Quote:
Originally Posted by sammyg2
Deep down, addicts don't really want help. They don't want to get off the streets, they don't want a home, they want DRUGS. That's all they care about.
And then they want more drugs.
Go ahead, try to change that.
Prove me wrong.
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In Portland, this describes about a third of the homeless, and many of those are criminals as well (street drug addiction and crime go together). Another third are mentally ill, in some cases their homelessness is due to the mental illness and in other cases their mental illness is caused by the homelessness. And another third are low-skill, low-functioning, and low-luck but basically "normal" people, some of them are actually working but still have to live out of their cars. These are, of course, very rough numbers.
The problem locally is that our politicians and the "homeless-industrial-complex" refuse to recognize that we have different types of homeless who need to be handled differently. Some need to be confined in drug treatment and/or prison, others need to be institutionalized in mental health facilities, and others need financial, housing and job help. Honestly, a lot of people are profiting from things being as bad as they are.
A depressing number of housed people are teetering on the edge of homelessness. I've mentioned our friend, the older widow whose greatest fear is becoming homeless at 76 y/o. The clerk at one of the convenience stores I go to was living in his car for years while working full time. Many of the guys who pick up trash in the business district where I work were homeless before they got the job. These folks, if they do end up on the street, won't be noticeable because they'll do their best to keep up appearances, move their car from place to place, find places to wash and do laundry, and try to find their way back among the housed.
In many way, the US is a competitive, demanding, unforgiving place to live. That's great for us on this forum - most of you are among the most successful, skilled, tenacious people in America and thrive in a Darwinian world. Shouldn't mean we can't recognize that some people - not most people, a modest percentage, but still a large absolute number - are slipping and falling.