One of the largest issues we face in coming up with a plan is accurate information. Homelessness data is usually tracked via "Point in Time" data collection which is people just guessing how many homeless people exist in an area based on actual physical counts or reports by community service/law enforcement or homeless advocacy groups and the other method is "Volunteer School Reporting" meaning school outreach groups who request people to fill out volunteer forms indicating if they are homeless or not.
Both ways of counting are highly inaccurate and are scrutinized by every major research organization for not only the data collection process but the people who may have political/social or funding bias when collecting that data; yet so much content and material is produced based on these flawed numbers.
Point in time is absurd because you are relying on multiple agencies to provide accurate information and you are hoping that they do not over or under exaggerate and the actual on the ground data collection is marred by the simple fact that homeless people are not going to provide identification nor are they going to really tell you exactly where they came from and how they got there. It always makes me laugh when I see people that KNOW it is true or not true that people travel to the West Coast to be homeless. No one actually knows... Follow the research methods and you will be surprised that it is literally people guessing and asking mostly mentally unhealthy people where they are from and they arent going to tell you anywhere they are afraid to be sent back too. If you were homeless and being harassed by the police do you think you are going to tell them you arent from around there and be potentially sent back across states if you may or may not have warrants out for you ? I dont think so.
Volunteer school reporting is also flawed because generally speaking when you see a high level of homelessness you see a high level of truancy in schools. Not to mention that so many kids that experience homelessness (me being one of them in my past) do not experience it year around and they will occasionally live one place, be homeless, live another place etc so its difficult to use this data for any reliable number.
With all that being said - the solution to this problem offends both sides of the debate and no one really wants to do the hard pragmatic thing and the solution is large and painful but it is a pretty simple solution.
1/ Provide drug and mental health rehabilitation services in a capacity that can serve the known homeless population in the area or at least the best guessed. Provide housing and rehab in a varied institutional level. Teach self sufficiency and require a form of work through community service, employment training or work place location programs.
2/ Criminalize homelessness. This is the part that makes everyone cringe but this is the only way to do it. If someone does not want to be in a safe institution to get free rehab and employment resources they are a danger to society.
Ahh... but that second part... That second part that is going to get the downvotes is the problem. It is the solution but it is the problem isnt it.
You are extremely right about the PIT count. As someone whose participated, you can't just walk up to someone at 7-11 and ask if they're homeless lest you wanna get socked in the face lol. It's extremely undercooked.
I don't agree with criminalization of anything, really, I'm in favor of rehabilitation (I don't advocate for letting violent/sex offenders roam the streets but I also think or criminal justice system is garbage). BUT, like in Finland, if we had extremely robust systems for everyone that promote harm reduction and prevention, then I could compromise with that and then move on to find a better solution. Or, instead of jail, make people go to rehab or some facility that was therapeutic at least. Still not something I would feel GREAT about but if that was the only way to get people to agree to more radical ideas about community health I'd do it
The criminalization part is the only way the "problem" is taken care of. If we had institutions that could house people that provided healthcare, food, shelter, education, training and all the other aspects of rehab it would be much easier to convince the taxpayer who is going to be footing the bill for all these services to say hey - "This is our social contract- you pay for this and there will be no homeless people" . You would have a far better chance of appeasing the tax payers and actually getting a larger system in place that would tackle the problem. The problem always is there are people who simply do not want to get clean, who do not want get medical and psychological treatment and literally the only way to do that is by force. People who are suffering from mental instability and mental health issues are AFFRAID of assistance in many cases as part of their disorder.
Its uncomfortable, I know but we will simply never get universal agreement and the desire to PAY for it if we dont all agree that we do not want homeless people sleeping outside regardless if they choose to or not.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, especially as a step to getting to an ideal society; there are people who we have failed beyond the ability to help, but putting structures in place that the majority benefit now and later would hopefully ensure that crime as we see it wouldn't exist. Or would on such a scale that it wouldn't be a problem.
I agree that is why the first step is putting up the money for valuable institutions that actually do the things we need for rehabilitation. There are really two "types" of homeless people and it never helps when the discussion is its one or way or the other way but there are people who truly are just down on their luck and need housing and need services and need all those things then there are people who truly do not care and have zero desire to be a healthy part of society. I have a lot of experience with the "homeless pandemic" from being homeless myself a few times growing up to working in security dealing with homeless people directly on the street and at the management level within security and also as a volunteer.
The people that generally "cause a problem" the violent, the ones breaking into peoples homes, stealing bikes, openly doing drugs, begging etc are generally the ones that have zero desire to be a functioning member of society and the truth is we rarely even see the people who truly need the help so outward looking in most of society is going to see the transient that is trespassing on their property, digging through their trash cans etc and the families, women, children and men who are really utilizing services to get out of their situation or have some decent cling to the desire to get out of the situation are not really "representing" the problem so to speak so they go largely unseen.
I ve been assaulted by homeless people, stabbed at, bitten and even had a few bottles thrown at me working in security and while volunteering and Im just not sure people truly understand what the problem is. There is this bigger wider population that is unseen and then there is the smaller population that is the loudest most obnoxious most violent that get the attention. That is why I think a two prong approach is necessary.
I think we definitely need some form of rehabilitation for people who are a danger to themselves and others if other strategies don't work, but for those that "just don't want to change", there are underlying reasons for that and that's a piece that Id like to address (clarifying that this doesnt mean let people just do their things and stay on the street to harm others).And I am always, always going to give people a chance rather than just throwing them away. And when I say that, that doesn't mean sacrificing boundaries or not expecting accountability. I just don't believe that punishment, as a general rule, helps people change their ways. Sure for some it does, but if it was that effective recidivism rates wouldn't be so high. That's what is so frustrating about the whole conversation, is that if you are against a carceral state that you're a namby pamby and the conversation is shut down, instead of trying to figure out creative solutions that will protect everyone involved but give folks a chance, when they're ready, to trust larger society again and stop reenacting their trauma on others. that's what it is typically, when they start changing into more jaded, hardened folks who think their situation is what it is so they really sink into it.
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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '22
One of the largest issues we face in coming up with a plan is accurate information. Homelessness data is usually tracked via "Point in Time" data collection which is people just guessing how many homeless people exist in an area based on actual physical counts or reports by community service/law enforcement or homeless advocacy groups and the other method is "Volunteer School Reporting" meaning school outreach groups who request people to fill out volunteer forms indicating if they are homeless or not.
Both ways of counting are highly inaccurate and are scrutinized by every major research organization for not only the data collection process but the people who may have political/social or funding bias when collecting that data; yet so much content and material is produced based on these flawed numbers.
Point in time is absurd because you are relying on multiple agencies to provide accurate information and you are hoping that they do not over or under exaggerate and the actual on the ground data collection is marred by the simple fact that homeless people are not going to provide identification nor are they going to really tell you exactly where they came from and how they got there. It always makes me laugh when I see people that KNOW it is true or not true that people travel to the West Coast to be homeless. No one actually knows... Follow the research methods and you will be surprised that it is literally people guessing and asking mostly mentally unhealthy people where they are from and they arent going to tell you anywhere they are afraid to be sent back too. If you were homeless and being harassed by the police do you think you are going to tell them you arent from around there and be potentially sent back across states if you may or may not have warrants out for you ? I dont think so.
Volunteer school reporting is also flawed because generally speaking when you see a high level of homelessness you see a high level of truancy in schools. Not to mention that so many kids that experience homelessness (me being one of them in my past) do not experience it year around and they will occasionally live one place, be homeless, live another place etc so its difficult to use this data for any reliable number.
With all that being said - the solution to this problem offends both sides of the debate and no one really wants to do the hard pragmatic thing and the solution is large and painful but it is a pretty simple solution.
1/ Provide drug and mental health rehabilitation services in a capacity that can serve the known homeless population in the area or at least the best guessed. Provide housing and rehab in a varied institutional level. Teach self sufficiency and require a form of work through community service, employment training or work place location programs.
2/ Criminalize homelessness. This is the part that makes everyone cringe but this is the only way to do it. If someone does not want to be in a safe institution to get free rehab and employment resources they are a danger to society.
Ahh... but that second part... That second part that is going to get the downvotes is the problem. It is the solution but it is the problem isnt it.