Comments on: Why are there so many homeless people? Has the system failed?

By: Elise

Elise — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:33:08 +0000

I don’t know… I think that there are several reasons.
1. the addicts. I am pretty sure most of the perpetually homeless garbage diggers are mostly fine with their situation and would rather do that than live a normal life.
2. People forced in that situation due to various reasons (Like Beige Almighty up there) I do disagree because I believe that you can (and ms. almighty, I think that your family will) climb above. There are bad situations, and sometimes you have to resort to extreme measures, but you can pull out. Usually these types of homeless people aren’t homeless for long.
3. Permanantly homeless people that like to take advantage of the system because they don’t like to work.
I cannot STAND people like this. The other two types, I feel sorry for… but there is no excuse for this type of manipulation.

By: Beige Almighty - Goddess of Nada

Beige Almighty - Goddess of Nada — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:32:07 +0000

What city are you in? Here in Phoenix there isn’t anything that good for the homeless.

The shelters here are often worse to stay in than living on the streets: too many people, not enough beds (some beds placed under leaking pipes, others right near AC vents), people always sick and plenty of disease in the shelters so the healthy do not stay that way for long.

Could be that the homeless where you are do not know that there is anything positive available for them, and they are jaded from the great number of bad programs that they have tried and have been let down by.

There are also a great number of mentally ill people among thehomeless, people so far gone that they wouldn’t know what to do with a good deal if it came there way. Most of the homeless you meet with drug problems are mentally ill and self medicating, holding on to what little sanity they can in any way they can.

My husband and I were homeless for a couple of months last year. My husband was able to find a job, I am still trying. For housing help they paid half a month’s rent for a room at a SRO (single room occupancy – imagine a child sized bedroom with a two burner hotplate and a dorm fridge). They helped hubby get VA benefits but they couldn’t even get me on the public medical plan.

We took advantage of the few programs they offered to get us off the streets and out of the shelter, but with things the way they are if hubby gets laid off, we are back in the shelter or on the streets.

From the folks we met when we were on the streets it was obvious that the main reason why there are so many homeless is that once you get that far down, it can be almost impossible to climb back out again. Without a positive support system, it is impossible.

By: 7F

7F — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:49:31 +0000

I think is people that fail not the system.

Plus, our family relationships are not very strong. I’ve been in poor countries, and I have seen many poor people there, but none were homeless! They all had a family ,even if they don’t have much food or space.

By: darrinpate

darrinpate — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:26:43 +0000

A large percentage of homeless people have drug and alcohol problems. Those are making a personal choice. Many have mental health issues, but in the early ’80s patient funding was cut, and patients were thrown into the streets. These are the folks that deserve compassion.

By: chopper

chopper — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:01:15 +0000

I worked in Manhattan, and many of the the homeless people I saw there appeared to have mental problems. Maybe that’s part of it. How many of them even know about your program or have the capacity to make an informed judgment?

I’ve heard of NY case law saying that if people didn’t want to live in shelters, they had a right not to. But I don’t know whether that is true today.

By: target reynard

target reynard — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:49:26 +0000

yes the system is failing people…however i think youll always get homeless people!

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:57:30 +0000

I might sound cynical, but I live in SF and see the homeless problem day to day. Many homeless people are drunks or other addicts whose habits have bankrupt them and put them on the streets. The focus should be on rehabilitating those people. The answer is not get a job because the bulk of them could not hold even the lowest job because of their habits.

By: Craig C

Craig C — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:26:51 +0000

Yes the system has failed. It has been failing for 50 years. The only thing that the social welfare system in this country has done is breed more poverty by creating generations of people that are solely dependent on the government for everything. Look at your typical low income housing complex and you will see 3 generations of the same family living there. How is that helping? Helping is getting someone back on their feet so they can take care of and provide for themselves and their family. Helping is not doing everything for people so that they have no need or desire to take care of themselves.

By: IFiONLYhadAbrain

IFiONLYhadAbrain — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:16:57 +0000

homeless people are lazy slobs that are just satiusfied with the shithole excuse they have for a lif and they are not worth our tax dollars bc they cant get a job and contribute to this world like everyone else they choose to b that way bc they are probally addicts that couldnt keep their lives together its noones fault but their own..they probally should have graduated or went to college or hell even kept their job a micky d’s

By: Lord Charles

Lord Charles — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:56:46 +0000

There will always be some homeless people. Some choose to live their lives that way – you can’t force them to move into accommodation….no matter how important you might think it is.