I’ve worked helping homeless people in the past on many occasions, had friends whos family members were homeless, had homeless friends, and had even been homeless myself for a small amount of time. There are a lot of people that are homeless through no fault of their own, there are people that are homeless because of drug abuse (which perpetuates the cycle). Both of these people need more access to the help that can be provided to them, but I mainly wanted to talk about a third category of homelessness: People that are homeless by choice.
People that are homeless by choice have told me that they enjoy the lifestyle and enjoy the freedom that it brings despite the negatives. They actively rejected help from people and expressed their desires to me to intend living that lifestyle forever. While I think every person has the right to live their own life the way they see fit, homelessness often has negatives to the people that aren’t homeless. Feces and needles in the streets, breaking and entering into homes, garages, sheds, vandalizing and burning them down in the process. Of course all homeless people aren’t like that but the point still remains: a healthy society generally doesn’t have homeless people. How do you achieve a balance to allow the people whom are homeless by choice to live in a way they see fit while also minimizing the perceived issues of homelessness? What are your thoughts on homeless people?
I ask these questions in good faith and I hope you also do the same. Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.
I’m going to assume that the vast majority of homeless people do not want to be homeless. Homelessness is a direct result of the conditions created by capitalism, and under a socialist state such conditions would mitigated to such a degree to eradicate the issue. Guaranteed food, work, and housing is how a society eradiactes homelessness.
I’m going to assume that the vast majority of homeless people do not want to be homeless.
I’ve cracked open some deeper dives into homelessness data. It’s a hard population to survey, but this at least is an area where the data is clear. You are correct. There is a small number of people who actually are homeless by choice, but it is so small that policymakers can safely ignore it. Unfortunately, the general public sometimes blows the possibility out of proportion.
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Public restrooms and safe injection rooms are a good start; here it seems to work.
I am happy to hear that it those solutions work in your area, but I have also have vivid memories of seeing a homeless man shitting 15ft away from a public restroom that was clean and accessible. Not to mention how filthy restrooms visited by the homeless are. Obviously not saying that more public restrooms aren’t worth building, just saying that sometimes solutions are unfortunately more nuanced than just throwing more money for public services.
Also, do people who are homeless by choice have the same behaviors or needs as the other two groups, statistically? That would be interesting to research
That would be very interesting to research. From my experience talking with them directly, they seem to be more nomadic whereas people that are homeless through no fault of their own will tend to stay in the city they grew up it, or became homeless in.
Thank you for your comment.
The term for these kinds of homeless is gutter punks
You ask what “society” does with “homeless people” as though “homeless people” aren’t part of “society”
You make a point. Thank you for your comment.
Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t interpret the title that way at all.
There are political premises embedded in the framing. It’s an intractable question up until you ask homeless people. Dehumanization and exclusion of homeless people from discussions of how to help them are the norm.
You can perceive it that way, but all I’m saying is that I didn’t perceive the title as being framed in a way that implies homeless people aren’t a part of society. I perceived it as quite clearly a question that obviously implied homeless people are a part of society.
I think notion that this question inherently implies that homeless people aren’t part of society is… pretty presumptive. @beansniffer@lemmy.ml , when you wrote this question did you have it in your head that homeless people aren’t part of society? Because reading your question didn’t at all make me feel like your question assumed homeless people aren’t part of society.
I didn’t ever intend to imply that homeless people are not a part of society. Of course they’re a part of society. They have everyday interactions with homeless and homed people alike. The conditions that made it possible to have mass homelessness don’t just go away if everyone has a home. There is a systemic issue that affects more than just homeless people. Homed people have to work with homeless people together as a society to find practical solutions to serious issues affecting everyone.
We need to stop being angry that people choose a lifestyle that’s different from our own. People who choose to be homeless are a fraction of a fraction. Let them.
I’m not angry at them. I think the people that I’ve met living this lifestyle are some of the interesting and welcoming people I’ve ever met. I just think that is a negative perception among the general population to the small amount of people who voluntarily live that lifestyle. My question I asked was how to achieve a balance that allows people to live homeless by choice while also minimizing the perceived issues of homelessness that it pervasive among the general population.
Before the entire earth had been settled, a person could be a vagrant and simply go and live out in the wild. I could see this being acceptable if that’s what people want. Hermits have a long history in human society. As long as they aren’t hurting anyone I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed the space they want to camp.
I agree 100%. I was just wondering how to balance their ability to live their lifestyle and the public’s generally negative perception of them.
