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Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

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Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#21

Post by serf »

yid wrote: post #16
nickthemagicman wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I AGREE! I'm sure every single person in the Tenderloin is there because they're just losers! That's why I'm proposing Bumfights. It could be an awesome startup. Pit them against each other Hunger Games style. Fuck those loser homeless.

You seem to be the only one in this thread calling them losers. I'm not sure where you're getting that from my comment.

what don't you get? He's making fun of the assumption you seem to make that none of the residents of the area are there due to economic reasons, and then you cite anecdotal evidence (a walk through) as evidence as such.

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#23

Post by mwfunk »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #11
mrharrison wrote: post #7

The reason there are many homeless in SF, is because there are many shelters in the Tenderloin that provide these things you are talking about. Think you should first ask why are they homeless, not just give them random things. They are homeless either because, they have drug problems, psychological issues, or the least likely -- they have a problem getting employment.

It's kind of amazing how you can stereotype huge amounts of people in two sentences. And it's ALL THEIR FAULT. Not the economy, not the insane cost of higher education to gain job skills, not the outsourcing and automation of modern society. It's the homeless who are failures. That's why I propose Gladiator hobo fights to the death. Only the strongest hobo's survive. Make them earn their cheeseburgers like a good cap…

You're not making a good case for your point of view here.

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#24

Post by robbrown451 »

It seems a bit like trying to fix the pigeon problem in the city by putting out pigeon food.

The harsh reality is that the more accommodating to the homeless the city is, the more homeless there will be.

I think there are solutions, and they can be compassionate, but simply making life easier for the homeless has long term drawbacks that are greater than the short term upsides.

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#25

Post by SeckinJohn »

mrharrison wrote: post #7

The reason there are many homeless in SF, is because there are many shelters in the Tenderloin that provide these things you are talking about. Think you should first ask why are they homeless, not just give them random things. They are homeless either because, they have drug problems, psychological issues, or the least likely -- they have a problem getting employment.

I agree that there are multiple complex causes of homelessness and that we need to address those issues. I have been thinking about this for a while and I have talked with a lot of social workers and activists to learn the details of the issue, yet, I am not the best person to work on actively solving those main causes. So, with this first campaign, I am trying to reach the people who are passionate about fixing this problem by directly designing/executing campaigns or by donating. I believe that the people who have been working on this for years will be the ones that will come up with the most sustainable solutions. I will try my best to help them reach potential donators through this website.

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#26

Post by ChuckMcM »

I recall a time at a community meeting I advocated finding a way of providing a facility that could house and treat the addicted and mentally ill, I was accused of wanting to "sweep the homeless under the rug and forget about them." I knew it was a difficult problem I just didn't realize that the problem wasn't the homeless, the problem has roots in our collective understanding of what is a 'better' versus 'not better' quality of life.

I have always held that it is one of the main purposes of government to maximize the quality of life for the governed. Whether they are rich, poor, sane, or insane. What I always find challenging is when someone chooses to define 'better' in a way that I cannot comprehend.

I strongly recommend that anyone who wants to help here start by looking at what we had, in terms of laws and institutions, which gave the state the ability to hold someone and treat their illness, and restrict their movements, and why those institutions were abolished and laws changed.

As a community we changed our position from it is 'better' to house these people and give them treatment, to it is 'better' that they live without constraints and someone trying to provide help they don't want.

When a person says they would rather sleep on a bench than be given drugs that make them feel "bad" and be forced to live with other people who are similarly afflicted, which is better? Homelessness or being institutionalized? Why?

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#27

Post by jdkuepper »

I applaud efforts like these for at least doing something to address the problem, even if it doesn't turn out to be the most effective use of capital in the end as some suggest here.

That said, I think some of the best projects fighting homelessness are supportive housing projects that help people get an apartment and provide additional services for medical/psychiatric treatments, food stamps, etc. [1]

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supportive_housing

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#29

Post by pron »

yid wrote: post #12
nickthemagicman wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kind of amazing how you can stereotype huge amounts of people in two sentences. And it's ALL THEIR FAULT. Not the economy, not the insane cost of higher education to gain job skills, not the outsourcing and automation of modern society. It's the homeless who are failures. That's why I propose Gladiator hobo fights to the death. Only the strongest hobo's survive. Make them earn their cheeseburgers like a good cap…

Oh get off that pedestal. OP was talking about the Tenderloin. Have you ever walked through the Tenderloin? A large fraction of the homeless people there clearly have severe psychological or drug issues. They're not there because of the economy.

Maybe, but do you feel proud to live in a city where those unfortunates who have drug or "psychological" issues lie in the streets? It's shameful that you feel that those stricken by bad fortune should be left to rot out there.

Re: Show HN: A website aiming to fix homelessness in SF

#30

Post by SeckinJohn »

robbrown451 wrote: post #24

It seems a bit like trying to fix the pigeon problem in the city by putting out pigeon food. The harsh reality is that the more accommodating to the homeless the city is, the more homeless there will be. I think there are solutions, and they can be compassionate, but simply making life easier for the homeless has long term drawbacks that are greater than the short term upsides.

I agree that the goal shouldn't be making the life too easy for the homeless - instead I believe that we should focus on helping them re-integrate back to the society, at least for the ones that would like to.

Homelessness is the main concern for resident of San Francisco according to recent polls, and it would be a shame if this stayed like this for another 10 years.

With this campaign, we can start creating campaigns that are funded and lead by the citizens who are most passionate about solving this. Then, the idea that something like this could work would ideally propagate to other people that are more skeptic.

We need to also note that we are already paying around $20 per month each on fixing homelessness in San Francisco through the government. The main difference is that with a crowdfunding platform, we would be the ones that are choosing which campaigns make sense and which activists we would like to support.

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