In Seattle we are ramping up on housing. The problem is that a high percentage of the homeless don’t want the housing. Many prefer to live in the homeless encampments where they have 100% freedom.
That is not a problem, that is a consequence. And its something you'd have hard time fixing. And if so why not start with homeless that want the housing first?
People who what and are helped back into society are going to be net benefit financially, even people who hate others and love money cant argue. Helping those people back up is investment that always pays off.
So why is this an issue?
Also:
> high percentage of the homeless don’t want the housing
> Many prefer to live in the homeless encampments
A snarky Citation Needed. Where did you get that?
It not like those people were born homeless and this is their 'lifestyle' majority tripped and felt. Nobody helped them and they are stuck there.
Given enough time and they will become disillusioned and resentful of outsiders. Worse get used to living rough.
That said, there will be always a % of people who cannot be helped. And that's ok, we can't save everyone.
Living in a tent sounds preferable from constantly being on the move. A shelter does not mean you have dedicated space to be in whenever you want.
In my experience discussions usually criticize homeless people for not accepting "housing", when what is offered is shelters. So housing usually refers erroneously to shelter housing.
One of the most striking cases was a 70 year old man who was working as a handyman and had his tools confiscated. The building he was in also didn't allow incoming calls or visitors. Other homeless people reported warrantless searches, or anti-drug and alcohol policies which addicts don't want to abide by.
Completely unreasonable requirements /s
The problem is the homelessness is an overloaded problem. There are at least 3 different types of homeless people. See here : https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/ikc4zt/homeless_...
The transient homeless are usually down on their luck need these shelters. They make up the majority and need these resources.
The substance abusers and mentally ill both need to be institutions. Both need medical & mental care, and are not fit for interaction with society. This especially applies to those that are severely mentally ill or violent meth addicts. The rest are the 'treatable' type of addict, whose separation from society is not due to unfitness to coexist with people, but so they are prioritized in care, because they are the most treatable.