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This is all pretty fascinating stuff. I'd heard vaguely about San Antonio shutting down certain homeless feedings--it doesn't ever make for good press even if they have something like a good reason for doing it. The articles I read suggested that in some cases local residents/business owners were complaining about the feedings attracting people, which just sounds cold-hearted to me. I can't say if I agree with forced centralization, I'm really not expert enough in the area, but it certainly seems to give a safer ground for professional staff to work from to treat people with long-term disorders that are at the root of their homelessness. Haven for Hope sounds like at least a good attempt at solving the problem rather than ignoring it letting people fester on scraps. Some of them may indeed be real motherfuckers but better at least to know where they are I guess? Unless the state feels like shouldering the expense of imprisoning them. I know a lot of the current homeless population originated from the former mental asylum population that was turned out in the 80s (thanks Reagan!), do you think as a person with mental illness that this is a good middle solution between forced institutionalization and 'solve it yourself' non-policies? Do you feel like the treatment you've received is adequate and helpful? I know experiences with mental health practice can vary tremendously and it's made more difficult when dealing with patients who reject the diagnosis. Also, it sounds like you are male, and the majority of those living homeless tend to be male--what gender ratio does Haven for Hope have? Are there specific resources for women? The safety issues present make it sound really scary for a woman alone, or with kids.
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Jun 20, 2017 23:34
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 03:42 |
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I'm glad to hear your cat is doing better Prester. Also best of luck to you on your transition. Are you willing to talk about that process, and the difficulties of going through it in an environment such as the one you are in? I read some of your other writing about the construction of metaphors and trying to understand that mindset, it's quite interesting. Other peoples' heads will always ultimately be a mystery to us but trying to understand how people think is still important. Also, how many people have pets in Haven and in the homeless situation generally? I know some of the homeless folks around here have pets, almost always dogs at least that we can see, usually the younger ones. That's another question: Do you perceive a generational/class/other divide in the homeless population? Each city is probably a little different in their own way but around me, there are the younger set who seem to be some combination of substance abusing/nomadic, to some degree homeless by choice (this is not a judgement--just that they often could shower up and return to society by the look of them, but they don't), a lot more women and pets in that group and they tend to travel in packs. They're not dangerous though they're sometimes a little obnoxious. Then there're the older set, almost all men, almost all long-term homeless. They tend to be alone, more visibly destitute or obviously mentally ill. I'd guess they're more likely to be relics of the state hospital closures with nowhere left to go and no bridges left to burn. I don't work with the homeless in my area closely, I just see them as I am walking; those are my observations.
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Jun 27, 2017 16:41
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