The Redding Homeless Alliance (hosted by Redding Loaves and Fishes) held its fifth in a series of monthly "Community Forums on Homelessness" on April 7, 2007. RHA is continuing to build a solid base of support in the community, and committees are working to address several aspects of the homeless crisis in our area. Of particular concern to our group is the dramatic increase in the number of children facing the traumas and dangers of living on the streets.

According to the City of Redding/Shasta County Homeless Continuum of Care Council (or COC), the children comprised 37% of the 2,584 individuals who were homeless in Shasta County in 2006, an increase of 5% over the previous year, making them the fastest growing segment of that group. Domestic violence is our third leading cause of homelessness, and women are the sole support of most homeless households

Research conducted by RHA members into the availability of permanent housing, transitional housing programs, and emergency shelter space revealed that there is an extreme shortage of housing affordable to working families on the lower end of the pay scale, the elderly poor, and the disabled due primarily to the massive destruction of low-income housing by the City of Redding in connection with "redevelopment". The very limited amount of subsidized housing available in Shasta County has waiting periods that average three years, and our dozen or so transitional housing projects cater almost exclusively to people with substance abuse problems ( a group which comprises less than one-tenth of our local homeless population). Shasta County’s only general-population homeless shelter, the Rescue Mission, can accommodate fewer than 200 people even by putting down mats on every available inch of floor space. The Mission plans to use its new building (now under construction) to house an additional 25 men going through the Mission’s drug treatment program.

During the "State of Emergency" declared in January when the temperature here fell to an excruciating 19 degrees, local administrators refused to open the armory or other warming centers for the approximately twelve hundred men, women and children the COC estimates were forced to sleep outdoors or in vehicles during their latest survey period. A sheriff’s department representative stated that warming centers would only be opened in the event of "a widespread power outage or snowstorm". RHA will continue its efforts to bring this life-threatening situation to the attention of the community, and will rally community support to pressure local government to make humane accommodation for the homeless before the cold weather sets in again this winter.

RHA is working with the national civil rights organizations to challenge a city ordinance enacted by the Redding City Council on November 7, 2006 which allows six-month jail terms and $1,000 fines to be imposed upon anyone found camping within the city limits due to the area’s critical shortage of low-income housing and emergency shelter space. RHA members are in the process of collecting information for that purpose, since the apparent goal of this ordinance is to drive the homeless to other parts of the state or country where they are likely to encounter the same shortage of housing. We are also gathering information in regard to the number of families and individuals who have been denied emergency shelter due to the lacks of space. The Mission’s "overflow" has been a topic of discussion at more than one COC meeting.

RHA provided requested information to the office of Senator Denise Ducheny, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 303. Among other things, SB 303 will require California cities to designate land specifically for low-income housing, including housing to accommodate "the elderly, persons with disabilities, families with female heads of households, and persons in need of emergency shelter." This bill would prohibit cities from changing the designation and selling this land for other purposes, as the City of Redding did with the land where the new Lowe’s Home Improvement Center is now located. It would also encourage cities to apply for state funding available through an infrastructure bond measure passed last year for the construction of low-income housing. At Senator Ducheny’s direction, RHA will continue its efforts to help get this very worthwhile bill enacted.

The Redding Homeless Alliance has educational teams available to speak to churches, civic groups, businesses and schools.

We would like to invite everyone to join us for our next "Community Forum" on May 5, 2007 at 1:00p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Church of the Redeemed, 834 Butte Street, Redding

http://reddingloavesandfishes.com/

Stuff like that is the goverments job - not private people - especially not when there's a religious motive involved!

Well, it doesn't matter as long as the aid is purely to help, not with 'extra bonus'.

Well, it doesn't matter as long as the aid is purely to help, not with 'extra bonus'.I disagree...

If you want to genuine help people - you should leave all religion out of it...

The uses of missions and churches is imo - a recruiting tool, if not for the homeless then for the people wanting to help.. and for the church it self as a promoting tool...


As I said homeless people are the goverments job - and those who refuse help ( as many does ) should ( if no mental illness that could be a risk to the indiviual or others ) be left alone...

If you want to make a difference - make the goverment do IT'S job!

I disagree...

If you want to genuine help people - you should leave all religion out of it...

The uses of missions and churches is imo - a recruiting tool, if not for the homeless then for the people wanting to help.. and for the church it self as a promoting tool...


As I said homeless people are the goverments job - and those who refuse help ( as many does ) should ( if no mental illness that could be a risk to the indiviual or others ) be left alone...

If you want to make a difference - make the goverment do IT'S job!


Without going into any detail, one of the REAL tenets of Christianity is to help the poor.

There is however a loud, vocal minority that emphasizes just the "morality" and "values" issues and is all about condemning and judging others but ignores helping the poor (They usually vote Republican). Other Christian sects criticize them for neglecting the poor and ignoring the real purpose of Christianity. So those churches that do help the poor are exercising REAL Christian beliefs.

I dont think the tax payers should have to keep the bums afloat.

^And that attitude is why you have them in the first place!

I dont think the tax payers should have to keep the bums afloat.

Yes, we should stick them all in a big arena and let them fight to the death. Winner gets 10% of the cost all the bums would've incurred.

^And that attitude is why you have them in the first place!

nah, laziness is why we have them. Laziness, drug abuse, and families that just dont care. Why should my taxes rise to pay for the foolish mistakes of people? If I blew all my money on crack--I wouldnt expect Uncle Sam and the American people to kiss my ass. I would try to rebuild my life on my own with the little help I can actually get from the government and local charity groups. There are plenty of these places.

I speak from example. I know people that are on the streets that just keep shooting themselves in the foot.

Yes, we should stick them all in a big arena and let them fight to the death. Winner gets 10% of the cost all the bums would've incurred.

No, that would cost too much.

We should let bums do the right thing by un-bumming themselves. Get off their asses, stop begging, clean up their acts, seek help from where available, and look for entry level jobs. Until they take the initiave....my money is staying in my pocket.

Little difficult to get back on your feet when you've got no proper education through no fault of your own...

Little difficult to get a job if you're mentally ill....

Little difficult to get a little help from the government when all public finances are being pulled away from major cities (HUD budget has fallen by 40 billion from 27 years ago)

Bit difficult to get retrained when your redundancy money isn't enough to live on for a month....

Bit difficult to find new money when you've had to spend it all on health care of yourself or a family member through no fault of your own..

Little difficult to buy a house when the market is artificially bloated to keep real estate investors happy combine with a cut in subsidised houses...

and drug use and gun crime are as great a problem in the prissy little suburbs as in the central urban areas in most metropolitan areas

grow up

No, that would cost too much.

We should let bums do the right thing by un-bumming themselves. Get off their asses, stop begging, clean up their acts, seek help from where available, and look for entry level jobs. Until they take the initiave....my money is staying in my pocket.Unless the goverment is involved how can they take the initiative?


So Mr Bumm - is that a german name??? - You have been living and working over on Market Street for the last 7 years you say... you forgot to mention the street number on the aplication btw... ohhh ON Market Street... hmm...

And you qualifications is... ehmm shoe polishing... and uhmm blooddonor you say???

Okay that's about that... we'll get back to you in the end of the week.. all we need now is your adresse and phonenumber..... ohh you don't have either - well no problem you can crash on my couch for a few weeks...


As I said - homeless people are the goverment's job!

nah, laziness is why we have them. Laziness, drug abuse, and families that just dont care. Why should my taxes rise to pay for the foolish mistakes of people? If I blew all my money on crack--I wouldnt expect Uncle Sam and the American people to kiss my ass. I would try to rebuild my life on my own with the little help I can actually get from the government and local charity groups. There are plenty of these places.

I speak from example. I know people that are on the streets that just keep shooting themselves in the foot.

Why should people be punished for coming from 'families that just don't care' or have a mental illness??

I hate this 'my tax dollars' argument.

Fuck all of your tax dollars would be needed to give these people the help they need.

Probably about 1/10th of the money that is spend on politician's overseas trips actually.

God forbid you happen to fall on hard times and need help from society.

The meager services of the government for the homeless, coupled with the "anti-homeless" policies that have sprung up all over the US, is making the homeless situation worse and worse.

My "taxes" are already plundered for things that I don't like.

The meager services of the government for the homeless, coupled with the "anti-homeless" policies that have sprung up all over the US, is making the homeless situation worse and worse.

My "taxes" are already plundered for things that I don't like.

Exactly. Fighting "poverty" is like fighting laziness. There are always people who choose to do less and the easier you make it to do less, the more folks that will choose to do so. Give me free food and shelter and I may also choose to be "poor". That gives me the ultimate luxury which is leisure time. I'll happily live off of your taxes. He, he, he.

Why should people be punished for coming from 'families that just don't care' or have a mental illness??

I hate this 'my tax dollars' argument.

Fuck all of your tax dollars would be needed to give these people the help they need.

Probably about 1/10th of the money that is spend on politician's overseas trips actually.

God forbid you happen to fall on hard times and need help from society.

Why should my taxes be drastically raised to pay for people who fucked up their lives? Explain to me why I should have to pay for the treatment for people who voluntarillly abused hard drugs, alcohol, commited violent crimes, and didnt graduate free, public schools?

Try getting off your tiny island of 30 million and coming to a country like the U.S. and see how long you last with your silly idealistic views. Just take my spot in Milwaukee and see how you last before you get sick of the endless shit that comes from our central city. It truly is an embarasment and pouring money into it will not help. It has not helped--even though various outs are given to these people. Many of them are so lazy and irresponsible that they dont even seek out the government aid that is available.

Little difficult to get back on your feet when you've got no proper education through no fault of your own...

No fault of their own? Are you kidding me? Free, public school is available to anyone--poor or rich. You are also able to gain a GED if you do fail to graduate or drop out very easily. There are untapped millions available to poorer families for school.

Little difficult to get a job if you're mentally ill....

Thats not my problem. And the government does make it the law that an employer cannot discriminate.


Little difficult to get a little help from the government when all public finances are being pulled away from major cities (HUD budget has fallen by 40 billion from 27 years ago)

What ever happened to independence? Why do people need so much money? Have you heard of a thing called Welfare? Its going to fail. It might sound nice in some low populated Euro-nation. My money is my money. I bust my ass and pay taxes to protect my ass. I dont need to see a further chunk of it given to every lazy bastard that failed. That is not the law abiding citizens problem. You do realize that our government is a democracy and that its money is my money?

Bit difficult to get retrained when your redundancy money isn't enough to live on for a month....

Plenty of people do it. They struggle, but they manage it. Look at the poor in our cities and see what they spend their money on.


Bit difficult to find new money when you've had to spend it all on health care of yourself or a family member through no fault of your own..

No fault of your own? Like I said, its called being frugal and saving--millions of people do it everyday. There are more Americans who do this than there are without healthcare.



Little difficult to buy a house when the market is artificially bloated to keep real estate investors happy combine with a cut in subsidised houses...

Again, how is this my problem? Houses are expensive for everyone.

and drug use and gun crime are as great a problem in the prissy little suburbs as in the central urban areas in most metropolitan areas

grow up

Dont make me laugh. Grow up? I have grown up. You havent. You think this country is going to be some magical utopia. See how magical it is when you rape the taxpaying middle class to subsidize millions.

Oh and Bjork. Focus on your own problems in London. Oh, thats right....everything is peaches and creme over there.

I wish this group luck, but having observed homeless people for many years (and most recently a bunch of them where I live now), and having done a bit of work with homeless teens years back, I've come to the conclusion that there really isn't much you can do about 90% of them. Most of them are so messed up on drugs, booze, and/or with mental problems, etc. that there just isn't anything you can do that would get them into permanent housing, and with a regular job, etc. Most of them are pretty much unemployable. Some of them actually like the vagabond lifestyle, and probably wouldn't settle down in permanent housing if you gave it to them free (yes, I've overheard them talk on the bus about things to this nature).

It's basically an insoluble problem, we might as well get used to the fact.

All this crap about 'tax dollars' - are people really that fucked up? It's so easy for people to have that selfish kind of attitude towards the homeless. It's easy to sit there and blame them as opposed to taking a long, hard look at how fucked up society as a whole truly is and how greedy and selfish we've all become. To those of you with that stinky attitude, I say trying getting off YOUR asses and living on the streets for a week with no money, no friends, no food and no shelter and see how the fuck you survive.

I wish this group luck, but having observed homeless people for many years (and most recently a bunch of them where I live now), and having done a bit of work with homeless teens years back, I've come to the conclusion that there really isn't much you can do about 90% of them. Most of them are so messed up on drugs, booze, and/or with mental problems, etc. that there just isn't anything you can do that would get them into permanent housing, and with a regular job, etc. Most of them are pretty much unemployable. Some of them actually like the vagabond lifestyle, and probably wouldn't settle down in permanent housing if you gave it to them free (yes, I've overheard them talk on the bus about things to this nature).

It's basically an insoluble problem, we might as well get used to the fact.

thank you Bond for providing some sanity to this thread. There just isnt some easy answer to this problem! Their methods would backfire like it did with welfare. Jobs, housing, etc....yeah it sounds nice. Who should have to hire these people though? Why should an employer hire somebody with no high school education and a criminal backround---over someone who is clean? Why should the law abiding have to pay for the constant fuck ups of the inner city and the poor? Why should it be on our shoulders that a small minority cannot graduate school, stay away from crack, save their money, take care of their families, and stay away from violent crime!?

Their problems are self caused! Not only do they shoot themselves in their foot--they continue to screw up time and time again. I dont care if it sounds mean or not---its not Uncle Sam's job to babysit these people. Especially if they are not going to be serious about it--which many are not.

You are not creating initiative! Handouts hurt independence. These Europeans and Aussies just dont understand the culture of American poverty. Mock us if you wish--but this country is great because we were always more independant than those across the pond. Ill be damned if I ever get to a point that I need my fellow Americans to foot the bill for my drug abuse or me blowing all my money on bullshit like they do in Europe or Canada. I will do all in my power to get a job and stay afloat in this cruel world--searching day and night. Are our poor doing this? Please. If it ever gets that bad for me--I have a family to back me up. Where are the families of these homeless people, oh SSC friends? If you truly think the homeless were dealt their misfortune---you need to open your eyes and look at it again.

^
Well, I will differ with you . . . somewhat. I wouldn't say their problems are really "self-caused," though in a minority of cases that could be the case. Some of them probably "choose" homelessness, but most of them are just messed-up people. Someone with mental illness or psychological problems obviously hasn't chosen their fate. Those who took drugs, perhaps so, though not all people who do drugs end up on the streets. Alcoholics - I'm not sure I would really "blame" a homeless alcoholic for their problem since alcohol is so persuasive in society. But again, not all alcoholics end up on the street, so probably there is a bit of self-control (or lack thereof) involved.

But in my mind, the issue of whether the homeless person is "responsible" for their homelessness is largely irrelevant. Whether or not any particular homeless person "chose" their life situation has little bearing on whether they can actually be helped. And I'm afraid to say, in 90% of the cases, they probably can't really be helped - nothing society or anyone else does is likely to get them back to a "normal" life. It's sad to give up on such people, but society has spent decades trying to help them, to no avail. There really just isn't much you can do.

Ill be damned if I ever get to a point that I need my fellow Americans to foot the bill for my drug abuse or me blowing all my money on bullshit like they do in Europe or Canada. I will do all in my power to get a job and stay afloat in this cruel world--searching day and night. Are our poor doing this? Please. If it ever gets that bad for me--I have a family to back me up. Where are the families of these homeless peopleYou have to keep in mind that most of these people isn't normal sane people - these are in most case mentally ill people who was abandoned or neglected as children, in many cases also sexually abused... they have no families.. no friends...no nothing..

It's very easy for us to sit in our warm homes saying "Oh I would just" but I seriusly doubt it's easy for the people - not because they don't want a better life, but because their brains are F'ed up from a F'ed up childhood...


In Denmark there's no reason to be homeless - they are offered appartments, they resieve financial support, there's plenty of educational options, drug clinics and all that stuff and stuff like begging in the street is even illegal here...

All that and yet we still have them... not in the US numbers and far from as visable but they are still here...

Why.. well because it's the life they want to have... crazy yes no doubt, but we just have to accept that some people are like that and since they are still people they deserve help if in need...


All people need to eat and drink - if they don't reaseive financial aid from the goverment how do you think they will get the funds to survive?... yep crime.. hence goverment support will actually save money and help the problem...

So while you might think your tax dollars are waisted on them, it might be the exact opposit...

I have to be honest...I'm not a fan of the homeless. Sometimes, there are times when seeing one really ruins your mood...but they are people. Human beings that have nothing to live for.

There are a few people who "like" being homeless, but it would be naive to think that the majority of homeless are like that. Some are too addicted to alcohol, others have mental problems...who's going to want to hire a guy that hasn't taken a shower in weeks, doesn't have an address or a phone number, and might be mentally unstable or have an alcohol addiction...I would be suprised if it was anything about 0.00001%.

I'm not in favor for giving the homeless a free ride. Taxes here are high as hell anyway...but just basically berating them and passing them all off as lazy isn't going to ever help the situation. All it will do is just make us more oblivious about their problems. A modest bit of assistance isn't going to kill my budget.

^
Well, I will differ with you . . . somewhat. I wouldn't say their problems are really "self-caused," though in a minority of cases that could be the case. Some of them probably "choose" homelessness, but most of them are just messed-up people. Someone with mental illness or psychological problems obviously hasn't chosen their fate. Those who took drugs, perhaps so, though not all people who do drugs end up on the streets. Alcoholics - I'm not sure I would really "blame" a homeless alcoholic for their problem since alcohol is so persuasive in society. But again, not all alcoholics end up on the street, so probably there is a bit of self-control (or lack thereof) involved.

But in my mind, the issue of whether the homeless person is "responsible" for their homelessness is largely irrelevant. Whether or not any particular homeless person "chose" their life situation has little bearing on whether they can actually be helped. And I'm afraid to say, in 90% of the cases, they probably can't really be helped - nothing society or anyone else does is likely to get them back to a "normal" life. It's sad to give up on such people, but society has spent decades trying to help them, to no avail. There really just isn't much you can do.

well, I agree there are those with mental problems who probally should be taken off the streets. There are places for some of these people to go and receive help though--whether it be a chuch group or private organization.

I just dont see what the American taxpayer can do about it though. The liberal left is always trying to pick our pockets to solve every single social problem. There is nothing my money can do to fill the void of not having a family. The U.S. government cannot fill this void. Call me a fool, but they dont offer the same love and care that your family would if you were abusing drugs. They cannot offer the same support.

If we did go through with these people on here are saying---their public counselors would be so tied up with other drug abusers, that time for them would be limited. You could hire more of them, but then my taxes just keep going up and up---to keep these people afloat. Those taxes might be nothing to our wonderous European friends, but they are to me. This money that is taken from my back pocket to pay for these drunkards and criminals could have been used to pay for my daughters college books, donating to a charity that is making more progress than the ineffective government, or just use it to help the American economy. What these people want us to do is spend all of our money on social programs and thats very bad for our economy. Its unfair to you and me Bond....people who work hard, only to see our hard earned cash be cut up like a pie and given away to people who are not as hardworking as we are. Like I said, its nice for places like the Netherlands--but see how effective it will be for a population of 300 million with a different culture. Its called a money pit. The inner city and the homeless right now are a money pit until they start making change before the U.S. government has to.

All people need to eat and drink - if they don't reaseive financial aid from the goverment how do you think they will get the funds to survive?... yep crime.. hence goverment support will actually save money and help the problem...

So while you might think your tax dollars are waisted on them, it might be the exact opposit...

I like you MrDenmark, but dont be fooled. These people can easily find food, water, and clothes. This is America, not Nicaragua. There is absoutely no excuse ever for a person in this country to not have these basic needs. Most of them realize this. Food is not what they are after though. Come with me to Milwaukee and lets walk the streets of downtown. We will surely be stopped by a handful of bums. Just see how these people are only after American currency and could give a shit less about a handmade sandwich. They want money for drugs and booze--nothing else. All you have to do is listen to their outlandish stories and see how long they follow you. I gave a bum a buck once and he sat there asking if I could give him five. These people feast on white guilt.

Homelessness is not just simply having no place to sleep, but also a form of social exclusion and marginalization, characterized by a lack of social ties and relations, carrying with it implications of 'belonging nowhere.'

The assault of destitution and homelessness on a person's character is immense, creating a sense of pessimism that can prevent that person looking for help, cause them to give up on life and give them a persona that only alienates them further from others in society. The homeless always have one thing on their mind and that is where the next meal will come from, to conjecture otherwise is an insult.

Another misnomer carried by people is that homelessness is unpreventable and is unchanging. What is clear though, is that since the wide spread introduction of neo liberalism into western government social and economic planning, homelessness and poverty has ballooned. This has now been imposed on developing countries to an even more extreme extent with rapid globalisation.

Poverty levels have doubled in the last 30 years in both America and Britain. Now 37 million people live below the poverty line in America alone. This has been translated into homelessness as well, with 2.5- 3.5 million Americans experiencing homelessness in America a year, more twice the levels than 30 years ago, well out of proportion with population growth. 39% of them are children, and 61% of first time homeless are single mothers with children, overwhelmingly citing threat of violence as a reason for leaving their homes.
Of course, ethnicity is alaso important, with balcks making up around 45-50% of homeless in America and all ethnic minorities making up 60% of homeless in the UK.The United Nations Center for Human Settlements now considers the total number of people homeless worldwide to be 100,000,000 with many more on the verge of losing what housing they had.

This growth is due to structural changes that have increased the risk of becoming homeless, including cuts in social welfare programs, withdrawal of the state from housing provision, increased commercialization of housing provision, increasingly uncertain unemployment markets, demographic changes, the breakdown of families, and increases in extreme poverty and income inequality.

Essentially the cost of living and utilities has grown greatly, but the rise in wages for the 3 main quintiles of western populations have experienced little growth. Figures in America obtained from the US Bureau of Statistics, and presented in 1982 dollars—show that a production worker in January 1973 earned $9.08 an hour—and $8.19 an hour in December 2005. In fact since 1973 increase in wages for the 3 lower quintiles of the population (the majority) has increased by only 0.5% a year, whereas the top quintile has experienced a growth of 3 times that, getting more and more extreme with percentile up. Previously, increase were roughly equal between demographics.
The minimum wage level has been unchanged for the past nine years. The US minimum wage has remained at $5.15 an hour since September 1, 1997. Since the last increase, the cost of living has risen 26 percent. After adjusting for inflation, this is the lowest level of the minimum wage since 1955.

In addition in both America and Britain manufacturing jobs have fallen by over 20%, the mainstay of working class employment. Over 3.4 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since 1998, and 2.9 million have been lost since 2001. Additionally, over 40,000 manufacturing firms have closed since 1999, and 90% have been medium and large shops. In labor-import intensive industries, 25 percent of laid-off workers remain unemployed after six months, two-thirds of them who do find new jobs earn less than on their old job, and one-quarter of those who find new jobs suffer wage losses of more than 30 percent. The loss of jobs may have been unavoidable, but those laid of received little help in retraining since at the same time government aid for orginizations and charities providing these services was slashed. Consider then the possible children of these people, growing up in poverty, poorly educated in under funded schools, due to increasing national government unwillingness to subsidize local government. Their prospects are extremely low, creating a culture of survivalism leading to crime and destitution.
Another example of homelessness being linked to lack of retraining is the prevalance of veterans amongst the homeless, - over 40% in America. The strict regimen of army life over many years can make it difficult for veterans to reenter civil life and accept differing norms.

Another issue is housing, increasingly public housing has been given over to the market, however, according to Scott Leckie, Director of the
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions in Geneva, "The legal housing market in every country in the world, no matter how rich or poor, fails to provide the necessary housing supply for the poorest 40 per cent of the population." The housing industry is geared to meeting the needs and preferences of those willing to pay the most, and uninterested in those unable to pay even the least. Uncontrolled and inefficient market conditions including sprawl, speculation, segregation and financing, increase the cost of housing
unnecessarily. Therefore, governments must intervene, providing resources to meet the needs of those not served by the market and enacting regulations to correct the inequalities that markets accentuate.

Throughout the world transnational economic pressures are causing and exacerbating the underlying structural causes of homelessness:skyrocketing housing costs, low wage employment and cutbacks in social services. Housing and land prices are being pushed up not only by domestic factors, but also by pressures from monied foreign investors purchasing property and speculating to turn a quick profit.

Homelessness is a direct affront to human rights, the deprivation of housing contravenes international law, European law and western national laws.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights , Article 25, says "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical
care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control." [The U.S. has endorsed and was
instrumental in drafting this Declaration.] Other relevant laws include: The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, Article 11.

People need to be helped out of homelessness or prevented from falling into it in the first place. Initiatives like those in Holland to give free services from qualified people aid to homeowners in economic matters to prevent them form losing their homes, or those in Canadian cities that give tax breaks on small business set up by homeless people such as trash disposal are important. However, government is necessary to ensure a safety net is in place so that people are able to access essential services and receive assistance in integrating themselves back into society and the economy.

It is neither efficient nor humane to have millions of people unable to afford housing and accessing crisis and emergency services for shelter, food,
health and mental health care. To rehabilitate people back into society is beneficial for the economy, increasing the workforce and consumer base.
There should always be a communal effort to end the inequalities that have been created by past prejudice and racism in society.

Yes, social spending is a large proportion of government revenue, but so is interest on government loans and defense. To attract foreign lender to sustain the west ever growing debt inflation has to be kept quite high, putting greater strain on citizens. Defense, especially with the Iraq war now eats billions of tax revenue. In America alone £500 billion is spent on defense, that of all the other militarizes in the world combined. Now, I'm not some rampant anti war campaigner, history is history, and at least Saddam is gone, but I never voted for my country to enter such a prolonged and inefficient war. To have tax money spent on improving lives seems to be a better use of it than funding excessive debt and making up for huge import/export imbalances.

well, I agree there are those with mental problems who probally should be taken off the streets.
That's the problem - you can't. A US Supreme Court decision in the early 80's said that a person who does not represent an immediate danger to society cannot be incarcerated or institutionalized against their will. This was the "big event" which resulted in such a large increase in the homeless population. All the cities and towns which had laws against "vagrancy" were no longer allowed to enforce those laws, and a lot of institutionalized people had to be let out.

PresidentBjork, your complaints about the problem have absolutely nothing to do with the cause of the problem.

That's the problem - you can't. A US Supreme Court decision in the early 80's said that a person who does not represent an immediate danger to society cannot be incarcerated or institutionalized against their will. This was the "big event" which resulted in such a large increase in the homeless population. All the cities and towns which had laws against "vagrancy" were no longer allowed to enforce those laws, and a lot of institutionalized people had to be let out.

yeah, we had an article regarding that in our paper awile back. If its against the law then, what is the U.S. government supposed to do? If there were the same laws about grabbing these people off the streets--would not these same forumers be attacking our oppresive government? What do they want us, as American citizens, to do about it? Like I have been saying all along--its not my problem.

Doesnt it just boil down to the individual and the family? In my thinking--it would be more effective. Not only that, but much, much cheaper.

And I believe all these tax breaks and free money handed over to the homeless and poor would be abused. Over a billion dollars of my money was misused and basically stolen after Katrina. These FEMA Debit cards were used to buy porn, sports tickets, Carribean vacations, guns, etc. What should make me think that my money wont be wasted again?

Building free homes and permanant shelters for every homeless person sounds nice. But doing that gives no intitiave to these people to go back out and achieve. This is basically the situation the worst of our inner cities are in. It already is an entitlement society that believes it deserves my money for whatever reasons they f'ed up their lives. Why should they go out and achieve when the U.S government will just give them money, food, and discounted housing for doing nothing?