[Podgajski]

I am homeless and I am permanently disabled with bipolar disorder schizoaffective type.

I want to say first that housing first works. The stress of me being homeless is worse for my mental illness. And I applaud Austin for actually doing something.

Secondly, the biggest mistake they make is that they want to segregate low income people out of society. this is part of the problem. I don’t know if the solution to this, but I know it’s the problem. It makes us feel alienated and lesser. This is the most likely reason why these communities always seem to fail.

Also, putting these far outside of the city takes people away from resources like other people said. I’ll tell you when my depression is bad it’s much much harder for me to take a bus for 45 minutes than it is for me to walk for 10 minutes.

There is no fix for housing because the problem is not housing. It’s financial capitalism and individual greed. I lost my housing because I was kicked out of the studio. I was renting after my lease came up and they listed it as an Airbnb making twice as much then when I was living there. They did not have to do this, they chose to do it.

[alamortsubite]

> putting these far outside of the city takes people away from resources like other people said

Thanks for sharing your experience. What are some examples of these resources?

[Podgajski]

Grocery stores, doctors, coffee, shops to socialize. The truth is that socializing, with all the other people who are having financial trouble lessens the probability that I’ll connect with someone who can possibly help me.

[alamortsubite]

It's an interesting perspective. I've been lucky enough never to experience homelessness, but I'm very familiar with living in cities and using public transportation to access resources like supermarkets and doctors. I wonder if, in addition to providing housing to those who need it, the best solution is simply making sure such resources are readily accessible to the same people via public transportation.