Local officials and advocates are divided over how to respond to the directive, which has left homeless people without a clear idea where they will wind up.
Something needs to be done though. This a start but only half of a solution. The homeless do need to be taken off the streets and the massive roadside camps need to be demolished. It’s a legit health and safety hazard. Maybe make dedicated areas a little more off the beaten path and provide power and water and sewer services for them to set up in a more appropriate area in the woods.
Or maybe the problem should not be swept under the rug, and the root causes, meaning the housing market, the economy and mental health should be treated.
Note that many other places don’t have a problem of homeless encampments this big. Wonder why.
And how would we do that? In places like SF we’ve spent billions trying to fix the problem … and nothing has been fixed. There are many options for help but the people on the streets choose not to seek for help, they made the decision to stay on the streets and this is the consequence.
It’s the second, worse half. Set up those services first. Destroying what little these people can scrape together only serves to push them further down.
Something needs to be done though. This a start but only half of a solution. The homeless do need to be taken off the streets and the massive roadside camps need to be demolished. It’s a legit health and safety hazard. Maybe make dedicated areas a little more off the beaten path and provide power and water and sewer services for them to set up in a more appropriate area in the woods.
Or maybe the problem should not be swept under the rug, and the root causes, meaning the housing market, the economy and mental health should be treated.
Note that many other places don’t have a problem of homeless encampments this big. Wonder why.
Isn’t it partially the weather and partially because a bunch of other states ship their homeless there?
And mostly because of the cost of housing.
And how would we do that? In places like SF we’ve spent billions trying to fix the problem … and nothing has been fixed. There are many options for help but the people on the streets choose not to seek for help, they made the decision to stay on the streets and this is the consequence.
It’s the second, worse half. Set up those services first. Destroying what little these people can scrape together only serves to push them further down.