Reply to What is with all the homeless tents in DC?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's not housing, it's not money. What is missing is the will to help the mentally ill who can't help themselves,  even if they don't want to get the needed help, because they are a danger to themselves and others. 
.[/quote]

+1. I’m a social worker who has worked with the homeless population and this point cannot be stressed enough. Yes there are homeless people who have just had bad luck and are working but can’t afford housing. These people are often “couch surfing”, living in their cars, etc. and can benefit from affordable housing, educational opportunities, and employment resources.

The chronically homeless people living in tent encampments are not these people. They generally are living with incapacitating mental health issues and often addiction. It would be expensive to institutionalize these people and provide them with necessary medications, healthcare, and treatment which is why the issue is avoided by politicians. It bothers me that politicians often tout “affordable housing” and “more jobs” as fixes for this issue.

[/quote]

Agreed.

Which is why allowing tent communities in densely populated areas is not the solution. These should absolutely be cleared out. There is one in Southeast DC under the 695 overpass on 6th street. It has grown quite a bit over the past year. Sidewalks are just not a place where people should be allowed to camp out. [/quote]

pp. I agree. But these encampments will continue to pop up until there is a major overhaul of how we address mental health and addiction. It is going to be expensive for major cities but it’s crucial. Personally, I am pro institutionalization and I do believe it to be the more humane approach. [/quote]

It needs to be addressed at the federal level. If it’s local or state then caring localities will get overrun by folks from Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps (but we love God) states who do nothing for their vunerable populations. Or worse, criminalize mental illness/addiction. This will never happen because too many people think that’s a GOVERNMENT HANDOUT, don’t raise my taxes to help those people. But of course our taxes are paying police to arrest them and prisons to jail.

This country has So. Much. Money. But we’d rather let Jeff Bezos burn it than tax him appropriately to make this a place where all of us feel safe.[/quote]

Most of the homeless camping behind my boyfriends workplace have money and get monthly checks.  They live in tents by choice. They don't want institutional housing.  Some are weather transient, i.e. they bike, yes bike to to the northeast in summer and then bike south for winter.
Generally they need simple assistance...not more money.  They borrow tools at my boyfriends workplace to sharpen their axes (for firewood.)
My boyfriend is also a emergency contact phone number for some of their families.[/quote]

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