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by owebmaster 411 days ago
> Homelessness is tractable when we understand that basic/fundamental needs precede behavior change ^^

Unfortunately, and it breaks my heart to conclude that, some people can't be brought back to socialization. I'm talking from first-person experience living in the streets for a while.
2 comments
didgetmaster 411 days ago
Homelessness, like poverty, crime, and ignorance will never be eradicated. There are just too many people who refuse to accept a way out of them, even if others think that way is easy.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. That does not mean we should stop finding ways to help those who feel trapped by them and will take a opportunity when it is presented. There are countless 'success stories' where people change.

Thus, 'solving' homelessness is a fools errand. Using resources wisely to maximize its effect on as many as possible should be the goal.

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fuzzfactor 411 days ago
That is a realistic attitude.

I think problems like this can be best informed by those who have interacted with very different kinds of homelessness on its own terms.

But there are so many people already where actual bare-bones housing is so inadequate, and it's been that way for so long, that desperation can only increase. More & more of whom are working for a living but that's just not quite enough to maintain domestic life as much as it used to be. There is just no substitute for more housing in the most generous way.

OTOH whether it's somebody who's penniless, or a rock star on endless tour, or anything in between, if they are not congruent with domestic life, or domestic life is not suitable for them, this is not where domestic housing effort is helpful. Depending on need or desperation, other kinds of help which can make a bigger positive impact is where effort should be concentrated.

Accelerated transition from homeless to a domestic environment should turn into a successfully beaten path with stronger force enabling it, but is most sensible only for those who are most suitable.

Actual "socialization" may still be too high a bar for some of those who thrive domestically otherwise, but the reverse can also be true.

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