Is Homelessness a problem that has no solution ? ...

[barretcreek]

Good friend has a nephew who prefers,adamantly, being homeless even though the family has offered all the enticements. He's mentally ill and loves being on the fringe.

[Roadkingtrax]

Actually, the poor are getting richer as well -- how many poor people in the 1800s had televisions, air conditioners and so on?

But the homeless problem is not a rich vs poor problem. It's a mental health problem.

A mental health problem is thinking there were TVs in the 1800's.

[togor]

Good friend has a nephew who prefers,adamantly, being homeless even though the family has offered all the enticements. He's mentally ill and loves being on the fringe.

Exactly right. How is this supposed to be "solved"?

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A mental health problem is thinking there were TVs in the 1800's.

Beginning to wonder if he owns rental properties that just saw a hefty rent increase. A lot of deflection going on there. I mean, there are books galore on this problem if he can find time to visit the public library.

[dryheat]

Why more mental? There are tens of thousands of homeless (if not more). In every large city and small. Is it the contrails or poor planning? Just couldn't go along with the crowd? Getting fired from a good job because you showed up drunk or stoned can pretty much set you on a track to failure. It doesn't take much to fall through the ice or that glass ceiling so to speak. Maybe since we are going back to 30's maybe we can bring back prohibition. There are a lot of stupid people who have stupid kids. That's basic.

Here's a link to an article that might not seem applicable but kind of is.

https://investorplace.com/2022/07/blackrock-just-sounded-the-alarm-on-growth-stocks/#:~:text=Meanwhile%2C%20BlackRock%20also%20says%20that%20the%20traditional%2060%2F40,growth%20sweeping%20aside%20a%20period%20of%20moderation%20%5D

Blackrock is negative on equities and that's a duh. There may be a storm coming Senora. But they think Powell and the Fed are overdoing the inflation fight. So, don't kill the whole economy just to tamp down inflation (which is always up and never down). They don't like the idea of people not being able to afford their vast rental empire. Yes, they are buying up houses and they have ten trillion to work with.
Never take anything I say as investment advice.

Wouldn't want to hurt a trillion dollar firm. But to make it look a little better do you think they could pitch in for a few hundred thousand tents? Maybe through a third party, they wouldn't have to be associated with those icky homeless.

[blackhawknj]

Recall a story I read in The New York Times years ago, about an individual who ended up homeless. He was living with his sister, stole the TV set to buy crack. How many others get kicked out because their families get fed up with their selfish, self centered, inconsiderate anti-social behavior ? How many have mental problems BECAUSE of their drug use ? As my mother once said, "people who can't spend more than ten seconds a day thinking about anybody but themselves!"
In 1977 Jimmy Carter visited the South Bronx, was appalled by the urban decay, the abandoned and ruined buildings. When he asked why can't we do something about this a New York State legislator replied:
"Why should we build decent housing for people who are going to tear it apart?"

[lyman]

Good friend has a nephew who prefers,adamantly, being homeless even though the family has offered all the enticements. He's mentally ill and loves being on the fringe.

I know of 2

one is a guy that supposedly comes from a well to do family,
he lives on the street,
spends the night in a gas station rest room, and has a deal with the owner that as long as it is clean it is ok for him to sleep there,
he travels a circuit daily , carries his belongings in a back pack
smells horrible in the summer,

keeps to himself,

his name is Charlie, he would have lunch at the store I ran a couple days a week
supposedly got a family trust set up
never saw him beg or ask for any money,

he also got a payout from Walmart, seems a security guard got a bit zealous and snatched him for suspected shoplifting, and shot him in the leg during the scuffle,
don't know what kinda payout Charlie got, but he did use a crutch,



the other, a surviving brother of a pair that did long distance hauling for 15+ yrs,
got out of the business due to health issues , (both were severely overweight) and instead of paying back a loan for a Trailer they sold, spent the cash on various militaria,
as in a house full (think hoarders) and 3 storage units,

bankruptcy followed , the older brother killed himself, and the younger got evicted from the home they owned (paid off except for the business loan they defaulted)

I helped him empty the house, bought a ton of German Militaria, parts kits, firearms, etc from him,

he currently brings me stuff to buy as he is cleaning and moving his self storage units, but he lives in his Explorer,

no desire to rent a place, no desire to buy a place, just as happy as can be living in his truck, and hanging out in his storage units

[Vern Humphrey]

I recommend reading The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls. Her parents were highly educated (her father was an officer in the Air Force) and they were both mentally disturbed and wound up homeless.