Just another day in Rural Western Washington

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

The alternatives are never better when it come to the homeless. Most homeless are okay with their life style and drug, alcohol abuse and begging on the streets and government handouts to supplement their use.

I might be OK with them being OK with it, if it wasn't for the crime and theft, and the blight on public spaces or any space that doesn't belong to them.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

I’m not sure that explains everybody who has gotten themselves addicted to these drugs, I think it’s a lot more complicated than that, but even if what you say about no normal life to return to is true, so what are we do about it?

We need to reverse the trend of many more people falling into homelessness and addiction than manage to climb out of it. If not, we are on our way to becoming India.

Note: Not every homeless person is an addict and not every addict is homeless. Being one, however, is highly conducive to becoming the other.

If homelessness is a "pit" that few can climb out of, then it will simply get worse and worse. The "liberal" solution that we can provide housing for each and every one and just "helicopter" them out is a delusion. But so is the "conservative" solution of "un-benign neglect," cordoning them off and leaving them to rot and die (turning the "pit" into a "mass grave").

Better is to let down "ladders" so that those who can still lift themselves up can, with effort, climb out. Some, unable to help themselves, might be pulled up with ropes or "air-lifted" out.

[rodentraiser]

Everyone has their comfort zone and it's incredibly hard to move out of it. Believe it or not, for many homeless people, the way they live is their comfort zone. It's as hard for them to break out of it as it would be for someone living in 2024 to go back to living in 1790 without our 21st century improvements.

For instance, think about picking up and moving 1000 miles away from where you are now, where you'll be living in a new place and starting a new job and you don't know one single person where you're moving to. And you'd be someone who has support behind you, a family maybe, or money, or someplace to fall back on if you get homesick and tired. And you don't have the crutch of being drug addicted or of being an alcoholic. That's what it's like going out of your comfort zone.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

For instance, think about picking up and moving 1000 miles away from where you are now, where you'll be living in a new place and starting a new job and you don't know one single person where you're moving to. And you'd be someone who has support behind you, a family maybe, or money, or someplace to fall back on if you get homesick and tired. And you don't have the crutch of being drug addicted or of being an alcoholic. That's what it's like going out of your comfort zone.

Been there. Done that. No family support, no money. And I'm not exceptional, there are plenty like me.

[jabogitlu]

Well CalWorth, it sounds like if you ever become addicted to fentanyl, you will have yourself in good hands.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Well CalWorth, it sounds like if you ever become addicted to fentanyl, you will have yourself in good hands.

I am assuming that is a sick joke.

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by CalWorth

Been there. Done that. No family support, no money. And I'm not exceptional, there are plenty like me.

So have I - three times now. But maybe you should ask around. There aren't many people doing that or even willing to do that. It's pretty much a desperation tactic.

[CalWorth]

Yesterday a grocery employee told me that a homeless came into the store & stole whipped cream to huff...twice. Just another day.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

Get with the program... 'houseless guy' you should know the left is now calling them 'person without a home'.
But since the Jamestown tribe constructed a drug treatment center in Sequim the 'persons without a home' (AKA homeless) population has exploded. Beggars on a lot of street corners right next to shops with 'help wanted signs' in their windows.

I think the term you're looking for is "unhoused" - and it's not a "leftist" term, it's a more accurate one. A home is an abstract concept, whereas a house/dwelling is a physical entity.

But your comment here kinda explains the stupid comments you made about libraries on the other thread. Someone who doesn't value community services, or even know what libraries provide (or what professional librarians do, for that matter), would also not value humanity in this manner. Quelle suprise! I bet you hate that we welcome the unhoused, and don't treat them any better or worse than our other patrons.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by CalWorth

Yesterday a grocery employee told me that a homeless came into the store & stole whipped cream to huff...twice. Just another day.

"a homeless" - you forgot the word "person/human." Intentional or no?

Funny, I did that when I was a teenager. And I was from a rich family. Go figure.