On the rise
I can't count the number of times I hear on the news that our economy is great and only getting better. Is it that the government doesn't know or just doesn't care about those who are poor?
There are a lot of homeless people in my state, and the government's efforts to help seem inadequate and wrongheaded.
Most homeless people just don't have enough money to rent a place to live. They don't need counseling, they need an apartment/home - once they have that, the other stuff will follow. Ask Finland ... A Scandinavian country is close to eliminating homelessness with a simple solution. Communities around the world are racing to copy it.
posted by crystal | 11:18 PM
2 Comments:
Unfortunately the article about Finland's approach to homelessness is paywalled, but I have read other articles that said it is a "housing first" policy. They use social housing already in the system, and have bought units from the private market, and also built some units. They no longer use homeless shelters, which have been converted to supported housing. Their thinking is that the first priority is getting people housed, and then their other problems will be easier to address.It sounds good to me.
Yes, that's what the article said. A few years ago I saw a news segment about a similar program in San Diego that gave homeless people their own apartments. It really helped them deal with all their other problems to have a place of their own where they were safe and could have a pet and keep their stuff. I think in the US we are reluctant to give people stuff that they haven't "earned", even if it means that overall money will be saved. The Puritan Ethic ... "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." H.L. Mencken
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