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strangechicken t1_j6kufm7 wrote

Well, the actions to take to stop this level of homelessness are not palpable to the average voter it would seem. Either dont want to spend the tax funds to institutionalize them (jail or hospital) or still want the status quo of giving them used camping equipment to take up parks and sidewalks even more so.

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Deanocracy t1_j6l04xd wrote

Institutionalization would be supported on its face I think as a humane alternative.

Its not a fiscal issue. It would be a justice issue.

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resdivinae t1_j6mrgoy wrote

Decades ago, deinstitutionalization was the humane alternative. Now we seem to be circling back. I think today institutionalization can be done humanely, but we need the political will and funding to start and sustain it.

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Deanocracy t1_j6mzmm0 wrote

Yeah… its wrongly tied to Reagan when in reality it was a large progressive movement and a push to medications as the new wonder drug that would fix it.

“The belief then was widespread that the same scientific researchers who had conjured up antibiotics and vaccines during the outburst of medical discovery in the 50's and 60's had also developed penicillins to cure psychoses and thus revolutionize the treatment of the mentally ill.”

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-mental-patients-began.html

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monagw t1_j6n4qob wrote

Thank you for sharing this article.

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Blue_5ive t1_j6ox3mm wrote

The issue I have with it is who decides who should be institutionalized? How would safeguards work so that institutions don’t just turn into jail dlc?

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under_psychoanalyzer t1_j6l12ce wrote

It's got nothing to do with what "average voter" wants. You can't medically institutionalize anyone in this country anymore without their own or some sort of familial consent. You have to actively threatening to hurt yourself or someone else. But having enough fentanyl to kill 3 horses on your person doesn't count. That's a result of case law precedent. So that leaves only criminal charges, but understandably we don't want to lock up the users into a criminal system for being addicts. Good luck ever creating a bill in any state to undo that by giving the government more power to lock people away in mental institutions.

And that's making the false assumption people who are homeless are all drug addicts and need to be institutionalized. Housing needs to be increased but that's a systemic economic issue that would require a consistent domestic policy for more than a few years at a time, but half the country can't decide on if they want free ice cream or a kick in the nuts.

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Macrophage87 t1_j6neorn wrote

It's interesting to note that the homeless population in DC is at it's lowest point in several years, mostly due to a decrease in homeless families. According to the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, there are only 690 people living on the street in a given night (with more in emergency shelters). That's roughly the amount of people who could fit into a single apartment building. For all the amount of time, money, and energy devoted to this issue, the problem doesn't appear that insurmountable.

https://community-partnership.org/homelessness-in-dc/

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