"I've come to believe that a partial solution to this would be to arrest and hospitalize the homeless, subject them to every test medicine has within reason, and force into treatment those who are sick in some way or who have substance addiction. It's expensive, civil liberties maniacs on the left and right would howl, federal courts would have to find such policies licit, and only a Christianization of the United States can really make a difference, ultimately."
The road to you-know-where, as the old saying goes, is paved with good intentions. A lot of our problems with homelessness began with de-institutionalization, also known as "mainstreaming," of mental patients – whether their presenting factor is traumatic brain injury, or some other cause. But because some mental patients, at some hospitals, were being abused, rather than directly and effectively address that specific issue, the decision was made to basically release everybody, or at least a great number of people who should not have been released (and subsequently, to not institutionalize a lot of people who should have been institutionalized). And what any level-headed individual might have predicted is the result.
And yes, I have come near to homelessness for a period of time, myself, due to a job loss during the "Great Recession"; the line between solvency and abject poverty is thinner than some would believe. So I do have sympathy / empathy for those who are homeless through no fault of their own (unfortunately I *have* met a fair number of people who are homeless as a career choice, although that too many be rooted in some sort of mental illness...). But such empathy cannot be allowed to permit or excuse behaviors that chisel away at the underpinnings of society. That is neither Christian nor is it pragmatically sensible!
Of course you're right that the only real solution to the problem of evil is the re-Christianization of this nation... and in absolute terms, there won't be a complete solution until Christ comes again. But we still should try to do what we can – as my dear late mother used to say, "work as if it all depends on you, and pray as if it all depends on God!"
And may the Lord bless and keep you, sir, to bring about a good outcome from your examination, and to protect you from all maleficent intent.
Sir, you need to research the connection between traumatic brain injury and homeless. It's significant. Study after study has found that as many as half or more of the chronically homeless have suffered a traumatic brain injury during their lifetimes.
Therefore, articles such as yours do not sit well with me. The great majority of homeless people are not layabouts whom society should be wary of, as though they were wild animals who have encroached upon the suburbs once too often. Most homeless are physically very sick people. Of course, the incidence of substance abuse is very high among them. Why would it not be? They're desperate for physical relief.
I understand this in ways you never can. I am a childhood mass murder survivor, who has two severe disabilities, one of which is a traumatic brain injury. I have never been able to work. I was never able to finish school, or to marry.
I'm now 71 years old. I have been homeless, thank God for only ten weeks, in 2002. If God had not provided for me through the pittance which is SSI ( $914 per month in 2023 ) and through help from my church, I would have had to commit suicide. I still may.
In addition to looking into the link between traumatic brain injury and homelessness, you need to look into the correlation between higher scores in the ACE Study and lifetime incidence of homelessness.
And obviously, the miserable problems of alcohol and drug addiction run through all of this.
My point is that the great majority of homeless people are sick, and American society's disgrace is not that we have so many homeless people, but that we do such a terrible job of looking after our most vulnerable.
The expression which you used in your article, "down on their luck," shows a cluelessness about the problem which you should be better than.
Bobby, I've had to deal with the homeless both on my property and at my church. That includes a wildfire one set on my land and one using church property to deal drugs. So I am far from clueless.
That said, it is beyond awful what you have gone through. I will make a point to pray for you.
There is no question we need to deal with homelessness better. But L. A., Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, etc. are NOT showing the way. I will add that part of what we are doing in my community is a ministry that gives real help to homeless, including job training and bus rides to family.
It sounds as though your church is helping to lead the way. That is great. Yes, there are homeless who are psychotic, and there are homeless who, as one guy said of himself in a conversation with me, are in their position because they've been "lifelong eff - ups." ( I have had great hopes for that man. )
My congregation is active in a local group which aims to make the trades attractive to young people who might have the talents for them.
I've come to believe that a partial solution to this would be to arrest and hospitalize the homeless, subject them to every test medicine has within reason, and force into treatment those who are sick in some way or who have substance addiction. It's expensive, civil liberties maniacs on the left and right would howl, federal courts would have to find such policies licit, and only a Christianization of the United States can really make a difference, ultimately.
Thank you for your prayers. I might not have written last night if I had not gotten a notice in the mail from SSA that they have to conduct the examination which the law obligates them to conduct occasionally, the exam which will determine if I'm still disabled. It's harassment, of course, and I'm just paranoid enough to believe in the possibility that it's coming now, after twenty years without such an exam, because a cousin of mine, who is married into a lot of money and is evil, has something to do with it. You can't confirm or gainsay my intuition, but it's solid and insistent, and I am grateful for anyone's prayer that why ever it is being done, I won't get caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare.
"I've come to believe that a partial solution to this would be to arrest and hospitalize the homeless, subject them to every test medicine has within reason, and force into treatment those who are sick in some way or who have substance addiction. It's expensive, civil liberties maniacs on the left and right would howl, federal courts would have to find such policies licit, and only a Christianization of the United States can really make a difference, ultimately."
The road to you-know-where, as the old saying goes, is paved with good intentions. A lot of our problems with homelessness began with de-institutionalization, also known as "mainstreaming," of mental patients – whether their presenting factor is traumatic brain injury, or some other cause. But because some mental patients, at some hospitals, were being abused, rather than directly and effectively address that specific issue, the decision was made to basically release everybody, or at least a great number of people who should not have been released (and subsequently, to not institutionalize a lot of people who should have been institutionalized). And what any level-headed individual might have predicted is the result.
And yes, I have come near to homelessness for a period of time, myself, due to a job loss during the "Great Recession"; the line between solvency and abject poverty is thinner than some would believe. So I do have sympathy / empathy for those who are homeless through no fault of their own (unfortunately I *have* met a fair number of people who are homeless as a career choice, although that too many be rooted in some sort of mental illness...). But such empathy cannot be allowed to permit or excuse behaviors that chisel away at the underpinnings of society. That is neither Christian nor is it pragmatically sensible!
Of course you're right that the only real solution to the problem of evil is the re-Christianization of this nation... and in absolute terms, there won't be a complete solution until Christ comes again. But we still should try to do what we can – as my dear late mother used to say, "work as if it all depends on you, and pray as if it all depends on God!"
And may the Lord bless and keep you, sir, to bring about a good outcome from your examination, and to protect you from all maleficent intent.
Sir, you need to research the connection between traumatic brain injury and homeless. It's significant. Study after study has found that as many as half or more of the chronically homeless have suffered a traumatic brain injury during their lifetimes.
Therefore, articles such as yours do not sit well with me. The great majority of homeless people are not layabouts whom society should be wary of, as though they were wild animals who have encroached upon the suburbs once too often. Most homeless are physically very sick people. Of course, the incidence of substance abuse is very high among them. Why would it not be? They're desperate for physical relief.
I understand this in ways you never can. I am a childhood mass murder survivor, who has two severe disabilities, one of which is a traumatic brain injury. I have never been able to work. I was never able to finish school, or to marry.
I'm now 71 years old. I have been homeless, thank God for only ten weeks, in 2002. If God had not provided for me through the pittance which is SSI ( $914 per month in 2023 ) and through help from my church, I would have had to commit suicide. I still may.
In addition to looking into the link between traumatic brain injury and homelessness, you need to look into the correlation between higher scores in the ACE Study and lifetime incidence of homelessness.
And obviously, the miserable problems of alcohol and drug addiction run through all of this.
My point is that the great majority of homeless people are sick, and American society's disgrace is not that we have so many homeless people, but that we do such a terrible job of looking after our most vulnerable.
The expression which you used in your article, "down on their luck," shows a cluelessness about the problem which you should be better than.
Bobby, I've had to deal with the homeless both on my property and at my church. That includes a wildfire one set on my land and one using church property to deal drugs. So I am far from clueless.
That said, it is beyond awful what you have gone through. I will make a point to pray for you.
There is no question we need to deal with homelessness better. But L. A., Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, etc. are NOT showing the way. I will add that part of what we are doing in my community is a ministry that gives real help to homeless, including job training and bus rides to family.
God bless.
It sounds as though your church is helping to lead the way. That is great. Yes, there are homeless who are psychotic, and there are homeless who, as one guy said of himself in a conversation with me, are in their position because they've been "lifelong eff - ups." ( I have had great hopes for that man. )
My congregation is active in a local group which aims to make the trades attractive to young people who might have the talents for them.
I've come to believe that a partial solution to this would be to arrest and hospitalize the homeless, subject them to every test medicine has within reason, and force into treatment those who are sick in some way or who have substance addiction. It's expensive, civil liberties maniacs on the left and right would howl, federal courts would have to find such policies licit, and only a Christianization of the United States can really make a difference, ultimately.
Thank you for your prayers. I might not have written last night if I had not gotten a notice in the mail from SSA that they have to conduct the examination which the law obligates them to conduct occasionally, the exam which will determine if I'm still disabled. It's harassment, of course, and I'm just paranoid enough to believe in the possibility that it's coming now, after twenty years without such an exam, because a cousin of mine, who is married into a lot of money and is evil, has something to do with it. You can't confirm or gainsay my intuition, but it's solid and insistent, and I am grateful for anyone's prayer that why ever it is being done, I won't get caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare.