A novel approach: ending homelessness with homes

it alllll starts with a bad family unit..................the only solution is..castration..

some people are not meant to breed..

your paying for it??

these just can't turn in to the new form of the projects, they should be enviornmentaly friendly, easy on the tax payer, and in proper humane living conditions. ending homelessness is a great cause towards every ones freedom

Another iteration of "give them what they want and noone gets hurt" is not a help.
If the people pushing this idea really care, they would welcome "homeless" into their homes and put up their money instead of confiscating their neighbors money to atone for some imagined guilt.

yeah like people choose to be mentally ill and set loose from the only programs that give them safety and security and medical care so they can choose to go and get killed in there sleep by thugs and then they choose to be drunks because it is so easy out there.

Redistribution of wealth is destruction of the American way.

The problem is we support those who don't try to make a better life.

If there's to incentive to succeed (higher taxes, greater scrutiny, more regulations for the wealthy), and no punishment for failure (welfare, nationalized health care, homes for the homeless paid for with tax dollars), why would we try to make a better life for ourselves.

The problem with Socialism is that eventually, you run out of other people's money.

Most of the homeless chose to live that lifestyle but for the others this could be the helping hand they need.
The only problem is the free rent for life does not motivate people to improve,job searches and inspections are a must.

You'll wake up when you see a former associate at the corner asking for a buck...in the last three months I have watched several friends lose jobs and end up with family or on the street....are we next?

Hopefully my fair city's attempt to deal with the homeless will be carefully administered. Incorrigible drug and alcohol abusers would have to receive counciling and show improvement and effort or (I agree) the plan will fail.

BTW - The people of Dallas ARE kind...

I say lets put all the details of why the homeless are in the situation they are in aside and look at this from afar. They are people just like you and I, regardless of their past, present or future. They are members of our society and what better way to gage a society than by how it treat those citizens in most need. We must put our egos aside and think about the greater good. In addition, the streets would be much cleaner and these people would receive better living conditions.....its a win win. I live in the Dallas Fort Worth area and I applaud this.

Addiction is not a choice! Period!!!! Go to some meetings at your local AA chapter if you want to here the truth. If you dont then just sit in your chairs and dictate.

I really get sick of these elitists who care about no one but themselves and self righteously say garbage like "if they would just get a job and contribute to society blah blah blah"... and are probably at "work" on the internet in between doing a spreadsheet in air-conditioning, munching on a Big Mac, and wearing a polo shirt that was made in a sweat shop. Wake up America! All our jobs have been shipped overseas and you can't call everyone who doesn't have a job a leech on society when unemployment is over %10.

I lived in Dallas for decades,this will NEVER pass.It's just something they do every few years that will be put on a back burner and ignored.

I didn't know Dallas HAD a heart. Good for Dallis if they actually act on this; at least its a token exercise of "community".

this has already been done and it all went to hell. gangs took over the buildings and residents were over run and terrified. maybe a smaller scale like half way houses. at lease there would be a voice of reason for the mad ones and an element of family for the truly lost ones. goodwill does quite a bit too. men can go and bail up to three times before they are no longer accepted back.

hey this got me thinking of how to cure insomnia!
Just lay down and close your eyes!

This is not a new idea. it gets tried every 10 years or so, probably since the 19th century.

There are all sorts of variations on this theme but in th one where people are simply blindly given housing without controls it generally goes like this:
The mentally ill ones simply wonder off, and the few who try to make a serious go of it are driven out by the smaller but much more annoying number who turn the places into garbage dumps/brothels/shooting galleries. the property turns to shit, the government steps in and throws a bunch of money at it which doesn't help, or winds up bulldozing everything.

In the 70s-90s the poster child for this kind of thing was a place called Cabrini Green in Chicago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrini-Green

"I also guarantee drugs, booze and all kinds of bullshit are going to be flying around this housing complex as soon as it opens."

I understand this Dainjdc but the same risk could be applied to college students living in dorms. Just because the risk is there doesn't mean we should not let worthy people not get the right to experience a stable home life.

Besides there's a lot of families, women, elderly, and veterans who are poor to lower middle class who are homeless. There are families, who are single parents with children who do not have the family resources to 'shack up' with a family member. If we give them a stable home the probability of educational and economical success in the family and in the individual rises. And I feel that having someone move on up is a better deal than worrying about the few individuals who chose to squander their opportunity.

As a individual who has experience homelessness for a brief moment in life--and thank god for my family my Mother and I could have experienced it longer--I'm letting you know it's is one of the worst experiences you could ever face in life. I don't wish that on any of my worst enemies.

i think this is worth a try. and i mean a good, wholehearted try.
i wish people were more open minded about homelessness. it's rarely a choice, and it's NEVER EASY. but i guess people only believe what they've seen.

shankin,

are you just a consumer? lol, is that all your worth?

lol lol lol lol...

Rent controls destroy housing! It has little to do about the consumer. Hell, protectionism IS a WAR on consumerism (our families).

Background and Recent History

The United States is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25(1) of this document states: "Everyone has the right to ... food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services." [emphasis mine].[1] The explicit nature of the nation's societal contract to meet the housing needs of its citizens is spelled out in the Housing Act of 1949, which stipulates the "realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home ... for every American family."[2] In 1968, The Fair Housing Act made discrimination on the basis of race in the housing market illegal. Regrettably, neither the Universal Declaration nor these landmark laws have solved the problem of homelessness, nor of substandard housing and racial profiling by sellers and realtors.[3]

In the United States, de-institutionalization of the mentally ill -- unaccompanied by promised outpatient psychiatric and social services -- led to a large increase in the homeless, mentally ill population in the late 1970s. The number of homeless grew in the 1980s, as housing and social service cuts increased. This was in part a consequence of the transfer of federal dollars to a huge military buildup (including the spectacularly wasteful and unsuccessful "Star Wars" strategic missile defense initiative) and consequent large budget deficits. Fortunately, public compassion soared, and in 1986, 5 million Americans joined hands across the country to raise money for homeless programs (May 25, 1986 Hands Across America). In 1987, the McKinney Act authorized millions of dollars for housing and hunger relief.

Epidemiology

Almost 20 years later, homelessness is largely ignored by the mainstream press and the general public, and the numbers affected continue to grow. Over 7% of persons living in the United States have been homeless (defined as sleeping in shelters, the street, abandoned buildings, cars, or bus and train stations) at some point in their lives.[4] Homelessness rates have increased over each of the past 2 decades. An estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million people now experience homelessness each year.[5,6] Approximately half are families with children, the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population.[5,6] In 1 study,[7] youth had a 1-year rate of homelessness of at least 1 night of 7.6%.

Although 20% of homeless persons maintain full- or part-time jobs,[8] only 5% are privately insured, often through COBRA

more...http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/481800

This is a novel idea?

Give free housing to people who mostly have made poor decisions in their lives. Most of whom have chosen addiction over working and being a contributor to society.

I can hear them now.

"Hell, forgot about working, I'll just continue to beg for booze, and let the hardworking taxpayers provide me with my own brand new apartment. A luxury a lot of hard working productive citizens can barely afford since their high taxes are taking care of me."

ToBe,

I suspect (hope) that you already know that that there are thousands and thousands of people all over this country who "give a damn." In fact if the problem could have been solved with just money and concern (i.e., giving a damn) the problem would be a tiny fraction of what it is today. The fact that the problem HASN'T shrunk makes your frustration perfectly understandable.

But as has been noted by a few of the posts on this thread already, the problem is very complex. I grew up in a very, very poor household, and I know only too well from looking around my old "neighborhood" that poverty, crime, and substance abuse are almost inextricably intertwined in this country. But I can't imagine the cost of trying to address all of these needs as part of the housing project -- substance abuse counseling and rehabilitation, job training, halfway houses, after school programs, etc.

How did you get out of that life?
DC

Is this supposed to be permanent housing for them or temporary? 98% of them are just going to abuse this privilege. I also guarantee drugs, booze and all kinds of bullshit are going to be flying around this housing complex as soon as it opens. These new buildings will become so disgusting so fast and I think it's a bad idea but I don't know what else you can do. I live in LA and let me tell you, Skid Row and other parts downtown are foul and sometimes scary. There's always shady shit goin down and people being all sketchy and drugged out. (In the case of downtown LA) I think if you give these people free housing it's just opening a new door that would in no way help the situation. It would get them off the streets but instead of solving the problem it would just give it a home.
`

california is working on their version of the plan by putting them in jail.
Way to go Cali! always being progressive as usual.

Lol, in Dallas? Fat chance.

Yes!! This looks very promising! My only concern is those who end up choosing to be homeless so they can recieve free housing... there might be a large group of those people unless there is some way to regulate it (even pushing the previously homeless to get a job.)