Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc
The problem with a lot of homeless is that they are either mentally ill or refuse to live a structured existence; in lieu of housing, they'd have to adhere to some ground rules. I'm not sure how Finland dealt with these factors.
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I would imagine that Finland has better mental healthcare than America does. While I don't doubt some of Finland's homeless have mental issues, the homeless problem Finland faced was probably less hampered by the burden of a segment of the population living on the streets with a whole other problem putting a barrier between them and normalcy. Having good mental healthcare that actually follows through and sees to it that people are getting treated and cared for would remove that obstacle, at least to an extent. The rest are probably people who really are down on their luck, have physical disabilities, drug problems, and then the slackers. One thing I've noticed on this issue that seems universal is people's refusal to get help and to give it. You have the people on the street, some of whom that are ok with that and resist help, and then the general public who doesn't want to help them. But then the general public is also annoyed by the problem of having to see these people every day. I think addressing the mental health problem first would go a long way, but there also needs to be an attitude change from both the people on the street, which you'll have if they actually have a road to normalcy, and by the public that needs to realize that some compromise will have to happen to get them off the street, including tax dollars.
This problem has been around forever, but it's gotten worse, of course. I also see the lack of empathy that people have for others as a big obstacle to solving it. Look at how we butt heads over politics and have come to hate each other because of it. It's hard to solve a problem like homelessness which takes a certain common decency and respect and dedication to others to reverse.