An interesting look at the Homeless problem in Seattle. Spokane's downtown is also highly populated with the Homeless and a short walk from your car to an establishment is like running through beggers and the insane. It can actually be frightening.
In November we went out to dinner and on the way back to the car a homeless lady joined us walking back to the car. Not being assholes we calmly visited with her along the way. At the last minute, before we were getting in the car, she suddenly lunged forward and hugged me. While that was fine with me, I could see a lot of people not enjoying the experience.
I really don't understand the needle exchange programs and building homeless camps when what a lot of these people need is treatment. If access to drugs and needles is easy, what will be a bottom for them?
By the way, we used to love to go to Seattle for the weekend just to walk around and go shopping. We don't do that anymore it looks like a hell hole, stinks and feels dangerous. I hear that Portland and some California cities are in the same condition.
I'm not pretending to know the solution, but towards the end of this show they highlight a program in Rhode Island that seems to be having some success.
Needle exchange programs do nothing to stem the tide of addiction, but that was never really the intention of them. They were designed as a public health program to slow the spread of HIV and hepatitis.
Pretty much all treatment centers are at 100% capacity with waiting lists. That problem likely can only be solved with money.
It’s probably no coincidence that homelessness has become an increasing problem at the same time that income disparities have become increasingly pronounced. Chemical dependency and mental illness exasperate it, but poverty for the lowest decile of society means that millions of people are only one bad outcome away from homelessness.
That's my point if we are going to throw money at the problem (which in Seattle they are throwing huge amounts of money at it) then let's try to actually help them instead of prolong the misery.
If the government allowed businesses to hire people who don't have a permanent address at least half of the homeless people will be able to break out if poverty.
Not true, most of these people are drug addicts, not capable of working.
There are a few exceptions who still have a chance to save their asses, This might be the small push they need...
There is no way we can be able to do something for them because it is from themselves they should start quitting those habits of taking those substances. The only thing that might help them is seeing their fellow users quit those habits. It might be a great encouragement for them somehow. Thanks for sharing this awareness topic.
Certainly the individual has to do the heavy lifting, but expecting someone to "just quit a habit" when they are at the bottom of the social hierarchy is a lot to ask. You see, when you are at the bottom there are no guarantees you're even going to see tomorrow, so the present becomes more important than the future and delayed cratification becomes completely obsolete.
Sacrifices are needed to make a better future, but for someone in the bottom - they are not going to give up the only satisfaction in life they get from drugs/alcohol unless they genuinely believe they can change their lives. It's not even just changing a few habits, but changing one's whole being and belief systems, which is required to make a comprehensive shift.
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Well said as a former junky I can attest that what your saying is accurate. Addiction is sneaky and nobody would desire to become dependent on anything. No path to this depraved existence is ever alike but a common thread is most certainly a lack of meaningful connections and relationships that are healthy.
There is no easy way to rid society of its waste byproducts without a major paradigm shift. This shift would begin with removing the judgement and taboo of drugs and addiction. Humans are hardwired by their rewards system. Addicts have just hijacked that system with fill in the "blank", gambling, food, sex, video games, social media, shopping, whatever.
Seattle and Portland pale in comparison to the Bay Area. But, it's a, slippery slope and Seattle is certainly on it. Interesting that these affluent tech boom capitols of the world breed the worst most repulsive environments. I have stepped over bodies in SF not knowing if the covered mass is alive or dead, it's very much a zombie apocalypse rising shituation..
Let's not forget the majority of addicts have serious mental health issues to boot. Banning helpful plants and dolling out rx dope isn't the answer this much I'm sure of..
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I don't think the destruction of ethics (wrongly applied through the structures of church, granted , but they were still present)
With marxism, came atheism was the beginning of societal decay.
Atheism destroyed ethics (along with the church) - and never tried to replace it with anything. No alternative model, just destruction of the existing.
And this left a massive 'spiritual' the vacuum. (and still yet to be replaced with something).
This has created a societal wide nihilism that in turn ....I'll stop now..
This is an excellent point and something I talk about a lot too.
It's fine that people have moved away from churches, but where are our kids getting any sense of values or morals. It seems like too often, they are just being raised to be pleasure seekers.
Maybe from parents?
Yes for many it is true, but I also think at a peer level my friends and I talked about right and wrong, and pleasure-seeking in terms of drugs, alcohol, sex, cheating, lying we had more of a moral compass back then.. Geez, I sound old.
I'm so glad you said Zombie Apocalypse, because that is what it reminds me of as well. The living dead.
When I say dead, I mean this does not look like living.
Well Said!
You could have just said 'you're talking shit' - but your comment was far more informative...
Not really my style :P
I bow to your patience...
Agreed.
When you are in the botton, the only way given for you is to climb up. It is really hard to change if the means are just always there around so the most effective way though inevitable is to get out of the place where it is easy for them to have access indulging to those illegal substances.
Homelessness problems? Even the rich will give up their homes and just force themselves to become bystanders and living on the streets where there is access to illegal drugs.
The sane mind becomes irrational because they will do everything just to satisfy their cravings. Quit the bad habit and stick to it. If not, get imprisoned or be sanctioned just for them to totally stop.
Amazed by all of your responses.
They would require at least some detox and if they are unfixable, which I don't believe... should they be allowed to turn the city into a huge garbage pit?
The best way to minimize the number of substance users if not totally STOP it, is for the government to become really stern in doing something about this problem. Here in the Philippines, there have been a lot of people who got imprisoned just because they are proven taking these illegal substances. There have been some warnings and programs that they will get to be under surveillance or get rehabilitated for free just for them to stop using drugs. It's always been a great way to count the number of days/months being sober. Once someone stopped, they should continue not using it again, ever! Thank you so much @whatsup for sharing your thoughts with us.
We have slipped int 2nd world status, soon approaching third world. Sad but a reality we must awaken to.
Agreed. Many of our major cities are disgusting and it is getting worse not better
Whether the tents in the video are the places where the homeless live.?
it is truly alarming.
It reminds me of New York City on the 90s and although it is still seen, I feel it was much worst back then. It comes down to the thought that the cure is worst than the disease.
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Agreed.
Thats the saddest thing, we get taught that junkies and the homeless are to be avoided, and we forget that everyone is human and that drug addictions are an illness. Most junkies I work around in Oslo, Norway when Im there,turned to heroin and pills ect just because someone had left them like a partner in the past.. Just over sensative people in a world that is constantly dividing and seperarting us all apart.
Interesting fact is that I and some others around enjoy to be 'Houseless' but luckily my only addiction is tabacoo so its a concious choice instead of being left out of society 😀
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It is a sad thing when homeless are cause by governments and companies. Landlords and fucking banks cause homeless. My wife and I make pretty ok money but the prices of rent and Bill's and taxes is getting out right insane.
My Bill's to live are over 60% of our wages and I still live in a place smaller than I would like with my kids sharing rooms and small space.
A single person making minimum wage will almost never be able to live in thier own place they will have to live with roommates to have even a 1 bedroom when they are paying 800 a month rent and making 1400 after taxes it makes it dam nere impossible to not be homeless
Drug use is a not even close to the only reason for homelessness. In my part of Canada we have so few low rent places and the homeless shelters are full. The government needs to step in and lower rent or build more apartments for low income people
Actually the government did step in... they created the Landlord tenant act which made renting out a home so expensive and such a liability everyone sold their rental houses or just quit renting.
I do agree housing costs are too high, but I also think that government interference and banks giving out huge loans are part of that problem as well.
Thats insane! no more personal incomes then from renting out propertys? Thats wrong, stopping people to earn money like that! Just like stamping out uber drivers, and uber starting to use driverless cars.. taking job opportunity from people who have the savvy to make money with their own car
Garbage, human waste and crime is a real problem no matter whether or not one recognizes the humanity of the situation. Watch the video. :)
After watching it all its still reinforcing how I believe that the main problem with this is that we still consider the work- to rent -to live lifestyle as the only lifestyle when two things are obvious- there are other ways to live, and the other being that if you don't seem to fit in the box, and believe there's no alternative ways to live then ofcourse you will turn to addictions just to cope everyday living, in a situation that reoccurs everyday and is hard to escape from.
The situation is firstly the surroundings, and not the addiction itself, the addictions come from sadness ans no vision to escape a situation.
I'm just trying to say that someone who is trapped in this cycle just doesn't naturally fit in a 9-5 life of slavery, and had artistic skills and should have gone travelling instead.
I also believe homelessness and open drug abuse is allowed as a very good propaganda tool to keep the masses believing that they are doing the right thing and are better off to live inside the system of working and just about surviving that way instead of asking questions and conforming.
The masses are also junkies, firstly hooked on sugar with other addictions such as internet and others, even coffee lol.
I could really go on but tbh, in the video the guy working with the addicts said himself > "Some don't even want to stop living like this" and goes on to say the reason being because of the drugs, when actual fact the people realize they can live in a tent and loose the obligations and commitments to 'making a better life' for themselves, just as society says, get a job and start a family, buy a house.. This for some is just a bad way to live and we don;t all fit in the box's..
Maybe Thats the problem
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Ill check it out soon when im at laptop 😁
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Why do they congregate in Seattle then? If you want to live in the same place you shit and throw your garbage go start a little settlement...
Grow some veggies or something to sell, see people do it every day. I also find anyone who equates slavery with a job you can quit or improve at any given time, just being dramatic and actually minimizing the horror of real slavery.
My guess on why they hang around in Seattle? Because they can beg and steal from the people doing the jobs, they can get free needles, free tents, free meals. You will not find another situation in Nature where the freeloaders are allowed to bring down the entire pack, herd etc.
While I will agree not everyone could or should live in a box, I think the drug addicted, zombies should find someplace else to live if they can't even clean up their shit. :)
If they did keep a space tidy, not leave needles laying around and quit stealing from everyone, I bet not many would complain.
I completely agree that its bad they stay in the city but yes, that's where the food and the money is (and the drugs) and I bet none of them had thought to go live in the forest and learn about nature and growing food ect, because they are firstly trapped in their own mind and completely absorbed in constant thinking.
The interesting thing is that crazy people who have conversations with themselves out loud, or when it seems they are talking to an imaginary person, they are simply just thinking but the only difference is that they don't answer the voice in the head quietly, they do it aloud lol.
We get thoughts from a voice in out head and then we answer it in our heads and not out loud, simply example being of thoughts coming along such as - "I think I want to make a coffee"... "Yes I do, so I'll go make one"
And someone who is crazy will think say "I think I want to make a coffee" But then they answer out loud to the voice in the head "I HAVE NO COFFEE!" and this is the line between sociable crazy or normal.
I get the impression that most people that stay in society and live badly with addiction and filth around them, they are firstly at rock bottom and are usually very emotionally weak people who don't really see the point to better the situation due to depression being the main cause.
I was thinking whilst watching that video yesterday "why dont they use hypnosis as treatment for addictions?!"
Could then easily reprogramm people's minds which would have much better effects than "medication" (its bad they call Methodrone a medicine when its actually worse than heroin itself!) and much better than to put people in jail.
These people need treatment agreed. While they are human, these people are stuck in a cycle of self-destruction but to allow them to ruin a nice city is insane, human waste, crime and garbage are risks to public health.
..thanks for the reminder to watch that vid, will get back to ya!
This is shit cause it is the cause of the governments and banks. People can't afford places even making minimum wage.
Drugs use sucks but I can tell you this was not the first choice these people made and some homeless are not drug users
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The government and banks did not cause people to become drug addicted. Watch the video or go to Seattle, Spokane or any other left coast city. It is a shit storm of tweekers obviously wondering the streets.
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I'd reply to think if I knew what point you are trying to make or even where the stats came from, they seem very outdated.