Random
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

My friends and I were discussing the homeless yesterday at our group

The one thing that frustates me the most is the fact that people don't want to do the cheapest thing possible for the homeless because they don't believe the homeless deserve a safe, secure home for free. Housing them is the cheapest answer to the tax payer, hands down.

I don't know what kind of home they think the homeless would get. It's not a McMansion, or even a 1,200 sq ft home with all the luxuries.

I also don't know why it matters to them if the homeless get something for free. They weren't helping them, so why do they care if someone else does?

I came up with a fairly rough idea of a way to help the homeless, using something that has already been done successfully.

Get a plot of land that no one wants. A real clunker of a parcel that's been on the market forever. That way, it's obvious, no one wants it.

Set up tiny homes that can house 1 person. If you have a family, then a small mobile home. Tiny homes range from 450 sq ft to 900 sq ft. You can put a few on a fairly decent sized parcel.

Make a community garden that they can attend to while going through any rehab and/or therapy they need.

They can live for free while attending the rehab/therapy so they can get themselves stable.

Once they are ready to move from that, they are given donated clothes for job interviews. Now that they have a physical address, they can actually get a job.

Once they have a job, they must save a portion of their income and pay a modest rent. The rest is for them to enjoy things with.

Once they save up enough for their own apartment, they can move out and on with their lives. The time and rent spent during this time becomes a reference for them to get an apartment.

Yes, there will be failures. Yes there will be people who "take advantage". That's life. All well. Who cares?

Giving people a chance is more important than worrying about someone getting something for free, someone taking advantage of a situation, or unable to beat their demons. If you spend your time worried about what other people are getting that you aren't really makes you the bad person.
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Mellowgirl · 31-35, F
I hear what you're saying. And I do think if we can get the homeless off the streets it would be better for all of us. But I suppose without all the resources needed to clean them up of they have a drug habit, proper financial advice to help them understand how to manage their money to prevent debt, a training program for a job then you end up cultivating the same sort of behaviour within these homes especially if they're within close proximity to each other.

I have a neighbour who's got a local council home and she was prostituting out the property to support her drug addiction, she knew other homeless in the area and had allowed them to come to the property to make use of it, including storing stolen property, there's been various antisocial behaviours occuring here, like people using the communal gardens to shoot up and use it as a toilet.


She was taken into prison for a period of time, I can't say what for but it allowed for the residence to feel peace again. We watched the 20 bikes she had stored in the flat being cleared out, the smell, the roaches, the junk.

Only for her father who owns a local pub pay to keep the flat for her return.

She's returned and she's back to old tricks. We're just fed up. And in all honesty we've done all we can to get her out but here she is.

I wouldn't want this for anyone.

I don't pity her or her mates.
They seem happy enough loitering around in packs drinking their stolen alcohol, the crack head laugh is so distinctive and disturbing. But so we go on.

I was also conned a while back by a "homeless" and I decided that I wouldn't hand money over again like that.

If someone is desperately asking for help, looking to get any work that can be done off the books as a wah to try and rebuild their lives yes I would want them to be helped but these people seem like a lost cause.
FoxyQueen · 51-55, F
@Mellowgirl Well, one example isn't the whole and yeah, there are going to be people who can't get beyond what they know and who they know. That happens everywhere, not just with the homeless. That cycle is very hard to get out of as well. That is a different issue.

Vetting would be important. You want to make sure that those who want the help are able to accept it and all it entails.