What can we do to stop the issues of homeless people in America?

Question

There are millions of homeless people all over the country... They can not get a job because the have no address... they can not get an address because they have no jobs.... How can we stop this...

Answer 1

Quit paying them.

Answer 2

There have been issues of homelessness sine the beginning of time. I understand your frustration, but I really don't know what you would have us do. Some people are homeless through the loss of jobs, others are homeless because of mental illness and are incapable of holding jobs, while others chose to not work and live day by day. Many people in our society feel an entitlement that the government should get them housing and give them money to live on. What they don't realize is that "we", the working class are supporting the government thru our tax dollars. When you give out social funds thru the government, you are raising the taxes on the working class. The working class is already stretched beyond its limit, and is about ready to collapse. The working class is quickly becoming the working poor.

People need to start accepting responsibility for themselves, and start picking themselves up from their own boot straps. I was raised to believe that the only help I was going to get came from the end of my own arm. Unfortunately, that has been true. When I was poor with little kids, I got loans(from credit cards) and went to college to pull myself out of poverty. That was during the Reagan years, when no student loans were available. I went to a community college and paid my tuition with a VISA card. Sure I had student loans with a 28% interest rate, and I'm still paying for it.But atleast I made a better life for me and my kids. I just don't see the same drive in the younger generation. They all want someone else to do everything and pay everything for them. They need to get initative and get off of their butts and do something for themselves.
If the only thing stopping someone from getting a job is an address, go to the post office and get a P.O. box, its realatively cheap (you could get that amount by standing with a coffee cup and begging for it), or you could list your church address, homeless shelter as your address, or a friends address . There are a lot of ways to get around that.

Answer 3

Many of them have much bigger problems than that. Addresses are easy- there are placements all over the country that will provide an address until the person can get a P.O. Box. The real problems are varied. Many carry crippling addictions to drugs and alcohol. Others are quite simply insane. Some are simply too anti-social to interact with others. Some have severe medical conditions. Still a few others choose the lifestyle. It's not a paperwork snafu that keeps people homeless, the problems are many and as complicated as the individuals.

Answer 4

People who are homeless now don't always have to be homeless. I know that, because both my husband and I have been homeless, and we now have a nice apartment and are living on the $54,000 he makes a year. So how did we 'get out of homelessness?'
First, we never considered being 'homeless' a permanent condition ... both of us were made homeless by 'circumstances' we felt we could overcome. Second, we 'used the system' ... first getting into an apartment-hotel for 'formerly homeless' people, then moving 'up' from there. It wasn't easy ... but we did it in less than three years, because we 'worked' on it, and also because we had 'each other' to help us get through and give us something to work toward.
We don't 'give money to panhandlers' generally, because there are too many 'places' people can go to eat and find shelter, and giving them money can keep them from doing that. We do give money to the 'organizations' to stop homelessness ... especially to our church, which does almost as much to end homelessness as the state gives in 'welfare' every year in our state. Third, we TALK WITH homeless people we meet on the street, and we tell them our 'story' ... because what most homeless people need is 'hope' and the biggest 'hope' they can be given is to hear the story of a couple who not only 'made it out of homelessness' but made it WELL.
I think if 'everybody' who cares about the homeless would go to their computers and find 'lists' of the organizations in their area that can 'help' the homeless and printed out copies that they could carry with them, and gave them out to the homeless people they meet, and told them that they CAN get out of homelessness the way 'some people they know' have, and even tell our 'story' then more and more homeless people will KNOW that homelessness isn't 'forever.'
But ... what about the addicts and alcoholics and just plain 'bums' who are homeless? Can they be helped? Yes, they can ... in the same way, because even addiction and alcoholism aren't 'forever' and even a bum deserves to wake up in a room of his/her own ... and maybe that won't be as 'nice' as what we have, but at least it will be a place that they can call 'home' ... but the thing to remember is that you must deal with the homeless ONE PERSON AT A TIME, and not 'homelessness' as an 'issue' for anything GOOD to really happen.

Answer 5

More often than not a homeless person is homeless for a reason. I am not saying all of them are but a lot of them caused themselves to be homeless. If you can stop drug abuse/alcoholism/gambling and things of that nature maybe that would cause a lot less people to be homeless. Stop people from having so many children they can not afford to take care of them, stop people from just out right not working. There is a reason behind why every single homeless person is homeless. I am sure the majority of them could have prevented it somehow. And a lot of the homeless people in my home state are drug addicts and alcoholics so they are not even trying to better their situations.

Answer 6

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that there are 3.5 million, 1.35 million of them children, likely to experience homelessness in a given year.

Females and Democrats in our government must seek new solutions to this horrifying problem.

http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/action/actnow

To the ignorant, selfish, brain-damaged people who have posted things like: they want to be homeless, "don't pay them", who cares...THESE ARE THE PEOPLE OF WHOM YOU SPEAK:

Veteran Specific Highlights:
23% of homeless population are veterans
33% of male homeless population are veterans
47% Vietnam Era
17% post Vietnam
15% pre Vietnam
67% served three or more years
33% stationed in war zone
25% have used VA Homeless Services
85% completed high school/GED compared to 56% of non-veterans
89% received Honorable Discharge
79% reside in central cities
16% reside in suburban areas
5% reside in rural areas
76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
46% white males compared to 34% non-veterans
46% age 45 or older compared to 20% non-veterans
Service needs:
45% help finding job
37% finding housing

BUT I BET YOU REALLY SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, RIGHT???

Answer 7

First, you must realize that 80% of all homeless people in the United States are homeless for less than 3 weeks. Only 10% are chronically homeless and they have concomitant mental health/drug abuse issues as well. Many (~1 million) are children - who are saddled with homeless parents.

What can you do? I dunno - volunteer at a shelter? Strike'm a check if you are so inclined.

Most of the "poor" in the US are vastly better off than in third world countries where getting drinkable water is the major issue.

Answer 8

Send all homeless people to France. They just passed a law there allowing every homeless person to request that a proper dwelling be provided to them.

Answer 9

We could add them to pest control's responsibilities. They could spay and neuter them. Put them in the pound. Set out poison. Develope a Bum Bomb....I personally say leave them alone. They're not bothering you!

Answer 10

Most wouldn't work if they were offered a job.