r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Garey_Coleman • 10d ago

Where are the homeless supposed to go?

Cities have been cracking down on homeless people so they can’t have encampments or stay on sidewalks. At the same time usually the shelters are full. So those who are unable to get into a shelter, where are they supposed to go?

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u/jimthesquirrelking 9d ago

Publicly accessible maintained bathrooms help prevent this

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u/bannedbooks123 9d ago

As long as people aren't shooting up heroine in them and leaving their dirty needles around that you couldn't pay someone enough to clean up. Speaking of, heroine needles are another health hazard

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u/jimthesquirrelking 9d ago

There are sharps boxes that are mass produced and easy to leave in these restrooms. You can throw as many "but what about this dirty thing or that gross thing!" As you like but at a certain point its cheaper to accommodate these needs than criminalize them and incarcerate  them. Unless of course you make money off slave, I mean prisoner labor... (Edit) also you're very uninformed if you think no one can be hired to clean up needles, people often clean worse, you just need proper ppe 

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u/bannedbooks123 9d ago

I just think it's naive to think people are going to do what they're supposed to do. Do you think they'll really use those boxes or care, especially when they're strung out?

I don't know what the answer is but letting people live on the streets isn't good for anyone, especially for the people who live on the street. It's not safe on the streets and addiction/ homelessness will kill you eventually.

There's a difference between compassion and enabling. By making it easy to live on the streets, you're enabling. A lot of them don't want housing in their current mental state, and if you gave it to them, they would abuse it and probably not even use it.

They like the "freedom" but it comes at a cost to everyone, especially themselves. Homeless are most likely to be raped, robbed, murdered, overdose, die from the elements, etc etc. They're also a danger to innocent bystanders if they happen to be the psychotic type.

Somehow, we have to get them off the streets and not incentivize them to stay on streets by making it so easy/appealing.