human nature is tricky. human’s capacity to defy common sense has led some to posit whether adam and eve’s consumption of the forbidden fruit in the garden of eden was a total set up; a perfect metaphor showing that humans can be illogical and immoral. this dark side of human nature is both ever present and predictable.
over three decades, both professionally and in my personal life, i have worked with the homeless. i have had both homeless clients and homeless neighbors. one homeless person was, for years, a welcome guest in my house. over the years, i have assisted some in their efforts to stabilize their housing. success, however, was largely motivational and failure self-inflicted.
humans enter the world with no appreciation of housing. some children are fortunate to be taught that housing involves rules and expectations. these include respecting the other residents enjoyment of the property, cleaning up after one’s self, refraining from substance abuse, and limiting visitors to respectful individuals.
homelessness has a myriad of reasons. there is a significant segment that do not respect housing. many of them, in the past, had abused housing situations and, as a result, became homeless. in contrast, there are other homeless people who had either unfortunate health or financial set backs that put them out on the streets. many of these individuals respect housing and would likely thrive given a new opportunity to be under a roof.
in portland, these notions were confirmed by an ill planned homeless solution. a beautiful “safe rest village” set up for the homeless has been plagued with drug dealers, loud noises and anti-social behavior. this village is destroying the surrounding neighbors’ quality of life. dailymail.com
the sad reality to any of these programs is that the homeless population’s eligibility for dream projects must triage the applicants. only those willing and committed to respecting their housing should be the ones slated for these opportunities. most likely, these are the ones without substance abuse problems. likewise, there must be strict rules concerning what can occur on a property. additionally, a short leash should be placed upon those present.
in sum, homelessness is not a monolithic enterprise. as such, there is no one size fits all solution. those who are respectful of housing opportunities and wish to be good neighbors should be given priority in these projects. squandering these opportunities on others is simply both a waste of resource as well as an offense against the quality of life in the areas upon which they are located. those involved in these projects must appreciate the nature of character.
be well!!
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