I’ve worked helping homeless people in the past on many occasions, had friends whos family members were homeless, had homeless friends, and had even been homeless myself for a small amount of time. There are a lot of people that are homeless through no fault of their own, there are people that are homeless because of drug abuse (which perpetuates the cycle). Both of these people need more access to the help that can be provided to them, but I mainly wanted to talk about a third category of homelessness: People that are homeless by choice.
People that are homeless by choice have told me that they enjoy the lifestyle and enjoy the freedom that it brings despite the negatives. They actively rejected help from people and expressed their desires to me to intend living that lifestyle forever. While I think every person has the right to live their own life the way they see fit, homelessness often has negatives to the people that aren’t homeless. Feces and needles in the streets, breaking and entering into homes, garages, sheds, vandalizing and burning them down in the process. Of course all homeless people aren’t like that but the point still remains: a healthy society generally doesn’t have homeless people. How do you achieve a balance to allow the people whom are homeless by choice to live in a way they see fit while also minimizing the perceived issues of homelessness? What are your thoughts on homeless people?
I ask these questions in good faith and I hope you also do the same. Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.
- pancake ( @pancake@lemmy.ml ) 3•2 years ago
Public restrooms and safe injection rooms are a good start; here it seems to work. Also, do people who are homeless by choice have the same behaviors or needs as the other two groups, statistically? That would be interesting to research…
Public restrooms and safe injection rooms are a good start; here it seems to work.
I am happy to hear that it those solutions work in your area, but I have also have vivid memories of seeing a homeless man shitting 15ft away from a public restroom that was clean and accessible. Not to mention how filthy restrooms visited by the homeless are. Obviously not saying that more public restrooms aren’t worth building, just saying that sometimes solutions are unfortunately more nuanced than just throwing more money for public services.
Also, do people who are homeless by choice have the same behaviors or needs as the other two groups, statistically? That would be interesting to research
That would be very interesting to research. From my experience talking with them directly, they seem to be more nomadic whereas people that are homeless through no fault of their own will tend to stay in the city they grew up it, or became homeless in.
Thank you for your comment.
- Gaywallet (they/it) ( @Gaywallet@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years ago
just saying that sometimes solutions are unfortunately more nuanced than just throwing more money for public services.
Either you pony up the resources to help people or you deal with seeing them shit in the streets or making public restrooms ‘filthy’. Even for the ones you do reach, there will be some who are not willing to change their behavior, which means you get to decide as a member of society how much it’s worth to have public restrooms clean - is it worth employing more staff to clean these restrooms more often (or hopefully, more robust infrastructure that can self-clean or can be cleaned by robots or is more resistant to becoming ‘filthy’). Unfortunately there isn’t some magic pill that solves everything for free. Fortunately there are an absurd amount of resources in the world, and this is absolutely something that can be solved.
- krolden ( @krolden@lemmy.ml ) 0•2 years ago
That sounds more like they have mental health issues that they probably can’t get good care for. Whatever state asylum they’d be put in is probably a lot worse than the bridge they could be living under.
- pingveno ( @pingveno@lemmy.ml ) 1•2 years ago
Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ve had trouble here recently with pedestrian fatalities among homeless people. Mental illness was a factor in some, but far from all, of those cases. A half-decent mental health facility would at least be favorable to death.
- jackalope ( @jackalope@lemmy.ml ) 2•2 years ago
Before the entire earth had been settled, a person could be a vagrant and simply go and live out in the wild. I could see this being acceptable if that’s what people want. Hermits have a long history in human society. As long as they aren’t hurting anyone I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed the space they want to camp.
I agree 100%. I was just wondering how to balance their ability to live their lifestyle and the public’s generally negative perception of them.
- krolden ( @krolden@lemmy.ml ) 2•2 years ago
Leave them be and put up more public toilets and clean injection sites.
- greensand ( @greensand@lemmy.ml ) 1•2 years ago
I’d rather ask what the homeless do with a society that is unwelcoming to people who choose not to grind in the treadmill of capitalism
“He who does not work shall not eat” ~Vladimir Lenin
- art ( @arthur@lemmy.ml ) 0•2 years ago
We need to stop being angry that people choose a lifestyle that’s different from our own. People who choose to be homeless are a fraction of a fraction. Let them.
I’m not angry at them. I think the people that I’ve met living this lifestyle are some of the interesting and welcoming people I’ve ever met. I just think that is a negative perception among the general population to the small amount of people who voluntarily live that lifestyle. My question I asked was how to achieve a balance that allows people to live homeless by choice while also minimizing the perceived issues of homelessness that it pervasive among the general population.
- lobsterasteroid ( @lobsterasteroid@lemmy.ml ) 0•2 years ago
You ask what “society” does with “homeless people” as though “homeless people” aren’t part of “society”
You make a point. Thank you for your comment.
- MerchantsOfMisery ( @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml ) 0•2 years ago
Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t interpret the title that way at all.
- lobsterasteroid ( @lobsterasteroid@lemmy.ml ) 0•2 years ago
There are political premises embedded in the framing. It’s an intractable question up until you ask homeless people. Dehumanization and exclusion of homeless people from discussions of how to help them are the norm.
- MerchantsOfMisery ( @MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml ) 1•2 years ago
You can perceive it that way, but all I’m saying is that I didn’t perceive the title as being framed in a way that implies homeless people aren’t a part of society. I perceived it as quite clearly a question that obviously implied homeless people are a part of society.
I think notion that this question inherently implies that homeless people aren’t part of society is… pretty presumptive. @beansniffer@lemmy.ml , when you wrote this question did you have it in your head that homeless people aren’t part of society? Because reading your question didn’t at all make me feel like your question assumed homeless people aren’t part of society.
- sexy_peach ( @sexy_peach@feddit.de ) 0•2 years ago
Ask them what they want and need. Also ask people studying this topic and people with on the ground experience like social workers what people might need.