this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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What could also help is a department of housing that anyone could walk into that provides them with temporary housing that leads to full time housing if needed.
Just give this more funding:
https://epath.org/
I agree 100% as long as the criteria for obtaining government help is passing a drug test. I'm more than happy to have my tax dollars help someone who fell on hard times and needs some assistance to become a productive member of society again. I am not happy with my tax dollars going to house someone who would rather feed their meth or opiate addiction than get a job. Let them dig their hole and bury themselves in it.
Except that's not what happens. What happens is your tax dollars go to locking those people up, cleaning up their encampments, paying for their ER visits
That's great. I'll do my part to help pay to keep them in jail. At least there, they're not shitting in communal areas, leaving used needles in the park, and breaking into houses.
That's been working really well, huh
Fuck you. Addicts are humans and should be treated with respect and decency.
I'm far from pure and perfect, and if I ever need help, I hope it's available. Addicts should have access to rehab. If they choose to continue using drugs or refuse help, fuck them. If they take the help that's provided and get clean, I hope they are successful and happy in life.
Just keep in mind that you could get addicted to drugs too. A lot of addicts were squares that came off prescribed medication and went straight to illegal drugs due to continued pain. A person's likelihood to become addicted to drugs also has a lot to do with their genetics, it's not really a moral failing like you seem to think it is. As for them shitting up the parks, littering, etc, yeah it sucks. Remember that they aren't lucid nor do they perceive any reason to respect a society that doesn't respect them.
I'm not proposing any specific action. I don't know the solution. I'm just saying chill out and be less hateful.
I don't see addiction as a moral failing; it's a disease. That's why I am strongly in favor of robust social programs to treat mental health and addiction. All health care should be socialized in my opinion, but that's a discussion for another day.
My problem is with people who are continually offered help yet choose not to accept it. I have seen it happen to people I know on more than one occasion. If rehab and sober living facilities are available, but someone makes the choice to continue their lifestyle of addiction or alcoholism, I have absolutely no sympathy for them.
Society should provide the resources for people to succeed in life. If they choose not to take advantage of them, that's their problem, not mine.