Homeless in Boston

there are answers but it would take a new vison of government and populace. as long as we continue to blame the homeless for their situation and justify our disregard, nothing will improve. albeit i am a liberal, if there was provided basic needs such as shelter, food, clothing, basic medical care for ALL people regardless of the cause of their situation we would indeed be a humanitarian people. it would not be that costly to provide a barracks type of shelter in which every person in need could have a decent, warm bed, a decent meal, deserved not for the merit of the person but quite simply because they are our fellow human beings.

The Pine Street Inn in Boston is a warm spot with food for homeless. Their state funding was slashed dramatically at least once in the last 6 months. We've been through several rounds of budget cuts.

I've heard that it was warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska than it was here this past week. It's sad and disturbing that anyone is left on the streets like that.

Please understand that in this situation he was not "left to freeze to death". The man who was found frozen to death was known to the employees of the Pine Street Inn and they had spoken to him repeatedly over the weekend to get him to come into the Inn. He refused.

The people that work at the Inn are incredibly hard working and dedicated to finding beds for everyone, even with their limited resources. Understand that not all people on the streets are there because they have no place to go. Some of them do and prefer to stay outside for their own reasons.

Some related articles:
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/cold01222003.htm

http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/pix01222003.htm

Pine street is now at 200% capacity. What the men and women in the shelters need is a job and a place to live.

The man may have had mental problems. If this was the case, he should have been made to go inside the Pine St. Inn or elsewhere.

Common sense should say, that people can't live in paper boxes when the temp is -20F.

Jespah:

What do you think of the idea of letting the homeless spend the nights, during the winter in the ATMs?

Therein lies the problem - you cannot make people do things they do not want to do. Mentally ill or not, you can't force the man into a shelter. And if he was mentally ill, a shelter isn't the place for him anyway. If you are drunk or high, you aren't allowed in a shelter - too dangerous for everyone else. And where are those resources....? The list goes on and on.

It's easy to say get him a job and a place to live. Massachusetts spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on shelters, job training, rehab, detox, assisted living, group homes, medicaid, etc. every year. There are people that these things work for. There are also people that do not want a job or can not hold a job. There are 3 categories of people in the homeless population - people who end up there because they can't make enough money to provide for themselves, people with mental or physical disabilities that do not get enough aid and/or program assistance from the state, and people who put themselves there and do nothing to get themselves out no matter what you do.

There are a few homeless people I know - Pops from Fanueil Hall, the Mayor of Kenmore Square, Sarge from Harvard Square (haven't seen him in a while though), Sully the Broadway Bridge Toll Collector - all of these men are polite and friendly and great to talk to. They are also perpetually homeless by choice.

Should they have a warm place to stay? Absolutely. But the failings here don't always lie with shelters and programs and taxpayers. I do know people that have been homeless, individuals and families, and have gotten back on their feet with a little help from others - but it starts with wanting to help yourself. It makes all the difference

They arent forced to sleep outside, in New England in the winter...its all about choice, and if they dont have choice then its a whole nother problem.
I see these people all day, actually the ones here got it a bit better...only because they've had to however...they arent accepted in the shelters..alcoholics...so, they are forced to pay for rooms...so in and out they go...and thats just a mess as well.
You know, one of them I had a long converstaion with back when it was nice and warm..he knew perfectly well what was coming and what he should try to do to get around it. He failed obviously...hes still here, still doing the same thing.
Please take a few things into consideration when you feel the need to discuss the habitat of the homeless....
#1 They are someones child, sibling, or parent
they didnt get where they are cuz they just appeared there one day
#2 There are agencies that can help
Sometimes they need new ideas, further aid, its not all about budget cuts but...its also not all about what youd like to see the homeless do
#3 There are many choices
Some able to make, some not so much so, some not at all

Give what you can, offer what is available, and remember they are human beings
Lets not get to crazy though....theres this homeless reality many people are very unaware of.

Mental illness is another consideration here, covering many of the homeless, including who say they choose to stay outside. And many of these folks also drink or do drugs. In mental health circles, these are known as "dual diagnosis patients."

Needless to say, mental illness complicates things considerably if we are to figure out how to help, because just offering a place isn't enough. Thousands of these folks were de-institutionalized decades ago, and there aren't enough community programs to help them. They can be helped, but it takes money and will, neither of which is in strong supply these days...

I realize that I'm late to the discussion, there have already been a lot of valid points made.

In Mass. the budget for social services keep getting hit, and although Mr. Romney stresses he is protecting emergency and necessary services such as shelters, they will still be hit. Most of them were underfunded to begin with anyway (but that's just my opinion).

Many of the homeless in the Boston area are mentally ill, many also have drug and alcohol abuse problems. It's a large population and again there are exceptions.

Many homeless people do chose the streets over the shelters for many reasons. Many feel the shelters just are not safe, or are just not for them.

The man who froze to death was living under an underpass. He as the articles reported refused to go to the shelter. He also had family, a niece who was unaware he was alive and of his situation. He became homeless or displaced when the apartment he had lived in for many years in the South End was refurbished and the rent went up etc.

I see Boston's main problem as being a large, inflated college town. We have people coming here Americans and foreigners who are willing to pay huge market rates to live, work and study in the city. Therefore, formally blue collar, middle class and lower middle class neighbors have all been gentrified. People who are displaced between the economy of the neighborhood changing, and have other problems, which could include mental illness, (addiction or something else) or have other problems -- Often become permanently homeless when this occurs. They don't resurface anywhere because there is no where affordable for them to go.

On a personal note, we are undergoing a family crisis. My uncle (my mom's brother) is I believe a manic depressive. He was evaluated about 25 or 30 years ago but went off his meds. He was divorced a few years back and for awhile was living in a shabby apartment, working at his own small business. I suspect he has a gambling problem as well, but I have no hard evidence. He does have a load a credit card debt though, I believe from exspenses or losses from his business, etc.

His building has been sold but I don't believe he is being evicted. His rent is only $500 a month (in a bad section of a small town near Rhode Island). However, I'm sure he's living off some limited savings. His son is not concerned and I'm fighting my mother on becoming legally responsible, she though feels terrible. There was an intervention done by his daughter, daughter-in-law and ex wife (not a good choice) to try to get him some mental health. He refused to let them in the house. His son does not believe he requires any mental health assistance and apparently is not concerned about his living situation.

My mom flipped out when his Christmas present came back to her. The PO Box he was using, he didn't pay for so the PO closed it and sent back the parcel. She got all upset. Yesterday she went to his house and brought him groceries and gave him cash (I asked her not to give him money but she did not listen). He would not let her into the house. He said he stopped working and hurt his back, etc.
She gave him a packet of social services info. I researched. I've already sent copies of it to his son and gave my mom copies so she can maybe research some things on his own.

However, we tangle a lot on this. She's not next of kin, and if he won't let her in -- I don't see how we can get him to doctors for his back (if that's not just a story) or for meds. She fears he will fall down and just be taken to a hospital, which at this point might not be such a bag thing, at least a hospital would give us a social worker/case manager who would read my mom and more importantly his son the riot act.

My mom said "he looks like a derilect" although she said there were not hygiene issues just shabby clothes and a very messy apartment from what glance she got. She is in absolute fear that he will be homeless some day, and trying to intervene now.
We live far away, she can't possible visit every week to coax him, and even if she did; I don't believe he would listen to her --
So I fear we have a terrible situation on our hands, and I'm planning on bashing my head against walls for the years to come.

That's a sad story, edithdoll. It sounds like you and your mother are doing all the right things, yet this is a situation that has no easy solution.

I'm sure there are those who would say that it's up to him to pull himself together. I think that's called compassionate conservatism. Of course, if someone in one's own family suffers, then it's a different story...

As far as homeless people in Boston are concerned, why doesn't the mayor just buy them a bus/train ticket to San Francisco? That's what everybody else does.

Boston is a nice place to live.

A bus ticket to SF? Is this meant as satire, as in "A Modest Proposal"?

No, there have been cities that have actually purchased bus/train tickets for their homeless to send them to the bay area.

If I can find a reference I'll post it.

Well, I guess that's one approach. I reckon a Greyhound ticket is a lot cheaper than doing something to solve homelessness...

Better idea is to start taxing the 200+ colleges in the Commonwealth and use the $$ for the homeless.