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I know this isn't a popular opinion, but a lot of chronically homeless people have mental health conditions that make them prone to violence. Agencies refuse to work with them because their employees have been hurt or threatened by them in the past.
You can't simply say "just house them" without also talking about safety and security for people around them.
I really wish there was an easy, magical solution too.
I really wish there was an easy, magical solution too.
My husband works with a housing-first organization that deals with people who have been turned away by other agencies. A few months ago they got an apartment for a man who within 24 hours attempted to rob his landlord at gunpoint.
He went back to the agency and said he had gotten kicked out by the landlord.
The agency went back to the landlord to get the money back and the landlord had the video of the robbery on the surveillance tape.
The agency went back to the landlord to get the money back and the landlord had the video of the robbery on the surveillance tape.
That guy ended up being banned from the homeless agency. I don't know how you help that person in the future. The landlord still works with the agency and takes felons and other high risk occupants. But being held up at gunpoint is a red line for them, and that's fair.
Anyway. I don't know what the answer is. Mental health services obviously need to be better funded, but I don't know if that person would voluntarily consent to treatment anyway.
And I do advocate for much more affordable housing options, decreasing the bureaucracy needed to obtain assistance, and other interventions that can help prevent people becoming homeless in the first place.
But "just house them" is a fairy tale solution. Actual social workers and housing advocacy groups absolutely have to consider the safety of the entire community, and there are sometimes reasons why some people get banned from those organizations and are chronically homeless.
One last thing - most homeless people are *not* violent, and the case I cited is by far the exception, not the rule.
If you want to fight homelessness, please donate to your local nonprofits. Those are the organizations providing meaningful, on the ground assistance.
If you want to fight homelessness, please donate to your local nonprofits. Those are the organizations providing meaningful, on the ground assistance.
Tagging in @Falsemotive who has done work with homeless people and can talk specifics about his work with @walkthurston and what has worked for their organization in helping higher risk homeless people.
