Talk:Homelessness in the United States
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The article is getting better with real facts not "the gov says this and this agency does that". What's real is real and what isn't isn't!
All the information on the article page sounds like it's from a homeless agency. Where's the real homeless who need to write this? The homeless are the Experts. No quotes needed.
Wiki is surgar coated. The Wiki Gods censor the truth.....
There is no housing, that's why they have program after program after program...... My brother killed himself because of those programs. He was raped on the streets of LA and the therapist in his program asked " how do you feel about that situation?". He was still homeless and threw himself in front of a truck on Western ave. I found out that the group focus class was receiving $125 per class twice a week from his sponsoring agency, but no housing?. That could of got him at least a run down room in Hollywood. Oh, he was 14!
If they got the people off the streets there would be no Homeless Industrial Complex. What would all the USC & UCLA grads do for a living?
It's amazing how nobody mentions all the forced religion and 12 steps programs people in need are forced to convert to in order to get housing or anything like it to get off the streets. What a scam and sham... I got off the streets only when my dad died and left me a little money! That's it! And that would be it for most! 17 years off the streets! Please stop all the programs and really help. Real housing, Real Training, and Real jobs! I'd be a heroin addict if I had to go through those sick programs too. All those people living on the streets.....The families with kids....A mom with kids is looking for someplace to sleep RIGHT NOW!
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[edit] POV/Poor Writing
I 2nd Zenosparadox's beliefe that there is something of an aggressive POV on this page. Do most experts really believe that Reagon is the root of modern homelessness? -FarfromaReaganlover 24 October 2006
I feel there is something of an aggressive POV on this page. From statements like "Visitors to the city often get a taste of big city reality when they see people begging for change on many corners," to "We shelter our criminals but not our unfortunates", or so the advocates are inclined to say," the article is either poorly written, has a POV, or both. Zenosparadox 15:16, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
Deleted Quotes: (Rephrasings from awkward constructions like "above-mentioned dilemma" are not included here. I feel I have not deleted any information. If you believe I have, please extract it, and re-add it. I wouldn't mind if you let me know as well! Zenosparadox 16:27, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
- There is no simple answer to the dilemma of what is homelessness just as there is no simple cause for why people become homeless. As equally diverse as the causes are the lives of those who experience homelessness. Homelessness is a complex social phenomenon that means different things to different people. However, since the vast majority of people experiencing homelessness do not want to be, for the intents and purposes of this entry consider homelessness as a situation to be prevented, escaped, and ultimately, ended.
- Furthermore, Reagan was responsible for huge cuts in both welfare and income taxes. Many accredit such actions as widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
In context, this was explaining Reagan's culpability in the homelessness problem. Historical Background: 1980's includes his cuts in federal housing & deinstitutionalizing mental health hospitals, but I failed to see why precisely a rich/poor income gap would matter in the context of homelessness. I believe this to be part of a more pervasive POV, specifically that the author views the two, tax cuts with nonproportionate impact, and cutting of federal aid/deinstitutionalization, as one bundle, though they have different impacts on homelessness. Thoughts? If the rich/poor income gap exacerbated the homelessness problem by means of making houses more expensive, aggregating property in the hands of those few rich so poor couldn't buy property, then I could see the cause/effect. Otherwise, I think it's NPOV. If there's more data here, add it back in with the explanatory data.
- At any rate, policies set into motion in the 1980s were never adequately reversed during the Bush Senior or Clinton administrations and disparities between rich and poor continued to widen; conditions, therefore, remained ripe for becoming homeless.[citation needed]
Was not deleted, but seems awfully NPOV. "adequately reversed.
- Twenty years ago there was not wide-spread homelessness in America. Tonight nearly a million people will be homeless, despite a two billion dollar a year infrastructure designed to deal with the problem.
Was not deleted, but seems awfully NPOV. Was changed. (Citation needed, phrasing).
- "Critics contend mainstream homeless programs fail to meet the unique needs of homeless youth."
Was not deleted, but a better explanation would be nice.
The entire topic "Criminalizing Homelessness" is a bit off. "Life-sustaining" doesn't resonate too well, smacks of author's clear NPOV. Zenosparadox 16:27, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Massive Page Overhaul
I took the liberty of expanding the entry. Hopefully the new information is informative and helpful...I'm sorry it's so long, but I wanted to be as comprehensive as possible. I think that homelessness, especially in the United States, is an important yet frequently neglected issue. As far as I'm concerned, any dialouge on the topic is a good thing. I did rearrange the original material, but I didn't delete anything. -Kroz 05.26.06
Does it upset you that one of the greatest nations on earth-as America is called-has such a high percentage of homelessness? Do you take a stand and do anything? Does it even affect you?--anyonita 20:57, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC)
According to wiki's own article on homelessness - the USA has less homelessness than Canada the EU and Australia per capita.
[edit] We can have a wiki homeless solution network to help homeless in the US
I personally helped many homeless in Greater New York area, and it would be very powerful if we can have a wiki homeless solution network that document the help and solutions for homeless in the US nationwide. For example, we can have list of soup kitchens, address, phone numbers, schedule. Where to take showers ...etc in all cities of the US. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.85.73.41 (talk • contribs) 20:38, 29 March 2005 (UTC), added by Knowsitallnot 01:49, 1 November 2006 (UTC).
[edit] Uh...wikipedia is not the place for that
Hello:
That's a wonderful idea, to use Wikis to assist the homeless with learning about available services, but Wikipedia's not the place for that (see the Wikipedia policies). There are many other public wikis out there where such an idea would fit in perfectly with their overall mission.
The problem with the idea is that you can't universalize it---if an exception is made for this one thing, then everyone will want to put in all kinds of really detailed information that's inappropriate for an encyclopedia. Sorry, Wikipedia is not a telephone book or a Web directory.
--Coolcaesar 21:23, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
[edit] NPOV cleanup
I removed a number of the more POV remarks and highly questionable claims (building codes cause homelessness?). The article still needs some fixing -- the studies cited range from the 1960s to the 1990s, a period of extensive change in the structure and delivery of social services (New York City alone changed extensively during this period.) jdb ❋ (talk)
[edit] 64.136.49.229
This editor may have some legit concerns, but needs to find a better way to address them. I'm saying this as the edits, though they are POV, may have some substance. But I'm not going to spend time trying to figure out what it is. --DanielCD 01:25, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
Are the programs that treat veterans ineffective? This might be an important thing to add. I left the word "ineffective" in, but it's still weak without saying just what the programs are and why they don't work. --DanielCD 01:28, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
- Many veterans are cycled through ineffective programs that actually put them on the streets homeless.
This says just about nothing; it's really filler. Could someone elaborate (preferrably with sources to cite?) --DanielCD 01:30, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] I work at the VA
Homeless veterans that I see suffer from absolute poverty and know what they need to get out of their situation. They are not listened to at all, instead they are ran through the VA "assembly line" one-size-fits-all system. Very few are really mentally ill/addicted( Throw Bush or Clinton out on the streets with nothing and they would be self-medicating/peeing and pooping in doorways too!). Anyways, poverty does strange thing to humans! This is very verifiable and must remain in the article "cause" section, besides just because something is cited by some "authority" does not make it correct either! If you don't see it with your own eyes you're seeing it with someone else's mind.
Dr. Wilson Mendez —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.136.49.229 (talk • contribs) 18:10, 22 February 2006 (UTC), added by Knowsitallnot 01:52, 1 November 2006 (UTC).
[edit] "The Real Cause"
I deleted the last cause claiming to be the one real cause it is clearly POVDaniel J. Leivick 00:15, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] ==Documentary, understanding==
i just watched a documentary called Dark Days (imdb, rotten tomatoes & awards), which i thought was pretty objective film about living as a homeless person, in the tunnels in nyc. The director marc singer, lived with these people, and filmed them as they were, living/talking daily lives. it also features how some of the homeless utilizing HUD's Section 8. I think it promotes understanding and glimpse of the reality for this portion of the homeless. To me, it was neither entirely negative or positive, neither pity nor scorn, but because of the closer proximity to the subject at hand (homelessness), i def gained in greater understanding. Can we somehow reference this film here? In external links? or See also? or smthg? somewhere?
- "The result is a fascinating slice of a part of life most of us have never considered. The characters are gritty, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic and always very real. Dark Days takes homelessness out of the realm of sociological phenomenon and into an almost-visceral engagement with these people and their lives. We look in as the characters decorate their scrap-metal shacks with discarded material, earn their livings, emotionally support each other and ultimately struggle with their homes' demise. Though clearly Singer roots for his subjects, he avoids the temptation to pity them; he simply calls it as he sees it - and has lived it. " --Review on imdb, by utzutzutz@aol.com
Knowsitallnot 01:01, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] worst intro sentence ever.
"Homelessness in the United States is a problem." just pathetic. Joeyramoney 02:41, 25 November 2006 (UTC)
