Downtown homelessness.
Everywhere you look these days it seems that you see the characters who look unkempt, who are talking to themselves, who are begging with a sign that says they are homeless and need help, who push shopping carts full of their stuff, who are flat out asleep on a park bench.
This is a major and federal issue; more people cannot afford the cost of housing, the rent keeps growing higher and the jobs aren’t plentiful that pay for these high rents. More and more people are living in cars, tents, or in areas of brush and trees, or under highways. More people complain about needles used to shoot heroin left on sidewalks or in parks where their children play. More people are seeing active drug users shooting up heroin or meth, drug cocktails, right out in the open.
This is causing businesses to lose revenue, whose customers don’t feel safe coming into their stores, who pay more and can’t afford the cost of paying anyone to work full-time, because they can no longer afford to cover benefits. The spiral continues and the government does nothing.
Nothing, that is, that makes a dent in these issues; many that stem from the drug use of these people that can’t find jobs, or have mental health problems, who can’t afford to pay for mandated medical coverage or who don’t know the ropes to get indigent medical coverage which costs nothing, but filling out their applications. They might find drug treatment that they would get coverage for due to the fact that they are homeless, earning no income, or possibly they get disability benefits or social security income for their retirement.
They ought to make it mandatory that people cannot be homeless, living on the street and doing drugs.
This should be federally mandated that the United States gives homeless people a place to live, but is a housing program where they have to get clean and sober before leaving the premises.
Then they must learn to work and be productive members of society, either by doing the cleaning, cooking or some other function in this “community” in which they are given a home.
This could be an ongoing lifestyle; they can find jobs outside of the community once they’ve graduated, and can’t afford the cost of rentals in the general community so are able to pay for their homes in this mandated program, something where they still are mandated to participate in some way to live there. But it would be affordable so they could pay and get in off the streets.
These are ideas I am having prompted by the videos I have been watching about how Silicon Valley employees of Google or other high-tech companies are not able to pay the high rents in California. Living in cars has become a viable way to live, for a period of time, but let’s face it, living in a car does not make for a mentally healthy place to live. There is no running water, no indoor plumbing, no shower, no cooking or refrigeration facilities, and not much privacy or safety.
If this problem is growing like they say it is, and I’m watching all these videos that have me glued to this misery, as a Christian, more people should be working to solve this ever-growing problem. This is the harvest that must be intervened upon. These people are really suffering and government is either too stupid, or too uncaring, to stop this from happening to more of our good citizens.
Christianview.blog 
I have met quite a few homeless people and their situation usually is very desperate. We have some panhandlers at the Walmart parking lot especially during the holidays. Great Falls where I live has pushed out himeless people from the city limits and they have made camps out by the Missouri River and it is actually considered dangerous to go out in that area. I guess it does make it bad for the city merchants if they have a business and they’re surrounded by tents with human excrement and urine smell this is actually pretty disgusting. Some of these folks are in their right mind and some are not. Some are way way out there. There was a homeless man actually quite famous who roamed the streets of Great Falls with a wooden cart people would make for him and then he would gather all manner of garbage until he had this bizarre looking helicopter type weirdness. You have to see it I guess hard to explain. My idea was to build concrete structures that would have pods in them like a jail cell in a sense utilitarian stainless steel near indestructible toilet and sink, a platform for a mattress and possibly built in drawers and closet in the wall. The design could be made for ease of maintenance. I figured that most about the trouble with homeless is that they do not want to keep themselves clean even if they have a way to do it but not all. I believe a building could be constructed and then when a tenant moves out they can come in and literally hose the place and use chemical to kill all germs and smell and repaint if they have to. That might sound kind of austere but it doesn’t have to look bad it’s what you make of the room. They could have a door they could be assigned a key and it could be a stepping stone for them to find work with a help like you say quest Federal money. I mean they’re giving illegal aliens billions and billions of dollars that could be helping our own people. Go figure. It has been the Christians that have been helping the homeless throughout the years. Now it seems to just be worse because no one is stepping up to the plate and the problem is growing exponentially. I am a little aggravated by the rhetoric of the Democrats in recent events President Trump is stopping financial aid ti Guatemala and Honduras because they seem to be condoning and encouraging an illegal influx into our country. Why aren’t we helping our own people? The Democrats cry foul because President Trump is stopping aid to these countries yet you can go to California the land of the rich liberals who aren’t doing much if anything to help their homeless which makes them ultra hypocrites. I agree the problem has gotten so out of hand it is almost unfathomable to know what to do and the only one that’s going to help would be the Lord who says he loves it when you take care of the poor. Perhaps it will be the Christians alone that do it. Daunting is an understatement because it is Nationwide and I can’ Imagine that the homeless are in the millions
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve made a lot of great points, Rick. I can appreciate all you’ve said, and I agree with what you’ve said, wholeheartedly.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comment.
LikeLike