Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by j8014 2308 days ago
I worked in HMIS for years and the chronic homeless are almost ALWAYS "mentally ill, drug addicts, or most likely an individual suffering from both problems." Additionally, you make a choice to support yourself however you want but "Why the hell shouldn't this be a means to support myself?" is nothing more than entitlement and wishful thinking. There are a bunch of other things that I do that make money, make sense for me, but dont pay the bills, so I adult and find work that does support me.
2 comments
prostheticvamp 2308 days ago
I’ve worked enough EDs that this strikes me as quite true (about drugs and mental dx), but it’s not clear which way causality runs. Homelessness is not a condition in any way conducive to maintaining mental health. I’d be hard pressed to intentionally design something more effective at damaging the psyche.

I agree with the entitlement comment as well. “Doing this thing works for me” is not the same as “doing this thing is valuable to anyone else”.

link
DoreenMichele 2308 days ago
When I had a class on Homelessness and Public Policy, the professor said something like "I'd drink too if I were homeless. The sidewalk is cold and hard."

While I appreciate you bringing up that element, I actually think it's more complicated than that. In a nutshell, I think addiction generally arises out of other problems, a la the phrase "driven to drink." Blaming everything on "You drink" fails to address the underlying problems concerning why you drink.

But I don't think elaborating at length while being described as having an entitled attitude because I think I should be able to get compensation for work I can do that other people clearly do value to some degree is likely to be constructive.

link
lostmsu 2308 days ago
> people clearly do value

There's a difference in valuing something 10$ vs under 1¢. 100 of one can feed a person for a month, and a 100 of the other can buy you a single gum.

link
icebraining 2308 days ago
How did you meet those individuals? Have you considered that the mentally ill and drug addicts are more likely to require medical assistance, hence skewing your perception?
link