Austin Resource Center for the Homeless

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by Double L

Except that the proof is in the numbers. There are 1500 homeless children in Austin and Austin has both higher homeless population along with higher housing prices in Texas cities while there are more services for them in other Texas cities.

The 1500 "homeless children" includes runaway 16 year-olds with drug problems. How many are actual children whose homelessness is out of their control? I'll bet very few if any at all. Another examples of liberals lying with statistics. Who can forget Dan Rather claiming that there were 20 million American children going hungry every night? Maybe if Austin wouldn't support these runaway drug-addict teenagers, the only place they would have to go is home to their parents where they can get some help. Austin has more homeless than other Texas cities because the people in Austin support homelessness, while other cities won't tolerate it.

[KevinFromTexas]

There is a related topic over at Current Events. Check out that thread at the below link:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=122686

[M1EK]

Responding to a bunch:

By "extra state services" I meant that a lot of mentally ill people get committed to various state hospitals here in Austin (which exist in disproportionate numbers here) and then some of them eventually get released here (to the streets).

As for housing costs - measuring by the cost of a two bedroom apartment is a misleading game by homeless 'advocates'. There are efficiencies (or garage apartments) available all over town at the sub-$500 level that aren't even in dangerous parts of town. If my family were at risk of sleeping on the street vs. being crammed into an efficiency, do you think I'd stay on the street until I had enough money for a two-bedroom?

[austlar]

Keep in mind that Austin has a mild cliimate, a fairly low violent crime rate, a reputation for tolerance, and is thought to be "laid back" and safe. I know one young homeless drug addict who came all the way to Austin from Dayton, Ohio. He had been told by somebody he met in jail in Ohio that Austin was a great place to be homeless. He came here to be homeless and that is what he has done. Is he mentally ill? Yes, he has bi-polar illness and does not like to take medication, preferring to self-medicate with all sorts of drugs. His judgement, consequently, is completely impaired and urealistic. He exists in and out of jail, drifting from situation to situation, petty crime to petty crime, substance to substance. If he is in jail, he'll take meds. Once he's out, it is back to the streets. There are hundreds just like him living in the shadows in and near downtown. Similarly, there are a others over near the Drag doing things their way; some of them are counted among the homeless children. Most are in their mid to late teens and are runaways, not victims of the high cost of housing. The visible homeless population you see downtown or on the Drag or flying signs at freeway off-ramps are not in the housing market. They exist in a kind of alternate reality that has NOTHING to do with the high cost of housing in the Austin area.

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by austlar

Keep in mind that Austin has a mild cliimate, a fairly low violent crime rate, a reputation for tolerance, and is thought to be "laid back" and safe. I know one young homeless drug addict who came all the way to Austin from Dayton, Ohio. He had been told by somebody he met in jail in Ohio that Austin was a great place to be homeless. He came here to be homeless and that is what he has done. Is he mentally ill? Yes, he has bi-polar illness and does not like to take medication, preferring to self-medicate with all sorts of drugs. His judgement, consequently, is completely impaired and urealistic. He exists in and out of jail, drifting from situation to situation, petty crime to petty crime, substance to substance. If he is in jail, he'll take meds. Once he's out, it is back to the streets. There are hundreds just like him living in the shadows in and near downtown. Similarly, there are a others over near the Drag doing things their way; some of them are counted among the homeless children. Most are in their mid to late teens and are runaways, not victims of the high cost of housing. The visible homeless population you see downtown or on the Drag or flying signs at freeway off-ramps are not in the housing market. They exist in a kind of alternate reality that has NOTHING to do with the high cost of housing in the Austin area.

You are absolutely correct. Homelessness will continue as long as we enable it.

[Double L]

So I guess they should all just freeze in the cold or die of overdose since there aren't any places they can go in which people will show them how to get off their feet.

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by Double L

So I guess they should all just freeze in the cold or die of overdose since there aren't any places they can go in which people will show them how to get off their feet.

No, they should be in mental health centers or rehab getting help. If there is nowhere else to go, they will end up there.

[Double L]

Or we should do both.

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by Double L

Or we should do both.

That might work in fantasyland, but not in the real world. The thing about mental illness is it is accompanied with a lack of insight. They don't know they're ill. They won't get help unless that is the only option. Since the courts ruled that we can't force them, they have to seek it on their own. This homeless center gives them an option besides treatment. That is how it encourages homelessness. It gives people the option of being homeless.

[Double L]

They have a right to that option, that is their decision, but they don't have a right to death. We need to protect them. So we should give them shelter. Also, we need to give them services which will help them get off the ground. We can bait them into those services by giving them shelter and food. Once they come here they can talk to a counseler who will help them with whatever they need. Also, the quality of life in this complex is as low as it can be without being left straight out on the streets. They will not necessarily want to stay here. I don't want them in the cold or in the rain, or high on drugs without anybody to help them. They come here and they get the exact help you are talking about. It is not a mental illness issue only, it is also an issue of drug addiction, laziness and housing situation. We need to protect their basic right to safety from outdoor dangers.

[KevinFromTexas]

There are several success stories among people who "get help" in their homeless situation. I'm not familar with these people personally, so I'm not sure that they're mentally ill or not, but there are two low income housing complexes within 2 miles of my house. They aren't what you think either. One was a former nursing home that closed its doors and was almost demolished and probably would have become more apartments, but it was purchased and turned into low income housing for the homeless. Now, these aren't drunk staggering panhandlers, actually, they have jobs, they own cars, (the parking lot is full of them), and they have a home now. The neighborhood is also no worse off with them there than it was without them. In other words, it's just like any other apartment complex, I often forget that is is for low income housing. The other one is a former 5-story Ramada Inn hotel a bit farther north near Ben White that closed its doors. It was bought by a developer of these types of properties and renovated the building. I think rent there is about $300 if I remember correctly from the article about it. The top floor has a common area with a great view of downtown. Both of these facilties are a positive thing in my view. They haven't brought down the neighborhood or property taxes, (I can assure you of that!)