I am addressing all of the participants of the discussion. Otherwise, it would be a reply, or a private message.
Why do you ask?
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Just wondering who you thought you were bitching out since you werenāt replying to anyone directly nor naming names.
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Did I say that I was bitching anyone out? And people say that my posts go off topic! At least I was talking about homelessness and shelter.
I will refer people to the BBSs own rules for flagging posts for moderation. I agree to those rules, regardless of whether anybody else does.
I will put the issue to bed by pointing out that I participate in the discussion because I am interested in the topic. I have experience being homeless, making shelters, and advocating for the rights of homeless people. If anybody has personal reasons why my input should be unwelcome, I am happy to discuss this in a civilized manner, either in topic or privately. What I do not feel compelled to entertain is reactionary passive-agressiveness resulting from peopleās disagreement with or disapproval of otherās ideas or opinions, as I think that would be detrimental to the discussion as a whole. I am recognizing a protocol for general civility, not getting personal.
So, on that note, I hope to see the topic become more topical.
Wow. Direct your rage elsewhere.
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SOā¦ Do any of you know of any municipalities where their homeless/anti-homeless programs have involved teaching homeless people useful skills? Especially like how to improvise shelters if they are cold? I learned a few such things in my scouting days, which I found quite useful, when I was in environments with harsh weather. Urban environments often have even more diverse materials laying about.
I have found it quite liberating that I could solve my exposure problems with a bit of ingenuity, rather than spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I bet that most of these charities which claim to help homeless people could probably afford structures like these even out of their administrative overhead:
ā¦or Hexayurt, or ECOnnect, or any number of inexpensive, open-source shelter solutions. It seems odd that there is apparently nothing like this happening, Most of the proposed āhelpā seems to involve integrating people into the typical rental/mortgage models of housing which are easily demonstrable as being both exorbitantly expensive and grossly inefficient.
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Although there is a distinct reactionary and libertarian bent to the above discussion, itās true that thereās a number of people who donāt want to participate in the rat race.
While opting out of capitalism is a moderately common reason many of the people Iāve met are homeless, theyāve all made it clear to me that the labyrinth of mortgages, coerced labor, social expectations, and money managing are the issue, not the presence of safe, clean shelter itself.
Just give people houses. Itās not that hard. Thereās more than enough to go around, just like food, water, and all the other necessities we artificially restrict in the name of a false meritocracy. People are and have worked hard for these things, through underpaid and unpaid labor. Itās not a handout, itās what theyāre owed, and it sounds entitled because people are entitled to it.
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One of the challenges is the [Housing First strategy] (http://homeless.samhsa.gov/channel/housing-first-447.aspx).
It was developed in response to the problem of asymmetric costs associated with āchronic homelessā people. Itās favored by HUD and ascended during the last Bush adminstration.
Itās actually defended (not by me) on the basis of evidence that the strategy is more efficient and less expensive.
It exerts an almost (ahem) hegemonic grip on Continuum of Care groups across the United States.
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Yes, thatās rather horrific. Thanks for the link. It confirms much of what I said a few posts back, that there is an institutional push to not only help people who are homeless, but to combat homelessness itself. Itās great that they claim to recognize a right to having a home, but awful that they deny the right of people to elect to not have a home.
This sort of rhetoric is part of the reason why I prefer the term ānomadicā to āhomelessā, but it seems to often confuse people.
Some lube might get that grip to moveā¦
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Okay though Iāve far, far more often observed the trend of characterizing people (parents) who very desperately want a home as people who choose not to have a home. So can we say both?
Itās also awful that Housing First in action too often resembles the Real Estate Developer Full Employment Act.
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Iām so sorry. Reagan was a disaster for this country, and weāre at a point where he seems positively moderate, which is fucking scary. And no one seems to care, because we have to be āfair and balancedāā¦ Itās BS.
Unfortunately, that would do nothing to fix the problem. The system is so self-perpetuating at this point, Iām having a hard time seeing a way out.
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The mental ill are now on the streets or in prisons. I donāt know what the answer is here.
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What are you, some sort of commie?!? /s
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Unfortunately, we canāt do that because that would be communism and thatās the worst thing everā¦ I mean, itās just fine to lynch people, deny people health care, and put mentally ill people in prison, because that protects capitalismā¦ but actually treat people like human beings, we canāt do that. Itās UNAMERICAN!!! /s
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I get the sense itās been a hard time for you right now. You are appreciated here, and Iām sure by many people IRL as well.
illegitimi non carborundum
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Unless, of course, I say something that some might considered bitchy.
Iām already ground down. We all are. Weāre at war and no one seems to care.
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I care. You donāt sayā¦ I canāt even defend using the word itself.
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Lots of people care. Just no one with the power to change things gives a shit.
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