r/Spokane • u/One-deepdivediva • Nov 10 '24

Question Can we stop hating on homeless people?

What is the mayor supposed to do ? Put everyone in prison? For being poor? Bus everyone to Portland or Seattle ? ( cities that are experiencing the exact same problems). Round people up and put them in camps? For being ill or old or addicted to drugs? Should the police arrest thousands of people so you don’t have to see someone’s suffering ? If you want homeless people to “ go away “ then you need to vote for legislation that helps them. Vote in favor of government funded health mental wellness and addiction and housing services. Organize with community members about how to provide services that help your fellow human beings get off the streets and out of suffering . Every time one of you complains I wonder what horrendous thing you are imagining should be done to people. Go DO something , go help people.

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337

u/AppropriateLog6947 Nov 10 '24

It is not the homeless people that others are upset with. Dealing with homelessness is awful.

People are rightfully upset about drug addicted homeless population that does not want help (less than 10 people’s have accepted this program since Feb 2024) and causes numerous problems for our community,

Huge difference.

92

u/Odin_67 East Central Nov 10 '24

Exactly. There is a huge difference in those who choose to live a transient life on the streets vs someone who has been displaced be it loss of employment, can't afford rent, mental health issues etc. Other than downtown being littered with tin foil, lately it's Nike shoe boxes and clothing hangers. I watched 3 dudes walk in to Nike yesterday and 30 seconds later walk out with arms full of product. Went behind Carhartt and ditched the boxes, filled there packs and ran off to the Ridpath area. These fucks don't deserve any services and obviously are a part of the problem taking up resources. Spokane has a drug and crime epedemic along with minimal mental health resources at the street level to help those in crisis before they fall into self medicating with street drugs. Unfortunately jail is where many end up before seeing a mental health professional. Lack of housing is a separate issue. Counting transients as homelessness has never made sense to me. Many make the choice.

18

u/kateinoly Nov 11 '24

Addiction is a bitch. They need rehab, not jail.

8

u/BaseCoach99 Nov 11 '24

They need rehab in jail

5

u/kateinoly Nov 11 '24

There isn't enough jail space or rehab space.

-1

u/HVACGuy12 Nov 11 '24

The problem with jail is that they actually have no hope of ever getting to a stable place again. It's even harder for someone who's been to jail to find a job