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famousone
· 4 years ago
· FIRST
This is why the region sends their homeless to you.
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fluffydress
· 4 years ago
Man this is sad
catfluff
· 4 years ago
No, it's not sad. What would be sad is if all of them were going through withdrawal, unable to get their hands on their fix, and do absolutely anything to get it. That endangers other people. This keeps them at the same level and even allow some of them to come clean, since they can wean off safely with help.
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Edited 4 years ago
guest_
· 4 years ago
Agreed with catfluff. Say you had an addiction but like many addicted Americans- you were working and maintaining it. And now let’s say that you suddenly find yourself homeless. A major bill hit right as you lost your job that you moved here for, your house burned down in the California fires and you hadn’t received aid or insurance- and didn’t have money for the down etc to get into another, and corona hit and now the job search is even more difficult- you can’t rely on public facilities to clean up and use computers etc in the search, you lost your cell phone on the streets or got robbed and the dmv is closed- oh- and the market crash from Corona are you up. Or whatever conditions you want to apply. You were working and doing fine- now you’re homeless. It happens
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guest_
· 4 years ago
So- just because your finances and your “life” went away doesn’t mean your addiction did too. You aren’t some “bum” or whatever- yesterday or last month or whatever- this person was YOU. They were living down the block and riding the same bus or sitting in the same traffic. They maybe were eating lunch with a friend at the same place you were. They’re human.
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guest_
· 4 years ago
And it is sadly VERY easy to find oneself homeless- especially if you don’t have family or friends to take care of you if you stumble. It’s even easier to be homeless in a city where a studio apartment can cost over $4,000 a month for rent and a single room- where available, can be $2,000. A city that has recently lost most of the neighborhoods where people who didn’t make six figures a year could afford to live.
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guest_
· 4 years ago
There are people who own homes and have comfortable lives in the Midwest or wherever else who if they moved to San Francisco would find themselves homeless in short order when they discover that on $40k a year household income a family of 4 all get to share a room if they are lucky- unless they get on public assistance and then they might get a 2 bedroom or at least a one bedroom.
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guest_
· 4 years ago
But beyond human co passion and responsibility is as catfluff says- very practical reasons. Addicts don’t generally do withdrawal well- and having a bunch of homeless people living close together in a quarantine, with a large percent of them going through withdrawal... that’s going to cause problems. Problems for them and also likely problems to the surrounding community and for administrators and regular Joes responsible for their care and security.
guest_
· 4 years ago
So it’s compassionate, but it’s also practical. Beyond addiction is the simple fact that homeless people often turn to drugs and alcohol to self medicate. It would certainly be better to have proper mental care and medical for the homeless than to see them have to use illegal drugs to alleviate symptoms from mental issues like anxiety or emotional pain to physical pain caused by things like old injuries, untreated health conditions or dental problems.
guest_
· 4 years ago
But if you ever wondered why it seems so many homeless people use drugs or alcohol- a major reason is the same as others. Stress and boredom. There’s actually a lot of stress that comes from being homeless. There’s also not a whole lot to do. Can’t really start playing a game or just mindlessly binge TV. It’s a lot harder to build models or play with legos or whatever else too- and you likely don’t have the money to just go buy things to amuse yourself. But drugs and booze are cheap.
guest_
· 4 years ago
Quarantine is stressful and boring for most people. Amongst friends and family, or self- most people know someone who is passing this time day drinking or doing drugs perhaps more than they normally would. So if people with jobs, partners, homes, spare cash for distractions and television and all the things a homeless person doesn’t have- plus a stability they do not have- can be stressed and bored right now... it might make sense that one could understand how the homeless may rely on these things.
guest_
· 4 years ago
I suppose it’s more a question. Why would it be sad? What should they be doing instead? I mean- are they supposed to tell them: “if you want these things go get a job and buy them for yourself...”? Most homeless people would take a job if you offered it to them and the majority of the rest either just want to live “free” and are willing to give up society to do it- or are mentally unwell and haven’t been treated so they literally can’t function in society.
