Homelessness

In the United States we are living in the "Age of the Homeless". There is a tolerance today for so called homelessness that has legitimized homelessness as a state of being that is a person's right. What a change from the days when a person who had no home and lived on the streets was called a "hobo" or "bum", arrested by police on site and removed from public view. Often they disappeared to short term prison cells , followed by family or public institutional (churches, for example) assistance in treating the condition that encouraged the homelessness. The sheer volume of homelessness today should disgrace society enough to finally motivate it to help end it. It does not.

Homelessness was never sanitized and legitimized, until ti became an almost trendy alternative lifestyle for those who fell into it. Most homeless people are victims of a number of  causes of the condition, whether it be alcohol or drug abuse, mental issues, economic hardship, family problems or tragedy. Society still thinks all homeless are living in an undesirable way, and it wants to help, but the political leaders seem uninterested in investing in the cost of a solution. Instead, the numbers of homeless keep rising, and the number of social problems the homeless create rises in proportion to the numbers.

Perhaps the biggest reason so many are choosing or are forced into the homeless path is government. In the pre entitlement era, when individuals were responsible for their own welfare, there was no government intervention to assist the homeless. Now there is, but it is the worst kind of assistance imaginable, an enabling and ignoring assistance that only encourages more homelessness. Family and private institutions used to deal with most homelessness, and did it well. Today government creates a ridiculous number of unsuitable programs that pretend to help homeless population, a kind of "give the homeless guy a sandwich and forget about it" approach.

Homeless people have no money to pay for the few bare necessities needed for survival on the streets. Thus, the homeless turn to begging, stealing and other crime to assist in survival. Most Americans accept it with a shake of the head and a "It's sad' refrain. I wonder if our indifference to homelessness, or rather how we pretend to care about the homeless but do little to help, is a reflection of our detachment for m reality that our technology so often encourages.

I have no idea hoe to help the homeless other than insisting some responsibility be thrust into the homeless themselves as part of the solution. Perhaps ending the entitlement and  pseudo sympathy, the "just go away" approach would be a start. But I do know the acceptance of the condition of  homelessness and other social deviancy's is an indication that we as a society have some serious problems too.