A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history • Hacker News Board

Re: A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history

#11

Post by tomjen3 » Tue, Dec 21, 2010, 5:57 PM UTC

arethuza wrote: post #6

tomjen3 wrote: post #4

I love how they preempt the economy issue by saying that it is cheaper to house them than it is to treat them. Wouldn't it be even cheaper to put a limit on how much you can owe the public before you are turned away at the er? After all, this is the money that comes from the insurance premiums that have exploded recently.

I believe that it was Mahatma Ghandi who said "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."

He said a lot of things, including suggesting that jews went to the ovens voluntary (as some sort of protest against the Nazies). He may have his hearth in the right place, but I wouldn't take advice from him.

Re: A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history

#12

Post by Alex3917 » Tue, Dec 21, 2010, 6:09 PM UTC

Bdennyw wrote: post #10

Alex3917 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Many of these people are mentally ill. And for many of these people giving them a home and money will not solve their problems." This thinking is based on the fallacy that mental illness is a purely biological condition, which anthropology, epidemiology, and clinical data all soundly disprove. Even for mental illnesses that are mostly biological, like schizophrenia, the quality of outcomes varies enormously dependin…

Regardless there are people who choose to remain homeless. When I lived in Finland there were homeless, even though there were plenty of opportunities not to be.

Of course there will always be people who choose to remain homeless, but their goal is only to reduce homelessness by ~83%.

Re: A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history

#13

Post by juiceandjuice » Tue, Dec 21, 2010, 6:10 PM UTC

Alex3917 wrote: post #9

InclinedPlane wrote: post #7

I will boldly predict that this won't work. There are two types of homeless. The temporary homeless who have been caught out by circumstance and work mightily to avoid remaining homeless. These people tend to be homeless only for very short periods of time (days). Then there are the chronically homeless, who are generally unable to live within societal norms. Many of these people are mentally ill. And for many of the…

"Many of these people are mentally ill. And for many of these people giving them a home and money will not solve their problems." This thinking is based on the fallacy that mental illness is a purely biological condition, which anthropology, epidemiology, and clinical data all soundly disprove. Even for mental illnesses that are mostly biological, like schizophrenia, the quality of outcomes varies enormously dependin…

Do you know any LPCs or LPSWs?

First thing they'd tell you is that while mental illness isn't biological, that doesn't mean there's a cure. Some people could go 20+ years in therapy and still end up only a slightly less sick person than they were going in.

Also, many mental illnesses become biological in the sense that brain chemistry actually changes.

Re: A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history

#14

Post by zach » Tue, Dec 21, 2010, 6:11 PM UTC

Another worthwhile blog post sullied by an over-sensationalized headline, from the author of How to Change the World.

Let's be honest, this is triage to save the life of people dying on the streets. And frankly, I find that to be a far more galvanizing rallying cry than making homelessness history.

Re: A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history

#15

Post by Alex3917 » Tue, Dec 21, 2010, 7:02 PM UTC

juiceandjuice wrote: post #13

Alex3917 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Many of these people are mentally ill. And for many of these people giving them a home and money will not solve their problems." This thinking is based on the fallacy that mental illness is a purely biological condition, which anthropology, epidemiology, and clinical data all soundly disprove. Even for mental illnesses that are mostly biological, like schizophrenia, the quality of outcomes varies enormously dependin…

Do you know any LPCs or LPSWs? First thing they'd tell you is that while mental illness isn't biological, that doesn't mean there's a cure. Some people could go 20+ years in therapy and still end up only a slightly less sick person than they were going in. Also, many mental illnesses become biological in the sense that brain chemistry actually changes.

Excellent points. Are there any good books on the LPC/LPSW perspective?

Re: A-plan-to-make-homelessness-history

#16

Post by juiceandjuice » Tue, Dec 21, 2010, 9:50 PM UTC

Alex3917 wrote: post #15

juiceandjuice wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know any LPCs or LPSWs? First thing they'd tell you is that while mental illness isn't biological, that doesn't mean there's a cure. Some people could go 20+ years in therapy and still end up only a slightly less sick person than they were going in. Also, many mental illnesses become biological in the sense that brain chemistry actually changes.

Excellent points. Are there any good books on the LPC/LPSW perspective?

I'm not sure. My best friend is an almost an LPC, I can ask her. She's worked with kids aged 4-18, and it's always the older kids she's most worried about. She's working with 13-18 year olds right now, but really wants to go back to 6-12 year olds because she feels like there's a bit more hope for them.