Re-read what I said.
A way to reduce homeless drug problem in my area?
- Thread starter Finklejag
- Start date
As the economist Thomas Sowell says, "There are no answers only tradeoffs." Sometimes helping the wrong way is actually hurting.
In my area.
1.Schools don't teach auto shop,welding,cooking etc any more.
2. Many kids today refuse to get a driver's license. Our public transportation is pretty useless here.
3. There's about 10000 businesses here.
4. There is over 300000 people.
To start with,
there are definitely different types of people on the street.
I won't say homeless because I don't want to put people in a category like that.
You have different types of individuals that are afflicted with different problems whether it be physical, mental or jobless with no place to live.
Here in California with our poorly managed state, our taxes are used for food lines and very weak shelters at best.
The problem continues because of a lot of reasons, most look mentally Disturbed or have drug problems.
That seems to be the same wherever I see vagrant encampments.
One thing I will say is that to solve a problem we need to look at the root cause and not put a Band-Aid on it. Portland has drugs, California has drugs,
This seems to be allowed?
I'm not a teetotaler, but I will tell you that when you intoxicate a mind you also take away a lot of the drive that; that individual possesses to be successful in life and also reduce the want to be successful.
These are just my observations of living close to this element.
there are definitely different types of people on the street.
I won't say homeless because I don't want to put people in a category like that.
You have different types of individuals that are afflicted with different problems whether it be physical, mental or jobless with no place to live.
Here in California with our poorly managed state, our taxes are used for food lines and very weak shelters at best.
The problem continues because of a lot of reasons, most look mentally Disturbed or have drug problems.
That seems to be the same wherever I see vagrant encampments.
One thing I will say is that to solve a problem we need to look at the root cause and not put a Band-Aid on it. Portland has drugs, California has drugs,
This seems to be allowed?
I'm not a teetotaler, but I will tell you that when you intoxicate a mind you also take away a lot of the drive that; that individual possesses to be successful in life and also reduce the want to be successful.
These are just my observations of living close to this element.
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2022
- Messages
- 1,545
One can study what Mississippi has done, or replicate what Finland does. It's not a rocket surgery.
But no one cares.
Yes here in California it can get very political but there are homeless shelters being built and a few that exist. One thing I have noticed from talking to people that volunteer and operate the shelters and food lines is; if the person doesn't want to be helped they continue on the way that suits them best. And that is a big problem because we have an abundance of criminal element that are also addicted and mental. You can't help them if they don't want to be helped so the other solution is to incarcerate them when they get caught. Which adds more of a problem to our system and taxes. So we have a new problem of law enforcement to just look the other way unless there's a crime, then it's too late.
I don't have a dog in this fight, but I've seen this "drug, alcohol or mental illness" thing a few times in the thread.
Often the drug and/or alcohol issues are a symptom of the mental illness. Being unable or unwilling to access assistance, self medication with drugs and/or alcohol seems to be a coping strategy.
Back to the mud slinging.
I think the friendly dictatorship that runs bob has taken a speak softly but carry a big stick methodology,
Considering the current rather unprecedented times we live in
they appear to be allowing some brief political adjacent discussion as long as people aren’t biting each others heads off but will pull the plug at any time as it’s not on topic.
Yes, pretty common to have choose 1 or more but the reality is that many homeless people (a majority in most of the country) are invisible working even raising families in abject poverty while NOT being the stereotypical meth head insane person.
The fact that our countries solution to mental illness is mostly you figure it out, self medicate and live in the streets tells volumes.
Lots of evidence our approach of throwing people away costs a massive amount of money far beyond the thankless job of trying to deal with the problem in a useful way.
Ah well, unlikely we will make any progress on this issue in my lifetime but you never know.
Just for clarity sake, the data I've seen suggests about just under 25% of people on the street have a serious mental illness... and yes, many of them self medicate with street drugs. Many prefer not to use psychiatric drugs as they don't like the effects which can include sedation, impotence and low libido among other things.
I think that one cause of increased homelessness is the breakdown in family formation and cohesion. Way more people live alone now, and people in general have fewer attached family members to help them in times of crisis.
Vote.
There are also people that get into financial hardship with no safety net. There seem to be social services, but it's not always enough. Many people living paycheck to paycheck and if they get laid off and don't have emergency savings... Not good. From my observations, those types of people are not causing issues and are not the topic of this thread.
There is a current controversy in Toms River, NJ going on. Jon Bon Jovi has a soup kitchen near a public library and people are complaining about the homeless congregating near the library.
I'm "friends" with a homeless guy in Vegas. I go to Vegas once or twice a year and started to encounter the same guy and stuck up a conversation with him. He told me he was married until his wife kicked him out for using drugs. He moved in with his sister until she kicked him out for using drugs. And that put him on the streets. He didn't seem to mind it all that much.
There are also people that get into financial hardship with no safety net. There seem to be social services, but it's not always enough. Many people living paycheck to paycheck and if they get laid off and don't have emergency savings... Not good. From my observations, those types of people are not causing issues and are not the topic of this thread.
There is a current controversy in Toms River, NJ going on. Jon Bon Jovi has a soup kitchen near a public library and people are complaining about the homeless congregating near the library.
Since drugs seem to be a common theme among homeless, common sense says stop the flow of drugs. The war on drugs has failed, so do we give up, or change strategy and generals?
Hardcore changes would be needed, and probably a shock for most of the public who would think the cure is worse than the disease.
Hardcore changes would be needed, and probably a shock for most of the public who would think the cure is worse than the disease.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
Unless you get the majority of the homeless off of alcohol and drugs then treat whatever mental illness they have nothing will fix this. I've worked hospital security for two years and it's the same thing. Homeless person gets brought in, physician asks how much they've had to drink. The reply is usually "Not much, half bottle of vodka, couple of shooters, I'm fine." Then throw in drugs laced with who knows what and there you go.
I belive we should charge for every glass or plastic bottle and can. Force recycling. A logisticle nightmare yes. I recall what the neighborhoods looked like before the bottle bill. One has nearly zero effect on the other. It may be perhaps be at or near the bottom of the list of many. It is sad as most times its a mental health issue. I knew someone that lived on the street years ago. He just cold not function at a job.
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
Philippines' Duterte admits to drug war 'death squad'
Here is an article on the ICC charges against former Philippines preseident Duterte.
President Duterte has been charged with crimes against humanity by the ICC, for his war on "drug dealers". Interesting, the Philippines is not a member nation of the ICC, so it is akward at best Duterte was extredited to the Hague.
What is most notible in all of this, the worldwide press condemed Duterte during his presidency for his war on drug dealers. The press on a MACRO basis never condemed the drug dealers.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, MOST LIVING ON $300 USD A MONTH, REPORTED AT A OVERWHELMING HIGH PERCENTAGE, FEELING SAFE THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIFE, AS THE WAR ON DRUG DEALERS STOPPED THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUNG ADULTS BEING ADDICTED TO DRUGS, AND THE CRIME, OFTEN VIOLENT, THAT GOES HAND IN HAND WITH ILLEGAL DRUG SALES, AND USAGE.
If 79 year old former President Duterte would run again for Philippines President today (He can't due to term limits), without question he would win in a landslide. Amazing how eliminating the crime that goes with illegal drug transactions, and significantly reduced young people being addicated to drugs, made an entire nation feel sginificantly safer.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cev9g1ez2d2o
If people have a pertinacity for drugs,alcohol and gambling. The best families don't mean anything. Just chasing a dream or the next high. Grandson 29 died from heroin and fentanyl after 30 day rehab within 24 hours. Grew up with his mother, younger brother and sister in in my house and grandmother. Senior year HS started running with the wrong crowd. Downhill from there. Had a decent job for over two years and job sent him to rehab. Rented a room with a friends family paided his rent and car payment.
Unfortunately, you are all too correct, but a family structure can help in some cases.
Our family has a similar story. A cousin in law's kid got hooked on oxy then switched to heroin. He went to live with an aunt in the middle of nowhere for a year to get clean. Came back and moved in with his grandparents to be near his infant son. He made it for a couple of weeks before his grandfather found him dead of an overdose.
May I ask where was his father ?
Similar threads
