when you can just shift it somewhere else?

Which is exactly what these laws are designed to do.

Another glorious day in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Because my community shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of a wider problem. If these homeless people could go nowhere without getting arrested they would seek help for their problems. The homeless refuse to seek help becuase they're either addicted and haven't hit bottom yet or are mentally ill
 
A new report says cities nationwide are enacting more policies that criminalize homelessness.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty said Tuesday many cities have banned living in vehicles, camping in public areas and panhandling.

The center says policies that criminalize homelessness harm communities because they create barriers to employment, housing and education.
Report: Cities nationwide enacting more policies to criminalize homelessness - CBS News

How stupid. :roll:

20% of homeless are mentally ill.
A majority have addiction disorders.
Many are fleeing domestic violence.
Many can't afford housing.
Public assistance has gone down.

Perhaps helping these people, instead of ARRESTING THEM, would be the best thing morally and for America.
 
Name that "meaningful way".

At least a few cities are implementing programs where vacant housing is used to house homeless people. Highly supervised, it has good benefits.
 
A new report says cities nationwide are enacting more policies that criminalize homelessness.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty said Tuesday many cities have banned living in vehicles, camping in public areas and panhandling.

The center says policies that criminalize homelessness harm communities because they create barriers to employment, housing and education.
Report: Cities nationwide enacting more policies to criminalize homelessness - CBS News

We have an organization called PADS in suburban Chicago. Dinner, a packed lunch, a safe place to sleep for the night. Then out and on to the next location which might be ten miles away. I don't hear anything about neighborhood complaints because they don't loiter much. In cold weather, Tom will often pick up one or two and drive them to the location in our neighborhood when it's that church's turn.

I often think about creating tiny-tiny-house areas for these unfortunates. A home base. Shelter from the elements. Privacy, thus safety. Many of these people have no family, are drug addiction, mentally ill, sick-can't-work. Seems like we as a society could do more -- for less.

America First.
 
It is easy to complain about how we should "solve the problem." But overburdened (see wasteful spending) local governments aren't going to be able to afford "solving" the mental illness, addictions, and other problems that come along with the issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
There is only one solution to this problem.

ARM THE HOMELESS!
 
There is only one solution to this problem.

ARM THE HOMELESS!

What's arming them going to do? Not much to hunt in cities. Except maybe rats. I hear rat burgers are tasty. But in the end they'd probably just pawn the guns off so it'd be a wasted effort.

Oh wait....that was a dig at pro-2nd Amendment supporters wasn't it?

......Lame.
 
A new report says cities nationwide are enacting more policies that criminalize homelessness.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty said Tuesday many cities have banned living in vehicles, camping in public areas and panhandling.

The center says policies that criminalize homelessness harm communities because they create barriers to employment, housing and education.
Report: Cities nationwide enacting more policies to criminalize homelessness - CBS News

The thing is, when welfare didn't exist, and homeless shelters were few and far between and people didn't get food stamps, government subsidies and help from the private class, people knew that the only one they could depend on was themselves and their family. So guess what - they did what they needed to do. They worked because if they didn't they didn't eat. They paid their bills for their home because if they didn't they had very few choices. Maybe some who took to alcohol and drugs ended up lost and unable to be helped, but by and large, people knew that there was no soft place to fall.

Homelessness isn't just because people don't have a choice, it is now a choice they make because it is easier / simpler. I know this will offend some, but that is the truth. Take a ride to downtown LA at dusk. All of these families and individuals line up their sleeping bags on the side walks and begin to settle in for a long winters nap. Why? Why don't they make other choices? If they work, wouldn't it be better to come together with maybe two other families to live in a structure? It might be a tight squeeze, but doesn't that at least make more sense than sleeping on the sidewalk? People have also been allowed to do this in some of the more liberal cities in states with warm climates. So, the people don't worry as much about the elements. But, if they were banned from California or other places as a whole, would they not be more motivated to make different choices when the elements could in fact that their lives.

I think what I'm saying is which came first, the chicken or the egg. Are people homeless because they have no other choice, or because they are allowed to have the choice to be homeless are they thus homeless? If we take that choice away or make it more difficult would that maybe deter people from accepting this as a way of life?
 
The thing is, when welfare didn't exist, and homeless shelters were few and far between and people didn't get food stamps, government subsidies and help from the private class, people knew that the only one they could depend on was themselves and their family. So guess what - they did what they needed to do. They worked because if they didn't they didn't eat. They paid their bills for their home because if they didn't they had very few choices. Maybe some who took to alcohol and drugs ended up lost and unable to be helped, but by and large, people knew that there was no soft place to fall.

Homelessness isn't just because people don't have a choice, it is now a choice they make because it is easier / simpler. I know this will offend some, but that is the truth. Take a ride to downtown LA at dusk. All of these families and individuals line up their sleeping bags on the side walks and begin to settle in for a long winters nap. Why? Why don't they make other choices? If they work, wouldn't it be better to come together with maybe two other families to live in a structure? It might be a tight squeeze, but doesn't that at least make more sense than sleeping on the sidewalk? People have also been allowed to do this in some of the more liberal cities in states with warm climates. So, the people don't worry as much about the elements. But, if they were banned from California or other places as a whole, would they not be more motivated to make different choices when the elements could in fact that their lives.

I think what I'm saying is which came first, the chicken or the egg. Are people homeless because they have no other choice, or because they are allowed to have the choice to be homeless are they thus homeless? If we take that choice away or make it more difficult would that maybe deter people from accepting this as a way of life?

Stellar post! :thumbs:

When I was a young boy and young adult, the only people I saw sleeping on the streets were winos.

The biggest blame on homelessness, can be attributed to the liberal Democrats and their ****ty policies.....starting way back in the mid 60s....The Demos created the Nanny State to have everyone beholden to them and for them to maintain control.

Conservatives, especially gun owners, threw a monkey wrench into the works ....and now the Silent Majority has spoken, which is exactly what I said would happen, on this forum.....about 3 months ago.

Global warming and climate change...is all about Control!

Gun Control is all about Control!

Homelessness is all about Control!

Encouraging illegal law breakers to vote and seek out safe zones and defy Federal law, is all about Control!


Allowing children to protest a legitimate election and disrespect our country, is all about Control!
 
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What's arming them going to do? Not much to hunt in cities. Except maybe rats. I hear rat burgers are tasty. But in the end they'd probably just pawn the guns off so it'd be a wasted effort.

Oh wait....that was a dig at pro-2nd Amendment supporters wasn't it?

......Lame.

You speak much truth. I was jammin' wit ya til the end.

I am the 2nd. I do not dig at myself.
 
We have an organization called PADS in suburban Chicago. Dinner, a packed lunch, a safe place to sleep for the night. Then out and on to the next location which might be ten miles away. I don't hear anything about neighborhood complaints because they don't loiter much. In cold weather, Tom will often pick up one or two and drive them to the location in our neighborhood when it's that church's turn.

I often think about creating tiny-tiny-house areas for these unfortunates. A home base. Shelter from the elements. Privacy, thus safety. Many of these people have no family, are drug addiction, mentally ill, sick-can't-work. Seems like we as a society could do more -- for less.

America First.

Oof. Even though I know PADS makes things easier for homeless people than it might otherwise be, that's still unbelievably sad. As to your last comment, "Seems like we as a society could do more -- for less," that may actually be true:

It’s cheaper to give homeless men and women a permanent place to live than to leave them on the streets.

That’s according to a study of an apartment complex for formerly homeless people in Charlotte, N.C., that found drastic savings on health care costs and incarceration.

Moore Place houses 85 chronically homeless adults, and was the subject of a study by the University of North Carolina Charlotte released on Monday. The study found that, in its first year, Moore Place tenants saved $1.8 million in health care costs, with 447 fewer emergency room visits (a 78 percent reduction) and 372 fewer days in the hospital (a 79 percent reduction).

The tenants also spent 84 percent fewer days in jail, with a 78 percent drop in arrests. The reduction is largely due to a decrease in crimes related to homelessness, such as trespassing, loitering, public urination, begging and public consumption of alcohol, according to Caroline Chambre, director the Urban Ministry Center’s HousingWorks, the main force behind Moore Place.

One tenant, Carl Caldwell, 62, said he used to go to the emergency room five to seven times a week, late at night, so he could spend the night there. “You wouldn’t believe my hospital bills,” Caldwell, who hasn’t had health insurance for years, told The Huffington Post. Caldwell was a teacher for 30 years and became homeless five years ago, when he lost his job and his roommate moved out.

Housing The Homeless Not Only Saves Lives -- It's Actually Cheaper Than Doing Nothing | The Huffington Post

Unfortunately, I believe the majority of the nation would reel at the idea of providing free housing to the homeless simply out of principle.
 
As harsh as it may sound... these laws are a good thing. They help keep cities cleaner and protect public space.

Which of course is of utmost importance lol

they genuinely want to live a life of being high/drunk all the time and don't want anyone changing that.

Have you ever talked to a homeless person in your life
 
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The thing is, when welfare didn't exist, and homeless shelters were few and far between and people didn't get food stamps, government subsidies and help from the private class, people knew that the only one they could depend on was themselves and their family. So guess what - they did what they needed to do. They worked because if they didn't they didn't eat. They paid their bills for their home because if they didn't they had very few choices. Maybe some who took to alcohol and drugs ended up lost and unable to be helped, but by and large, people knew that there was no soft place to fall.

Homelessness isn't just because people don't have a choice, it is now a choice they make because it is easier / simpler. I know this will offend some, but that is the truth. Take a ride to downtown LA at dusk. All of these families and individuals line up their sleeping bags on the side walks and begin to settle in for a long winters nap. Why? Why don't they make other choices? If they work, wouldn't it be better to come together with maybe two other families to live in a structure? It might be a tight squeeze, but doesn't that at least make more sense than sleeping on the sidewalk? People have also been allowed to do this in some of the more liberal cities in states with warm climates. So, the people don't worry as much about the elements. But, if they were banned from California or other places as a whole, would they not be more motivated to make different choices when the elements could in fact that their lives.

I think what I'm saying is which came first, the chicken or the egg. Are people homeless because they have no other choice, or because they are allowed to have the choice to be homeless are they thus homeless? If we take that choice away or make it more difficult would that maybe deter people from accepting this as a way of life?
Are you entirely disconnected from the reality of the very poor? the obscene cost of rent?

you don't as a homeless person just "go out and work" it's hard enough for people who are in my position to get work
 
It is easy to complain about how we should "solve the problem." But overburdened (see wasteful spending) local governments aren't going to be able to afford "solving" the mental illness, addictions, and other problems that come along with the issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Then they need to be provide with the means to deal with it, that is they really want to help resolve the problem.
 
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