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They have they’re called homeless shelters. Cities shouldn’t actively endorse camping by marking areas and if you think they should would you like to volunteer the streets outside and surrounding your house.

Homeless people should be interviewed and those with mental illnesses treated by the state as they are objectively sick people in need of help. Homeless people under 18 should be taken into care. Homeless people over 65 showing senile ageing conditions should be asked if they want to go into retirement homes.

Outside of this homeless people should be treated with decency and respect as adults capable of full agency. They should face the consequences of their disregard of the rules. Punishments should be scaled but society should not feel sorry for drug addicted homeless people and actively enable them to keep ruining theres and others lives. This provides an easy scapegoat for homeless people who have nothing wrong with them.



I agreed with your first 2 paragraphs but for the last one, I think we should be treating addiction as a mental illness. Instead of just locking them up in jail or leaving them on the streets, we should be getting them help.


That’s fair I can see the argument but I think we all have the ability to be addicted to things regardless of your mental health.


The ability? Sure but people with enough real substance in their lives have a much much greater motivation to manage their drug consumption. When you don't have much to lose, it becomes easy to don't give a fuck about the eventual problems of comedown, showing up to work, etc. And this uncaring aimlessness, short-term thinking is itself a sign of mental health problems. (Depression.)


Many cities have inadequate shelters. And shelters have many restrictions encampments don't.[1]

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28067093


Beggars can't be choosers is an aphorism for a reason.


It's good when beggars' few belongings are stolen isn't an aphorism for a reason.


Shelters are traditionally far too restrictive and drive people away. If you want to solve the problem, cities need to provide an option people actually want to use, not the option they hope and dream people want to use.




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