Hacker News Reader

Comment by M_Grey | Hacker News Reader

The biggest issue with shelters is also that they're incredibly unsafe, much of the time. Rape, robbery, and assault are commonplace.

View on HN

   Y: "There are too many homeless here, it feels unsafe."
   A: "How dare you! Those are human beings!"
   Y: "Why can't they stay in shelters?"
   A: "They feel unsafe, there are too many homeless there."

It would be funny if it weren't tragic.

What's tragic is that you think warehousing people who are overwhelmingly addicts, or mentally ill would be workable. The term, 'Bedlam' springs to mind.

Besides, it's almost like different homeless people are... different... people.

That is not what I think.

I can only read posts, not minds.

And even your ability to read posts is questionable, given that ~Camillo didn't write any of the words you're putting into their mouth.

But sadly less unsafe than the street. It sucks to be homeless big time.

It does suck, but safety on the streets is highly variable depending on your experience and what you're trying to be safe from. If your bad experiences are getting groped every night, the risk of death from exposure or someone hassling you on the streets may seem more desirable.

Daily survival is not a game theory problem. If I were homeless and expected sexual assault at shelters I would probably feel so insecure there that I would end up trying to live on the street instead, even at the risk of freezing.

It's not a rational choice but sexual assault does not often result in (or come from) rational decisions.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com