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A comment on For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Money Is Not Enough.

Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by tomjen3 on Friday September 29, 2017 @05:56PM (#15369595)
Why should the homeless in LA be housed in LA? Wouldn't the city be able to house many more homeless people by building the housing in a less expensive place?
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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by AnimalMuppet on Friday September 29, 2017 @06:10PM (#15369687)
Because you don't want to just house them. You want to get them to a place where they no longer need assistance. That means they need jobs. Housing them in Newberry Springs or some such place doesn't give them any opportunity.
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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by ghostbrainalpha on Friday September 29, 2017 @06:51PM (#15369935)
Good point.

But let's say 50% of those people aren't in the place to get jobs because they are Elderly, Mentally Unstable, Substance Addicted.

Could we move those homeless people who aren't "job ready" outside the city to a cheaper area? And then maybe move them back into affordable housing once they are ready to transition into a job?

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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by cag_ii on Friday September 29, 2017 @08:11PM (#15370333)
I was fairly certain that forced relocation was generally not tolerated in the US anymore until I read your comment and the sibling comment suggesting the same thing.

These are human beings, and suggesting they be "moved" to different areas because of their socioeconomic status or being "Elderly, Mentally Unstable, Substance Addicted" is completely unacceptable to me.

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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by fern12 on Saturday September 30, 2017 @12:11AM (#15371176)
Meet Travis. He's a notorious vagrant who likes to terrorize businesses in the Alameda business district of San Jose.

https://video.nest.com/clip/cc20a6ffc52d485696c62b1708ffe5d6...

https://video.nest.com/clip/7c5ff8b138d44bafb1ff3f44ef8154be...

(warning: 2nd link has profanity)

-He has been sent by the court to literally every possible program in Santa Clara County for assistance, and has left everyone of them intentionally (usually after a few days) despite being ordered by the Court to complete the program(s).

-As a result of constantly violating the Court's orders regarding these programs, he ended up spending the maximum amount of time in County jail that the Court could impose before being released.

-Travis has made it very clear that he does not want help in any form, and that he likes his lifestyle and enjoys harassing people.

-After he left jail, it did not take long for him to revert to his old bad behaviors - substance abuse, aggressive panhandling and petty theft, and harassing local businesses.

The clips above are of him harassing the owner and patrons of Hannah's Coffee and Sweets. More recently, he emptied a trash can full of dog poop bags on the sidewalk, and kicked them all in front of a hair salon's door on the corner of Julian and Stockton.

What is your solution for people like Travis, who continually harass and endanger people and businesses in San Jose?

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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by cag_ii on Saturday September 30, 2017 @11:28AM (#15373287)
You're discussing criminal behavior. California has policies and institutions in place to deal with criminal behavior. They're not perfect, but that's an entirely different discussion.

Suggesting that the entire homeless population are criminals is disingenuous at best, and this kind of fear-mongering distracts from productive discussion about how best to help.

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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by fern12 on Saturday September 30, 2017 @06:40PM (#15375350)
Suggesting that the entire homeless population are criminals is disingenuous at best, and this kind of fear-mongering distracts from productive discussion about how best to help.

I never said that the entire homeless population are criminals. I merely provided a single, real-life example of someone for whom current policies and institutions have failed, then asked you as to what you think should be done.

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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by tomjen3 on Saturday September 30, 2017 @02:50AM (#15371618)
Good point, however they will have to be moved in any circumstance to the new housing, correct? Whether that is a couple blocks over or a couple towns over.

Anyway under this plan they won't be forcefully relocated, the offers will simply be available at a different location.

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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by cag_ii on Saturday September 30, 2017 @11:37AM (#15373339)
No, my point is they don't have to move. Housing for the homeless afaik is largely entirely voluntary, and one of the big issues in my understanding is that, even when available, some will choose (for various reasons) not to use it. Making it available elsewhere will make it even less likely one would accept the help, and even if they did it wouldn't address the issue in the area being discussed.
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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by CodeWriter23 on Friday September 29, 2017 @07:58PM (#15370267)
That goal would be better served by relocating individuals and families to a less expensive economy than LA.
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Re:For Homeless Advocates, a Discouraging Lesson in L.A.: Mo... by cag_ii on Friday September 29, 2017 @08:04PM (#15370293)
The simple answer is so they're no longer homeless. Less expensive housing already exists in other places. People, for various reasons, choose to remain in Los Angeles.
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