basketball Bill Walton proposes moving homeless away from "civilized taxpayers" to "Sunbreak Ranch"

[peggysue2]

42. Though this is an inhumane idea . . .

We all know homelessness is a growing problem, both for the homeless and city dwellers. At the very least, this is someone broaching the subject, throwing an idea out into the ether sphere. Even though it's bad and gives no thought for homeless themselves.

We need more suggestions, more civic participation with better ideas that will serve the homeless, the working poor and city residents. One such proposal I read about was the construction of tiny homes for people to get started in getting their lives back. Not situated in a barren desert but built on vacant lots within the city. Wouldn't work everywhere but at least it's a start.

We also have to delineate the homeless population. Drug addiction and mental health require additional services. If I remember correctly, the tiny house community was vetted before acceptance. For others? We need to have facilities brought back to fight the scourge of drug addiction. What we're doing now isn't working. Same for mental health patients living on the street. We cast these individuals out of poorly run and inhumane institutions with no back up. The money that supposedly was being put aside for out-patient services never materialized. It was easier to empty the institutions than deal with damaged, sick and/or drug-addicted people.

There's an old saying that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable, the least among us. Right now? We're doing a lousy job.

There must be better ideas out there than this one. The first thing is a willingness to talk about the problem, admit that it exists, and then start brainstorming solutions.