Homeless In America — Can This Problem Ever Be Solved? I Found Someone Who Thinks It Can Be — What Do You Think?
Posted by Catherine Morgan on April 2, 2007
Recognizing Homelessness Is Not A Simple Issue
The way you eliminate homelessness as a social condition is multi-faceted. It is not merely a matter of shelter. That is the first thing that must be understood.
It is not a matter of mental health issues and addictions alone, nor of finances or any other condition alone. Homelessness is a condition brought about by a variety of factors, and every individual situation is not the same. The end state, however, is.
There is a way to end this. The solution is right in front of us and ready-made, if we as a society have the desire and fortitude to pursue it. It is society itself—as a concept.
Providing The Homeless With A Home: Decommissioned Military Bases
I will not make this any longer than it needs to be, so I am going to get straight to my proposed solution. We can end homelessness by providing those who are homeless with a home. And I mean home in an all-encompassing sense, not just a shelter.
We provide them with a home that offers them solutions to the myriad of issues that all homeless individuals must cope with. We can provide a society in which they can begin the climb back from despair and poverty. How? We simply make use of existing resources that we have.
We turn decommissioned military bases into communities where the homeless can begin to embrace being part of a society again as the first step towards becoming independent and regaining their dignity and self-respect.
The Infrastructure Is Already In Place
Decommissioned military bases are in effect pre-built communities. They have barracks and other forms of housing. They have Post Exchanges (PX’s) which are set up as stores, and they have bowling alleys and basketball courts and many office buildings and facilities for repair and maintenance already set up.
These decommissioned military bases have utilities—water, electricity, fueling stations, and the ability to accommodate upgrades and retrofits. They have streets, they have defined boundaries, the basics of what any small community would have.
Cost Is Lowest For A Comprehensive Solution
Because of the existing infrastructure and land and housing, the cost of this solution would automatically be lower than any other all-encompassing solution. Not just for the initial implementation of it, but for the maintenance of it as well.
You see, these communities could be turned into self-sufficient ones, that grow their own food, even raise livestock, and provide their own services. Government employees would staff these communities as trainers, and policing could be provided by military personnel. Think of them as gated communities……………………….
These are excerpts from this article………..READ MORE FROM No More Homeless In America
……………………………………………………………………………Many problems could be addressed with this simple solution. It merely takes a society with the will to implement it to make it work, and some compassionate and caring workers to help see it through to fruition.
Any potential downsides would be more than offset by the good. Imagine that if there were teens in abusive family situations and the Department of Human Services failed to help them—as we have seen time and time again—they would have a place to go. It need not be just for those who are homeless due to misfortune, addictions, a fire that burned down their home, or bankruptcy. Victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse would have a safe place to go and get on their feet.
It is just a matter of shifting our thinking that it is better to ignore a problem as long as it does not affect us, to one that says it is better to do something positive.
There is much more to this article, including additional insight on this proposed solution in the comment section of My Errant Mind — No More Homeless In America.
RELATED STORY: Obama To Unveil Housing Plans For Vets
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POLITICALLY RELEVANT MUSIC VIDEO TO THE SONG BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER – by Simon and Garfunkle — You will really be touched by this video, it is worth a listen.
Also See My Previous Post:
THE HOMELESS, THE HUNGRY, AND THE WORKING POOR
An Open Letter to Presidential Candidates
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michaelhill said
I will make this really short.
Get a pen and paper and write the figure $500,000,000,000.00 on a piece of paper several times and then imagine you are writing a check for that amount. Could you write a check for that amount? Could anyone you know?
That’s a lot of freaking money.
That amount of money could cure most of the woes of the USA and still have change left over for lunch.
amadorwr said
How many homeless people could find a home if they really wanted it? Can’t help think people bring things upon themselves and quite possibly many homeless people want to remain that way.
From the author of the blog “A Chat with Mark Twain”. Email address: frankeckblom@sbcglobal.net
Catherine Morgan said
“Amadorwr” — Thanks for the comment. As I am sure there are some people that wish to remain homeless, I believe that is surely the minority. So, many homeless are just children, I’m sure they all wish they had a warm bed to put their head on at night.
Sharon David said
Not all people want be homeless. I have a daughter and her 3 children, one was a baby that were homeless in California living in one place or another, sleeping on the floor and they didn’t want to live that way. They couldn’t find a place to rent that was cheap or afford. They came back to Wisconsin and live with me for about a year then got a place that the rent was high on and had a hard time making month to month rent was late a coupl;e of times and they got evicted. Had a hard nose landlord which took their rent money and two weeks later gave the money back with an eviction notice. So they became homeless again and this time she had an baby under two months old. Once again they came to live in my small house which made nine in all living here. They have once again found a home not the greatest to live in back it was the only person that would rent to them. They have one paycheck coming in and both my daughter and her boyfriend are going to school. They don’t want to be poor or to be homeless. The goverment needs to start soending mony in our country to help out the poor, starving, and our poor schooling systems. Because there is so many people out there that want the help and need the help and don’t want to be living the way they are. Our goverment seems to be helping everybody else except for the American citazins.
William Hicks said
No child ever answered “I’d like to become a homeless person” to the question ‘what do you wanna be when you grow up (or even worse, how about right now kids?)’. Unfortunately, homelessness is just an unfortunate symptom of one of the great challenges of our time, poverty.
Poverty encompasses just about everything you need to know of what’s wrong with our ’system’. As long as Profiteering takes precedent over social justice, people will continue to suffer.
The human condition in this country and the world is this way because we allow it be so. The world is exactly what we permit ourselves to accept.
Have a nice day.
amadorwr said
In our society the homeless must fare for themselves. Somehow they find a way to manage – with or without family help.
Christi said
I’m a high school student in Georgia, and I’m actually doing a term paper on the issues that America has concerning the homeless. As many of said before myself, most people don’t want to be homeless. Many homeless people are homeless because they have to be, not because they want to be. America needs to step up to the plate, and really consider doing something to change the issue. Not just shove it under the rug and try to forget about it.