Ending Chronic Homelessness

[danbrotherston]

Would you rather those people who are experiencing homelessness to be wandering the streets looking for some place to stay warm, potentially starting fires in abandoned buildings which could cause even more harm? Freezing to death on the sidewalk? Litt is providing these people who are just as much of a member of society as you and I a place to live, a place they can call home temporarily, my job allows me to have frequent encounters with those who are homeless and yes you have those who are eccentric, but you also have the ones who just got dealt a bad hand in life that put them into homelessness and are just trying to get their lives back together. You are blatantly stereotyping all of those who are using the emergency shelter system as those who are eccentric while many are not which shows the privilege you have since you can refer to them as "Chaos". Obviously the people living there will not be there forever as it will be developed in the coming years by Litt but in the meantime it is something that just has to be dealt with.

I wouldn't say Litt disgusts me, because he is presumably acting with good intentions. But I wouldn't wish my downtown experiences on any other neighbourhood in the city, and so it's easy for me to see why someone would draw a line to those who are making that happen. I think a lot of shouting past each other happens here, because so many type of people get blanketed under homeless. While I'm sure there are some people who do, the vast majority of people have no problem with homeless people in and of themselves. People have a problem with violent people, criminals, extremely mentally ill people, and people with severe drug addictions. Many on this forum don't seem to understand how quickly you lose any compassion for those who have no compassion, respect, or care in the world for you. Many on this forum don't seem to understand the lasting psychological toll they take on you. Chaos is an apt word.

It's fair to suggest that wanting them to just "go away" isn't a valid solution, but suggesting to people who no longer feel safe in their neighbourhood or even homes that they should just put up with it is what lacks compassion to me.

An often missing point of view that I think gets lost in the crossfire, is that the vast majority of homeless people who do not fall into this category are forced into close proximity and sharing resources with these "bad" people. They are suffering from far greater safety concerns and far more extreme psychological stress than the general public, just so we can say we are "compassionate".

"I don't have a problem with the good homeless people" is one of those good sounding but problematic statements because it ascribes intrinsic motivations to things which are often extrinsic. If I didn't have money for my next meal, and I am living on the street starving, and I see the opportunity, I'm am going to steal to keep myself alive. Anyone who doesn't accept that about themselves is, frankly, lying to themselves.

I think it's likely that most of us would also do drugs if we're living on the street, in a freezing tent with an empty stomach....someone offers us something to give us relief from this horrific and unending situation...I think a lot more of us would take that than we'd admit to ourselves.

So to say "these people are bad, and I hate them, but homeless people who aren't bad I don't hate" leaves aside the fact that the fact that people are homeless influences their behaviour.

But I completely agree with the rest. It is an intolerable situation, obviously much worse for some, but not a good solution for anyone. What I will say is that I've had a number personal items stolen from me, and that does not feel good, but I also put belongings well below the importance of safety and health of people, and I really don't think everyone does.