Plot Twist

So-called 'community activists' who advocate that the homeless are only as such because of 'mean-society syndrome' only do so because their financial interests are tied to siphoning off money from the income transfer from taxpayers to the failed social problems supposedly 'helping' these people. Stop funding the 'poverty industry' advocates. Spend the money on hospitals and true mental health and addiction-treatment professionals and fix this human tragedy problem. Take the money away from these 'homeless- advocate' grifters and we'll see improvement in the situation.

A certain “journalist” by the name of Geraldo Rivera made his career doing a hit piece for WABC-TV in New York about a mental hospital in NYC named Willowbrook. The hospital housed hopeless mental patients and was a uniquely awful place. Rivera’s story triggered the closing of state mental hospitals around the country. Rivera moved on to doing “journalism” about Al Capone’s closet. In the meantime those hopelessly mentally ill ended up on the streets. Rivera doesn’t do mental illness stories now.

There are genuine cases of poverty, hunger and helplessness on the street. I suspect that the majority of the homeless have found an acceptable way to not work, steal what they need from stores and do drugs without the fear of arrest. Government even supplies them with clean needles, how cool is that?

IIRC, there was a story many years ago about a homeless woman in San Antonio who stood on a street corner with the "Will work for food" sign. Of course, no one offered her work but instead handed her a few dollars and kept on driving. She made $90,000 that year.

"homelessness is deeply connected to addiction, mental illness, and crime" Which Conservatives have been suggesting for a long time. This creates a big problem for the Left which blames such problems on cold hearted Capitalism and Republicans. We aren't "good" people and the homeless suffer for it. Now it seems that the plight of the homeless is due to inherent problems of the homeless themselves; often difficult and intractable problems that cannot be fixed by giving them shelter, finding them jobs, or giving them money. Further, even if we focus on the real problems of addiction and mental illness, these problems are often deep rooted and in many cases, NOT fixable. Some of the people suffering from such problems are dangerous. Many such people used to be committed to mental institutions. We decided that was cruel and we released them into society but, mostly, it wasn't possible to treat them or cure them so they wander the streets, new generations with the same types of problems perpetuating and even expanding the issue. That's bad enough but the Left has made this into a political football that deliberately ignores the root causes that makes dealing with it almost impossible. They ignore the root causes because it makes the issue useless as a cause. So they would rather have the cause rather than working on a solution; so true for the Left about so many things.

I believe this is not news to most of us. Clearly, when we see clips from the homeless encampments, mental illness and addiction appear to be a huge factor that no one really wants to address. It is not a failure to admit there is a real and serious problem in the homeless situation in this country. The failure is refusing to face reality. We cannot solve a problem if we refuse to acknowledge there is one. It is very difficult to urge a mentally ill or addicted person to be responsible for his/her own mental health because of the nature of the illness. After the government shut down so many facilities that were used to house and treat them, they gravitated toward the streets. Democrat policies have kept them there with little to no solution for the real treatment they need. This should not be happening in this country. It is a dangerous and disease ridden disaster that shows no sign of changing anytime soon. Democrats have created the mess and they don’t care that they are destroying their cities because virtue signaling sanctimony is more important to them than doing what needs to be done. Their despicable policies are shameful which is why they should never be allowed to hold any position of power. They are incapable of governing.

I have a friend in Seattle who used to work at the King County jail. She said that most of the people there were not real criminals but were mentally ill. Bring back mental hospitals and make it legal for family members to commit relatives. Would all those kids at Sandy Hook still be alive if Adam Lanza’s mother had been able to force him into a facility?

We are told that the homeless are just like us if not for bad luck but what we see appears far different from us. We are told that the earth is warming, we remember the cold winters of the late 70's and think well maybe so then they claim that Manhattan will be flooded, Miami will have alligators swimming in the streets and we only have ten years to live and that was fifteen years ago. We have seen with out own eyes that these didn't come true yet it hasn't deterred the left from doubling down on their claims. We are told that babies aren't human until the moment they are outside of the womb and that in a few seconds of air humanity is bestowed upon them. Then we are told even then that they aren't really human if the mother didn't want them as though being wanted is the definition of humanity and the right to life. We are told that there is nothing to fear in certain communities yet those telling us there is nothing to fear wouldn't dare go themselves without an armed posse. We are told that if we would just love our Arab Muslim neighbors they will stop wishing us converted or dead. Everything the Left espouses is false. They are a complete fraud. Yet we have a generation going to vote who have been raised in the indoctrination camps of the Left public school system, heck, some are wiggling their way into congress. Even Dan Crenshaw has swallowed the climate change lure hook line and sinker. These same people ask that we suspend common sense, ignore history, ignore what we see with our own eyes and trust them that socialism is a great system that it simply hasn't been done right. Our young have been betrayed, burdened with debt convinced that acquiring more debt can secure "free" college, healthcare, and whatever the next will be. Soon real responsible working people like us will be among the homeless in staggering proportions if we lose this struggle with the Left.

What does it say about ‘homeless advocates’ that don’t even know the makeup of the homeless. Their opinions should be disregarded.

1) D'uh 2) We told you so doesn't seem enough.

I know I’m going to get beat up for saying this but here goes: barring a legitimate mental disorder, we are where we are in life because of choices we’ve made. The trick is to make more good choices than bad ones.

There is a fine line between helping and enabling. If a person is capable of helping himself and instead we help him completely, we are enabling that person. When we enable, we basically take away that person's motivation to self-improve and to accept responsibility for their own actions.

The homeless are a perfect advertising medium for libs who blame wealth and capitalism for societal ills rather than accept any message of personal responsibility. But we don't live in a time like the 'Great Depression' and jobs are aplenty (at least for the moment). Mental illness and addiction are problems that don't heal without help and individual effort. Those in this condition should not be free to injure themselves let alone others. We need to reconstitute public sanitariums/hospitals and commit such people even if involuntarily. I personally believe treatment should be STRONGLY encouraged though not to strap people down or chemically lobotomize them. But any return to open society should be contingent upon 'cure' - which might well be never. Treatment of the homeless in community health environments has always been a joke.

FTA: "An emerging body of evidence confirms what people see plainly on the streets: homelessness is deeply connected to addiction, mental illness, and crime." Why yes, that is what is going on. They are no longer welcome in the homes of family and former friends who they have, in many cases, used and betrayed over and over. I will tell you this, under no circumstances would I use the street as a toilet, I don't care how poor and desperate I was. They sneer at society and have no sense of shame.

There is no reason for a healthy, non-addicted, mentally competent person to be homeless now. The job market is such that employers are begging for employees. Anyone choosing to be homeless because they can't find a job that is dignified enough for them is either mentally incompetent, or does not deserve anything from the taxpayers! The homeless are pets to the progressives. They need the homeless so they can feel good (superior) about themselves, and to use as pawns against political opponents.

It's not the lack of mental hospitals, but the Constitutional rights of the ill to have a hearing with representation before one can be involuntarily committed, i.e. incarcerated. The process is slow and expensive, costs mostly falling on local and state governments. For that reason, very few cases are taken up.

After we're in the clear of the Corona virus epidemic and the stock market revives, I would love to hear President Trump announce a plan for his second term to help tackle the Homeless situation in this country. Should Joe Biden make it to a presidential debate with President Trump, I would like this question directed at him, " If you become potus, what would you do to help reduce the homeless population." I suspect his answer would be quite entrertaining.

Captain Old-vious here. I read similar numbers on the homeless over 30 years ago in an article published in the "Reader's Digest". it stated that approximately roughly 1/3 were "societal drop-outs", 1/3 mentally ill and 1/3 "temporarily homeless". "Societal drop-outs" being a euphemism for drug addicts. The "temporary homeless" were described as those living on the economic edge, generally very low-skill workers whose economic situation outs them one misstep away from not being able to pay rent.

I lost all compassion for the homeless years ago, particularly since the left refuses to accept basic common sense that if you expect little out of people that is what you will get in return. Additionally, my 41 year old son has cerebral palsy and Aspergers, and has been washing dishes at $11/hour for TEN years. He makes less than $14,000 a year and has NEVER been on government assistance of any kind. It is time for society to wake up and admit that we all have been snookered by the left and their illogical explanations of the human condition. We need immediate steps to triage the homeless into mentally ill, addicted and then determine the right strategies and costs for dealing with those elements of the homeless population. The rest need to be told to find work or not eat.

As usual, the hardest thing to penetrate before we can solve problems is the left's fantasy narrative anchored in their ideology.

Early in the article he says: "An emerging body of evidence confirms what people see plainly on the streets: homelessness is deeply connected to addiction, mental illness, and crime. Yep, that's it. Bingo for Mr. Rufo. And apparently there might even be some movement in the RIGHT direction? "...Anton Nigusse Bland, a physician and director of mental health reform for the city [SanFran], has pledged to “develop a strategic approach to mental health and substance use services for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.” " Could they be finally stumbling upon the truth, after having had it pointed out to them and denying it for many years? I suppose even a blind, leftist pig occasionally will find an acorn. We'll see if they actually follow through.

Proud of you #19 and your son--who tragically has had to deal with handicaps most of us never will. Yet he perseveres. Tell him he is amazing!!

Use to have a “homeless guy” hit me up for money outside the old US Bank tower in Mpls where I worked! After the 2nd time I said “really dude”? He kept asking but was dressed as well as me! There is a huge scam of these pan handlers in the downtown! I always give money if approached. I must as a Christian! But, the Bible also commands that he who doesn’t work should not eat!

It's a little more complicated than that. Not everyone is an addict or plain old bum. There are people who are disabled and on fixed incomes who cannot afford to live in California nowadays, and cannot afford to move either. It's rough making ends meet even when working full time, unless you are an engineer (or other high-tech specialist) or upper-level manager.

In California, you also have to remember the criminals. Our social-justice-warriors passed two propositions that effectively emptied the jails. A lot of these sterling citizens are currently in California homeless camps - as well as the addicts, mentally-ill, and marginal poor.