"No more talking about the homeless"

[Gunny]

The dire need area would be a good addition to this forum. Wouldn’t have to be public, a pm to someone for help and then cash raised or help offered.

Good idea Putts.

Rob

[Blanch]

I read some time back that there are about five vacant homes for every homeless person (18.9 million homes, 3.5 million people). And they're still building new homes.

Homeless and Empty Homes — an American Travesty: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-s...92546.html

The article (and others like it) says "It’s time to sort out the regulations and rates that would facilitate the solution: turning empty houses into homes for those in need".

But then you can go to YouTube and watch the videos of tenants who have destroyed Section 8 and other homes.

I don't know what the solution is, but maybe some pieces of land where van and RV dwellers can park.

That article is from 2010. We had a major housing collapse. That caused foreclosures to skyrocket. Those homes were owned by banks. Banks are for profit companies, not social services.



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[Ballenxj]

 Those homes were owned by banks. Banks are for profit companies, not social services. 

There lays a huge part of the problem. When Banks say they are your friend, I have to contest that. 
Another player in the real estate market that people may not be aware of are hospitals. Ever wonder why all those papers you sign list assets as well? 
An old friend (now deceased) once told me that a hospital he worked for in Reno, NV. owned almost the entire neighborhood behind it. 

[Putts]

The dire need area would be a good addition to this forum. Wouldn’t have to be public, a pm to someone for help and then cash raised or help offered.

Good idea Putts.

Rob

I'm not sure raising cash need be the main focus, there's simply too much need and it would become a drag. But encouragement and good advice may go a long way with people who are willing to be motivated and self-reliant. Cash could come privately from those who have the resources if they so choose.

[Putts]

I should add that something like a dire need forum area would be difficult to deal with. Maybe that's why CVRL doesn't want to go there. But the reality is there are many in dire need who would truly benefit from the support. Doing good ain't easy, but it's the laudable thing to do.

We're really not big enough to make a go of it, I think, but CVRL is.

[TrainChaser]

Sorry about that old article; I was looking for another one, couldn't find it, and didn't check the date.

Here are the national figures from 2017:  
Vacant residential properties (1 to 4 units):  nearly 1.4 million (1,367,793)   https://www.attomdata.com/news/risk/2017...re-report/

Homeless adults in same period:  553,742 .............. so the ratio is now only ~2.5 vacant homes for every adult homeless person.

Personally, I don't feel that putting the homeless in the vacant homes is the answer.  Somebody would still have to pay, and you know who they are... the working taxpayer.  The last figure I saw was that a single, elderly, homeless person could be put in a small Section 8 apartment, the tenant would have to pay $25/mo and the govt (read: taxpayer) would pay the balance.  Considering the huge number of homeless (and the above figure is really just an estimate) + the number of welfare people already getting this service, this solution seems awfully ridiculous.

If they could just START with providing a vacant patch of land (maybe with a dump station and centralized, non-hookup tap water) on a bus line where vans and RVs could park, it would provide the solution for thousands.  they could even have a common garden to add to the food supply.

Next would be allowing individually owned tiny homes, preferably with space for gardens, either individual or common.  With these, it isn't that the owners can't afford the space and the tiny homes on their own, but the local govts have made them ILLEGAL.  Again, follow the momey.

But politicians and bureaucrats refuse to do anything related to common sense, that will actually solve problems at low cost.  If they can't make money on it (taxes and personal payoffs), they aren't going to do it.  They just keep creating higher-cost problems.  What they don't seem to be considering is that many homeless people actually do have some income -- they just need to have a way to live within it.  I suspect that most vandwellers aren't looking for govt largesse, they just want to be able to make it on their own.

[S Cello]

Great stuff there, Train Chaser, I especially like the vacant patch of land idea. But just add abundant restroom facilities. I've worked all around downtown Los Angeles over the years and available restrooms for the homeless seems to be a huge messy issue.

[ZoNiE]

I posted this in the other place before the thread was closed.

The biggest problem with housing the homeless is it is expensive, and people get complacent. People boondocking on the street in an RV are halfway to getting back on their feet, and some semblance of self sufficiency. They already have "housing" but no place to put it. They need a break and a boost.

The best way to handle this? If you have ever camped at the race track? That setup would work. They bring in shower and toilet trailers (about 30 ft each) with running water and sewer connection, put up a little grocery store tent, food trucks and a camping world. (This is at PIR/IMA raceway in Phoenix). 6000 reserved RV spots and thousands more in the unreserved area. It lasts a week. Take this formula and tweak it for the RV dwelling homeless: Permanent buildings with showers/toilets (use the trailers while they are being built) put in a store that can take food stamps and only sell what can be sold with them, a few food stands that sell cheap but decent prepared food (also food stamp eligible), Allow no drugs and alcohol, (good luck) and 110V 20A electrical hookup. Have people refrain from using their plumbing unless they can afford to have it pumped out or they have a tote tank. Disallow junk, only chairs and tables/grills and awnings outside. Use section 8 housing funds to pay for it all, and use the Sheriff's posse to patrol it, and toss people out at the first inkling of trouble/drugs/alcohol. Make it open to about 1,000 RV's and ensure there is some space between them (Zoomtown was like a parking lot / refugee camp, but fun). Oh, and a bus stop for the school bus and a city bus/shuttle to the city's bus hub so people can go to work.

Thoughts?

[Wabbit]

I don't think there will be a solution to homelessness for quite some time. They serve a purpose. If we wanted to, we could solve it, but we don't. When I say we, I'm talking collectively. That's kinda short statement, but I think it's self explanatory without getting into finger pointing.

[Ballenxj]

I don't think there will be a solution to homelessness for quite some time. They serve a purpose. If we wanted to, we could solve it, but we don't. When I say we, I'm talking collectively. That's kinda short statement, but I think it's self explanatory without getting into finger pointing.

 An awful lot of them remain homeless by choice. They would much rather drown their sorrow with alcohol, and or drugs. They don't really want to be bothered with pretending to be civilized, but instead lay in an alley and puke themselves to death, while leaving a swath of broken bottles, crap, and vomit on peoples property. I've seen it first hand when I worked security. You try to be nice to them and they take you for being soft, and keep returning to create the same mess over and over.