| > There are really two distinct homelessness problems: > 1. The “temporarily unhoused”. These are people who have fallen on hard times and need temporary assistance to get back on their feet. These people live out of their cars and are largely invisible. > 2. The chronically homeless. These are drug users who infest public spaces and are highly visible and disruptive. What is that based on? Do you have any data to support these categories as something real? It sounds a lot like, '1) people I like; and 2) people I hate.' It's wrong to discuss human beings like animals, and as if they exist to please or displease you, and as if they can be treated like animals. They are people with their own experiences, like you, sensations and emotions and lives, who matter just as much as you do and belong in public spaces just as much. I've spent lots of time in major cities; chronically homeless people are among the least disruptive, and I've talked to many and know a few people in that situation; people on opioids are in their own worlds, often in a dream. |