

Homeless in San Francisco: Nate the Great - vijayr
http://priceonomics.com/homeless-in-san-francisco-nate-the-great/

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htaunay
To wish to work in order to obtain the minimum requisites for living such as
food, and be locked in this dead-end must be unimaginably frustrating. The
capacity of human adaptation is amazing given the lifestyle Nate (and others)
endure for so long.

Its not like hunting or harvesting is longer an option, and all other
legitimate alternatives are increasingly out of reach (e.g. cant get a job
because you smell "funky", and can't get a bath because you don't have a job).
The story about the stabbing in the homeless shelter only closes more doors.

And IMHO, this problem only really becomes a problem, when those who can solve
the problem are affected: bums on touristic spots, bums in public bathrooms,
mugging, drug-dealing, etc. So how is this scenario NOT an incentive for
someone like Nate to purposely make himself a problem, either for direct
benefit (e.g. stolen money) or the indirect one (e.g. better shelters to get
bums out of the street)?

~~~
ClassicFarris
Unfortunately becoming a problem would most-likely just land him in jail; with
a longer record, and conveniently out of sight for much longer. Not to mention
that in jail there could be the possibly of a rougher crowd than the shelter
that had the stabbing he witnessed. It's truly a vicious cycle.

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steven777400
Jobs are already increasingly difficult to come by for low skill persons. Add
a conviction into the mix (whether justified or not), and most businesses
won't see a good risk/value proposition from that hire.

This, in turns, leads to recidivism in many cases as people unable to find any
opportunity will acquire their essential needs by whatever means.

What can be done about it, though, is very difficult. I'm curious if the
occasionally tried "hire-a-felon" programs [i.e. Work Opportunity Tax Credit]
that governments do to try to sweeten the pot have much beneficial impact or
not.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
I think part of the problem is that it takes several different types of
programs working together to make things right. "Hire-a-felon" isn't going to
work by itself for people like Nate because he is most likely not a very clean
person (sleeping in an alley and wearing shoes you found in the street makes
it hard to stay "presentable"), probably doesn't have a reliable way to get to
work, and doesn't have anything he can do with his pay after. Even if he
remained sleeping in alleys, in order to really have a job, Nate also needs
access to a clean set of clothes, a place to shower, a place to keep his
money, an alarm clock (so he doesn't get fired for being late), etc.

As the author points out in the comments, even though Nate is a vet, he is not
really in a position to get the help he needs because he can't really jump
through the hoops they require. This is sad. We should be looking at low
barrier ways to get the assistance to those that deserve it.

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Nanzikambe
Knowing that somewhere someone conspired to sneak up to a sleeping homeless
dude and fill his tin with $300 in $0.25 coins without waking him -- reaffirms
my faith in the race.

gl breaking the cycle Nate.

~~~
rbanffy
Social justice should not depend solely on charity. Nate, like so many others,
deserve - even if only a little - better.

In our age, there is no excuse for anyone not to have food, a shower, a roof
and clean clothes. Every Qassam missile fired from Gaza would feed him for
months (estimated cost US$800). Every ABM used to shot down a Qassam would
probably buy him a house.

~~~
frozenport
It doesn't appear to be due to lack of resources, but a mix of personal choice
and cultural stigma. He can't find a job but avoids the homeless shelter
designed to help him.

~~~
mercer
I don't know if it's the same in the USA, but I met quite a few homeless
people here that avoid shelters when they can out of fear of being mugged,
robbed, or stabbed. That said, their fear might not be justified.

~~~
Nanzikambe
From what I read, I got the impression that avoiding them for Nate, is a part
of "not playing the game". I'd imagine, not going there reduces his chances of
more contact with aggressive law enforcement agents, thieves and drugs.

In which case, it seems an understandable choice.

~~~
mercer
I also suppose it can be depressing to be in shelters. And difficult if you're
an introvert.

------
kaonashi
_crickets_

