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Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

sfexaminer.com

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Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#11

Post by kimlelly »

BjoernKW wrote: post #9
kimlelly wrote: post #2

It's really nice when people want to do good. They deserve our full respect. Having said that, we, as a society, need to understand that we must correct the sick systems we've built and have come to accept as "the new normal". In other words: Homeless people don't need showers. They need to receive a system which prevents them from ending up as homeless people. Homeless people are homeless because we, as a society, h…

It's not that easy. Germany's social security system for instance provides all of that yet still there are homeless people in Germany. Probably on average not as many as in San Francisco but still noticeable. I'm no expert on that matter but I suppose the causes of becoming homeless are too diverse for the problem to be solved easily and not all of these causes can be attributed to society. Debt, drug addiction, ment…

All of these other variables you mention can be prevented by having a good mental health.

In a lot of places in Europe, people CAN get a therapy with a shrink (b/c or when it's covered by insurance), but they won't because of retarded cultural stigma.

In the US, it's pretty much the opposite situation.

Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#12

Post by mseebach »

primitur wrote: post #7
kimlelly wrote: post #2

It's really nice when people want to do good. They deserve our full respect. Having said that, we, as a society, need to understand that we must correct the sick systems we've built and have come to accept as "the new normal". In other words: Homeless people don't need showers. They need to receive a system which prevents them from ending up as homeless people. Homeless people are homeless because we, as a society, h…

> Homeless people don't need showers. Homeless people DO need showers! Been there? Done that? One sure-fire way to not get a job (and thus get yourself and your family off the street): show up stinking of whatever slept on you last night, under some bridge or cardboard or .. whatever. Homeless people DO NEED SHOWERS . Showers and self-hygiene during conditions of regular duress are a sure-fire way to feel better abou…

A higher minimum wage doesn't "give" anyone a decent job, it just outlaws a bunch of non-decent jobs in the hope that employers need those jobs done enough to raise the wage on them. It's obvious that that will be the case for some minimum wage jobs, but it's equally obvious that it won't be the case for others.

So with the drive for higher minimum wage comes the implicit value judgment that having no job is better than having a low paying job.

Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#13

Post by mseebach »

kimlelly wrote: post #2

It's really nice when people want to do good. They deserve our full respect. Having said that, we, as a society, need to understand that we must correct the sick systems we've built and have come to accept as "the new normal". In other words: Homeless people don't need showers. They need to receive a system which prevents them from ending up as homeless people. Homeless people are homeless because we, as a society, h…

> above slavery levels

Can we rise above punchlines, please? Slavery was not defined by low salaries, it was define by getting caned or worse if you tried to quit.

The most comfortable $100k/yr job in the world is still slavery if you can't choose to quit.

Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#14

Post by onli »

BjoernKW wrote: post #9
kimlelly wrote: post #2

It's really nice when people want to do good. They deserve our full respect. Having said that, we, as a society, need to understand that we must correct the sick systems we've built and have come to accept as "the new normal". In other words: Homeless people don't need showers. They need to receive a system which prevents them from ending up as homeless people. Homeless people are homeless because we, as a society, h…

It's not that easy. Germany's social security system for instance provides all of that yet still there are homeless people in Germany. Probably on average not as many as in San Francisco but still noticeable. I'm no expert on that matter but I suppose the causes of becoming homeless are too diverse for the problem to be solved easily and not all of these causes can be attributed to society. Debt, drug addiction, ment…

Germanys social security system is effectively flawed, as it can decide to give people no money at all and thereby produces homeless people. Even without drugs and big debts and mental health issues, if you lose your job and got bad luck with the person working on your case, it is way too easy to become homeless. Even in Germany.

Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#17

Post by nkzednan »

gyardley wrote: post #10
oakaz wrote: post #5

San Francisco also needs public restrooms ASAP. Bart station entrances in downtown and Mission District heavily smell pie most of the time. Especially yesterday evening, I felt really sick when I was entering the Bart in 16th Mission.

San Francisco has placed quite a few public restrooms on city streets in the past - I believe as part of a partnership with an outdoor advertising company. For the most part, they became disgusting centers for drug use and prostitution. I didn't know they'd closed, but I'm not surprised they did. Until San Francisco is willing to aggressively crack down on illegal behavior, which it's not, it can't have nice public f…

In Seattle, they put in public restrooms but then had to take them out a few years later for similar reasons as why the ones in SF closed as they were being used for other things. For more info: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/High-tech-public-toil...

Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#18

Post by justinhj »

gyardley wrote: post #10
oakaz wrote: post #5

San Francisco also needs public restrooms ASAP. Bart station entrances in downtown and Mission District heavily smell pie most of the time. Especially yesterday evening, I felt really sick when I was entering the Bart in 16th Mission.

San Francisco has placed quite a few public restrooms on city streets in the past - I believe as part of a partnership with an outdoor advertising company. For the most part, they became disgusting centers for drug use and prostitution. I didn't know they'd closed, but I'm not surprised they did. Until San Francisco is willing to aggressively crack down on illegal behavior, which it's not, it can't have nice public f…

There are ways to mitigate these issues, not sure if SF has tried. Canada has some timed doors that open after 5 minutes, and there is lighting that prevents intravenous drug use.

Re: Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless

#19

Post by epo »

A worthy endeavour but doesn't this render the term "startup" so generic as to be meaningless? This is a new charity at best, it is not a business. So in what sense is it a startup? Unless you label every new organisation a startup, in which case you have rendered the term meaningless as it simply means something which didn't previously exist and so presumably calling something which existed last week a startup is by definition incorrect.
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