Ending Chronic Homelessness

[danbrotherston]

Homeless people are people, they should suffer the same consequences for their behaviour that you and I do.

That’s a nice theory, but you can’t have people setting fires in an apartment building. It’s not about punishment or whatever; it’s about how much you can reasonably ask their immediate neighbors (other formerly homeless people) to put up with.

And part of the issue is that there is no point in punishing these people. Somebody who sets a fire in a building is not thinking clearly and simply punishing them the same way one would (could, should) a careless driver won’t accomplish anything other than to make their problems even worse. Instead, they need support (not sure what exactly) that addresses their specific needs. But if the budget only allows providing accommodation then there may be people who need to be kicked out, otherwise it is impossible to provide accommodation to the other people who need it.

Besides, losing ones home is a natural consequence not unique to the less well-off: if I started a fire in my house I wouldn’t be able to live in it for some time (until it was repaired, with my money); the difference is I wouldn’t cause other families to lose their homes as well.

Obviously you cannot have someone setting fires in an apartment building. That is a crime, it should be dealt with in the criminal justice system. If that system is inadequate, that's another issue, but the point remains, the consequences should be the same any person for committing the same crime.

And of course, the point of the criminal justice system is not just punishment; rehabilitation is a key component. Of course, it's not controversial to say, the system often fails at that.

If you started a fire in your home, you would be unable to live in your home, you would be able to afford temporary accommodations to live in. Very few of us would actually be on the street.

There's an old quote I don't know who it's actually from, it goes something to the effect of: justice is blind, it is illegal for both the CEO and the homeless person to sleep under the overpass.

If you give people homes, without condition, justice becomes a little more blind.

At the end of the day, we are talking only of a very small fraction of people anyway, when the resources we have now would be spread far less thinly.