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Free housing for the homeless?

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  • J.K.Logic
    2016-07-08 07:13:18 PM
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    Ethically I think providing housing to homeless people makes a lot of sense. Some cities in Arizona, Phoenix for one, have tried to implement this plan recently, with varied success. Problems come when you ask simple questions, mainly 'where will the money come from to pay for it all?' Also 'where to build?', 'what guidelines should be implemented to acquire free housing, and for how long can a homeless person live in public/privately funded housing rent free?'

    All good questions. Since LA is considering this move now, I thought it relevant to have this discussion here, and find out everyone's thoughts and feelings on this.

    LA has the most notoriously dangerous situation of homeless people, probably in the whole nation. No, I think it's fair to say its #1 with a bullet. Skid row. It's an unbelievably dyer situation, that needs to be remedied.

    But every major metro area has their own problems with how to take care of homeless people, especially for those that clearly cannot or willnot take care of themselves.

    No judgement on my end. My sister actually started a program (currently pending incorporation) that provides food, water, and cosmetic neccessities to the homeless all around the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. I have went with her only the once to help hand out goods to the homeless. And through that experience, spending all day meeting dozens of homeless people of all kinds, you learn quick that it's not as easy as "they just need to stop being lazy and get a job". Many have mental issues. Or have their own story of how they ended up homeless that make you realize the system could use a program to where some of these folks at least could have a safety net, for when they fall through the cracks.

    So, where do you stand on providing housing to the homeless? It would be taxed based, but also consider that some of the costs could be offset by less taxes going toward homeless shelter relief and other various systems, that we all already pay for. Not to mention there would be a place for homeless people to live, and gain their much needed dignity back. I'm sure from all this, you can see where I stand. But I realize it's not an easy idea to implement, as LA is finding out right now.

    If L.A. OKs a $1.2-billion bond for homeless initiatives, the city will need to up its real estate game

  • YellowSubmarine
    2016-07-11 12:20:45 PM
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    Conflicting issue here.

    On one hand, there is the real concern that providing that kind of safety net would encourage some people to just give up and rely on the system to fully provide for them.

    On the other, even with publicly provided housing, the housing itself couldn't be very nice. By virtue of limited funding. Would have to be built on the very cheap. Just the bare bones essentials. So its' not like 99% of us would actually want to live under even those conditions.

    Most people are capable, willing and want to provide for themselves. For those that cannot or willnot, that small subset will always exist on some level. So to avoid it and not catch their eye level as you pass them on the street.. seems better just to face the problem head on and aim for rehabilitation over just ignoring the issue and hope it goes away.

  • JaredS
    2016-07-13 06:53:06 PM
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    I am 100% on board with free housing for the homeless. It has been proven to work time and again in countless countries, but America is a little behind when it comes to these type of social welfare issues.

    It costs 10 times more to keep homeless people on the streets. They commit petty crimes to feed themselves; get caught up in the criminal justice system and either get sent off to jail at a tremendous cost to the taxpayer or, at the very least, have a record that now labels them with a scarlet letter for the rest of their lives; and then then get caught up in the endless cycle of trying to find a job and housing while having a criminal record.

    It's a lose-lose situation for everyone.

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