whatsaphoto t1_j01sjer wrote on December 13, 2022 at 1:40 PM

Reply to comment by Beebeeleen in Just a person who cares by AGirlsThoughts_

> I have little empathy for people who make poor life choices then continue to make them then seek others foot the bill.

A profound percentage of the homeless in RI and MA became that way through no fault of their own through simply experiencing a medically traumatic event and subsequently trusting their doctor and their pharmacies who over prescribed them opioids during their recovery. Once that shit grabs hold, it's damn near impossible to live without a constant supply. Particularly when it does actual good for your physical ailments that just wont go away unless you take whatever drug it is you're addicted to.

This was by design, and the victims were lied to when it was purposefully advertised as non-addictive. Mix that with lack of support systems (i.e. family support)and in many, many cases, it can lead to a vicious, endless cycle of addiction that can plague a person right into homelessness.

I highly urge you to reconsider your view on homelessness. It's so much more complicated than simply telling them "Get a job" or "Stop doing what you're doing" without considering what needs to be done in order to get them on their way (safe injection sites, drug treatment centers, sober houses, compassionate job programs that invite those who have previous convictions or wrong doings, etc).

Beebeeleen t1_j01vadm wrote on December 13, 2022 at 2:02 PM

I have actually spent time with homeless people. Have you? If so you'll find some are military vets. Others are civilizians who choose to live on the streets despite pleas from their family. Some have no option because they burnt bridges. There is no one size fits all.

Opioid addiction is not new. Your post appears to present it as such.

You should reconsider your views. Not all homesless people are the same. Some can, and do, make better choices that lead to a stable income and housing. Others can but don't. Others can't.

Obviously, my initial post "get a job; live where you can pay rent" is directed at people who can do both. Some people can't. They suffer from schizophrenia, parkinson's, alzheimer's, dimentia or another mental illness.

People suffering from drug addiction can get better. This situation differs from people suffering from the aforementioned diseases. Of course, the situation is even more complex when a person with schizophrenia is also an addict!

whatsaphoto t1_j01w99b wrote on December 13, 2022 at 2:10 PM

My point was in regards to you claiming that homelessness is caused by poor choices, and your lack of sympathy for those who live on the streets. Many (Not all, but many) people who are homeless are in that situation through no fault of their own, and we live in a country with far too little reliable options to pick yourself back up again and simply "get a job" in order to get approved for a mortgage and start your life again. If it were that simple then we wouldn't be in the epidemic that we're in right now.

Beebeeleen t1_j01x2q7 wrote on December 13, 2022 at 2:16 PM

You misread my post or I did not clarify my position.

As you just read in my latest post, I am well aware of the various causes of homelessness.

I withhold my empathy from certain cases. I am more compassionate about people suffering from mental illnesses outside of addiction.

When it comes to addiction, I am more of a case-by-case basis guy. For instance, I knew an addict whose family wanted to help him. He was from an upper middleclass family. He choose to stay on the streets. That differed from some of his addict buddies who had no where to go. Their situation was far worst. He could pass as a normal guy and used that to his advantage to enter and exist places and stores to steal to support his habit. The others couldn't exit and enter as they pleased.