On 01/14/2014 10:43 AM, Marcus G. Daniels wrote: > But as a counter example, there is/was an older woman living out of cart > in town. In these months she would need shelter, not friends. Unless > her `friends' and `neighbors' are offering her a bedroom in their > house. There's no question there is are two groups of people: The > people that will sleep soundly in warm houses, and those that may well die.
That's too true. We don't have as much problem here as you would in Santa Fe. Any harsh environment like that presents even more hurdles. Perhaps that's part of why Portland has such a high population of homeless. The relatively moderate climate is less risky. But I can rely on the old adage: It's not what you know, but who you know. There are lots of little NGOs around here that provide services to at-risk people. Yog knows we get enough bitching from the well off people at the meetings about the ne'er do wells loitering and smoking in the parks during the day. The cops tell us that most of these people have nothing to do because they're living out of the local half-way house (again within a mile of where I live) and even in a good economy, it's tough for these people to find jobs. My point is that if we can engage the homeless people at the neighborhood picnics and such (again paid for in part by donations and part by the city), they are much more likely to be _aware_ of the various resources nearby. We don't have a shelter nearby, but lots of other ways to stay warm and dry, including sheds, tents, sleeping bags, etc. And there are some churches who open their doors if asked. A large percentage of the homeless here have the choice to sleep outside or inside. Taking advantage of the social services often comes with a price (arriving on time, waiting in line, obeying the rules, etc.). For many of them, the price can seem too high and they prefer one of the outdoor camp sites, which are less structured. I can't imagine having that choice in Santa Fe. My support of any of these efforts depends fundamentally on whether they increase the number of choices available ... because that's the only way we'll increase the amount of rationality and freedom. -- ⇒⇐ glen ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
