grrlgeek72: olofahere: marvelousgameofdisneythrones: bemusedlybespectacled: jethroq: goawfma: who wo
grrlgeek72:olofahere:marvelousgameofdisneythrones:bemusedlybespectacled:jethroq:goawfma:who would have thought that the solution to homelessness is providing people with housing? The solution isn’t 100% perfect, there’s a lot of people who aren’t technically homeless because they live with other people for free etc. but yeah this does majorly help reduce risks for vulnerable people.Here’s the big thing about it that might scandalize Americans even more so than the idea of free housing: you don’t have to do anything to “deserve it.” Most countries use what’s called “the staircase model” – you start by being in shelter, then maybe a halfway house, then permanent housing. You can “move up” by going through rehab or getting a job or accessing other services. The idea is that housing is something you get as a reward for good behavior, not something you get by right.But with the housing first model, you get the house first, and then deal with everything else. It’s a lot easier to stop using drugs and alcohol when you have other ways to pass the time and aren’t under constant stress. It’s a lot easier to get a job when you have an address to put on your applications. It’s a lot easier to treat mental illness when you’re in a safe place that doesn’t add to your fear and pain. But if your mentality is that housing is something only the morally pure and socially acceptable deserve, and the only way to get it is for people to jump through hoops to prove their goodness, then of course you’re going to hate this model.As an American who has looked around at his country and decided that ‘This Shit is Fucked Up,’ I would whole-heartedly SUPPORT this model. I’ve read the science. I’ve studied this. Hell I was going to school to be a teacher before I got back into engineering. ALL of the research (particularly for school-age kids, but can be extrapolated with incredibly high degrees of accuracy) shows that if you eliminate sources of stress and uncertainty (where you’re going to sleep, where your next meal is coming from, etc. etc.), then children will VASTLY improve in school. The same works for adults. If you look at the underlying causes of crime, addiction, etc., chances are you’re going to see high levels of stress and uncertainty for these people. That could be the lack of a permanent home, worries about a major health issue, job insecurity, etc. etc. If you remove these insecurities and sources of stress, you remove what drove people to these detrimental activities. They’re happier, can get organized, and are much more likely to succeed. We need to switch from a top-down approach in this country to a bottom-up approach. When the bottom is successful first, everyone is successful and the world moves forward. When the top is successful first, they tend to not give a shit about anyone else.What Marve said… Dear God, in Louisville KY 9% of the kids in the public school system are fucking HOMELESS! And yet the rich entitled fuck that’s our governor keeps blaming the teachers for underperforming kids. -- source link
#homelessness#queuel beans