before i could comment on this question, i would have to ask - what is "the homeless problem"?

I am not being flippant or insensitive. I have just observed that many people see "the problem" differently.

For example, in St Cloud, MN the City put up iron bars to keep homeless from assembling under a bridge. To some group of people - this fixed a problem. (?!)

I've read of many soup kitchens being closed down because they are not completely licensed or proper in some regard. I've also read of them being pushed out of communities because they don't want homeless people flocking to the area. Is THIS the "homeless problem" that you speak of?

Some people do not want a house and white picket fence. Some people are satisfied with a simple, roaming way of life. They are homeless. It may not be a problem to them, but the general population isn't generally very receptive to such wanderers. Is this the "homeless problem" that you speak of?

Most homeless people are bearing heavy crosses and are victims of some kind of adversity. The causes are many, but often mental illness. Is THIS the problem that YOU ask of?

:)

One issue I see is that the homeless population is comprised of different groups of people. In my town, San Francisco, we have a lot of homeless. From what I read, there are three basic types: people who are down on their luck, drug addicts, and psychotics. For the luckless, I'd suggest supportive housing with social services, job retraining, and counseling. For the drug addicts, I'm in favor of all of the same, only more intensively. For the psychotics, I think we need institutions that can help them, or at least care for them.

I really like your comments. The truth is, I don't think there is a cure for homelessness even though various cities regularly announce their new programs to end it. But what would YOU do if you were the boss?

Thank you for your response. Would you be willing to have YOUR tax dollars going to these programs? In my area we get a lot of the 'get a job' attitude. In fact, right now they are planning to close down one of the largest shelters in town which will put aprox 95 people on the streets at night. They've already closed down the encampments under the bridge. It seems that the general idea here is to chase them away rather then try to help them.

I have heard--but not verified--that some cities "solve" their homeless problems by rounding them up each evening and giving them a meal and a one-way bus ticket to the next town.

If that is true--a lot of our homeless are simply traveling for a living.

Don't mean to be flip but have been homeless and it is NOT a fun job.

Wmans, I've also heard of cities giving out one way bus tickets but don't know if it's true or not. In Tacoma (where I live) we currently have two shelters for men and one of them is on the verge of being shut down for lack of funding. It holds up to 95 people each night. What then? The city does not allow encampments and has closed down most of them with fencing and a few arrests of people who tried to go agains the ban. Where will these 95 people go?

One also has to ask how one defines mental illness. Psychotic is one thing, but there are others (probably not a lot, but a few) who don't want to be tied down - is it mental illness not to want to work a 40 hour job, pay rent or a mortgage and live the life of the working poor? Historian M Foucault suggests that we label the people who don't fit into our social structures and then define them in certain ways in order to separate them off from society and then help make them disappear in institutions (in asylums, prisons, hospitals). The "ship of fools" from medieval times worked on the same principle as the one way bus ticket. (Allegedly towns would put their mentally ill on boats and let them float down the river to get rid of them. The "fools" would either drown or get off in some one else's back yard.

I also assume alcohol is being included as a "drug" in the list of reasons.

I do want my tax money going to help pay for beds and food for these people - in my opinion this is ONE primary role of the government to humanely help those in need.