Somewhere out there must be societies which have little of a homeless problem.
Maybe we should ask why?
Maybe we should ask why?
How would you fix the Homeless crisis.?
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Family structure.
Ours was the first industrialised nation and it shattered not just clan and tribal bonds but family ones too.
Ours was the first industrialised nation and it shattered not just clan and tribal bonds but family ones too.
I think that part of it is that the narrative pushed is global and far beyond anyone's control these days. Look in the news and you'll see all these terrible and horrific things which are happening, but you can do nothing about it.
Yet in reality, if you ignored the media and just concentrated on what is going on directly around you, in your local community, you'll find plenty of things that can be done to help others and make that community slightly better. If we all did that, I dare say we'd have a lot fewer problems including those which involve homelessness. And the world overall would be a better place for it.
Yet in reality, if you ignored the media and just concentrated on what is going on directly around you, in your local community, you'll find plenty of things that can be done to help others and make that community slightly better. If we all did that, I dare say we'd have a lot fewer problems including those which involve homelessness. And the world overall would be a better place for it.
It's a difficult one.
As others have said, there is a (probably small) proportion of homeless people that are not socialised, and there's good reasons why no-one wants them living next door. My sister lived on a "bad" council estate for a while, and I saw at first hand how a small number of people can make life bad for everyone. They need boundaries but don't get them.
There's a whole chunk of people with various addictions- some who will be dealing to fund their habit. Arguably the schools system focusing on academic routes and too much automation is a root cause- especially when combined with unrealistic expectations driven by social media. One persons efficiency is another persons lack of a job after all, and why don't we have more respect for those who do important manual jobs (such as emptying the bins and clearing drainage ditches)?. What do you do with yourself if you will never have the skills for anything other than a manual job but there's no manual jobs to be had? Welfare might feed you, but where's the sense of belonging, self-worth? (The former coal mining and steel making areas are a case in point. Break the community socialization, and breakdown of social order tends to follow, I worry about what will happen in Port Talbot now).
Housing: there's actually quite a lot of it, but a combination of AirBNB, holiday cottages, second homes and empty properties makes a lot unavailable. Houses need to be seen as a a home, not an "investment." Perhaps those better off need to take fewer holidays (reduce demand on holiday properties). Also, the costs of bringing an older empty property back into use are not to be underestimated. Yes there's grants.... but I speak from experience when I say that they are (a) not easy to get, (b) unrealistic timescales for the bigger jobs and (c) the amount is woefully inadequate for some places.
Investment property: well it might help a lot if property- land as well as housing- had to be owned by a natural person who was tax resident in the UK (unless they were a registered UK based social landlord or they were the direct owner of a farm and worked it themself). That would get land values back to agricultural levels and push the large investment companies out. The carbon credits offsetting business also needs similar controls for the same reason. There's also IMO a case for a wider adoption of low impact eco communities like Lammas and relaxing Building Regs for such places.
Jobs outside London. Scrap HS2 and move the jobs to where the housing is. Oh, and sort out the energy, water/sewage treatment and transport issues in a practical rather than a dogmatic way.
Finally, I will also point out that bringing in nearly a million mainly unskilled people in a decade will strain any welfare system and infrastructure as well as impacting the local culture if a community receives a disproportionatly large influx of folk with a differnt culture to theirs. If a decision is made that we need migrants then this needs to be properly transparent and discussed, and the government of the day needs to plan properly for doing so, not just name-call anyone with concerns and then dump incoming folk in hotels in the more deprived areas. That's the practical view- and one that keeps getting forgotten because it's taboo to even consider that unmanaged migration has any downsides.
Combination of all of those needed,. I don't think it's a capitalist vs communist thing, or even a left wing vs right wing thing.... more the privledged few (a surprising number of whom regard themself as "left wing" and "socialist") and the big corporations vs the rest of us.
I have tried to be non-poliical; in truth I don't do politics because it's all about identity and postioning whereas what I would like to see is some proper practical solutions.
GC
As others have said, there is a (probably small) proportion of homeless people that are not socialised, and there's good reasons why no-one wants them living next door. My sister lived on a "bad" council estate for a while, and I saw at first hand how a small number of people can make life bad for everyone. They need boundaries but don't get them.
There's a whole chunk of people with various addictions- some who will be dealing to fund their habit. Arguably the schools system focusing on academic routes and too much automation is a root cause- especially when combined with unrealistic expectations driven by social media. One persons efficiency is another persons lack of a job after all, and why don't we have more respect for those who do important manual jobs (such as emptying the bins and clearing drainage ditches)?. What do you do with yourself if you will never have the skills for anything other than a manual job but there's no manual jobs to be had? Welfare might feed you, but where's the sense of belonging, self-worth? (The former coal mining and steel making areas are a case in point. Break the community socialization, and breakdown of social order tends to follow, I worry about what will happen in Port Talbot now).
Housing: there's actually quite a lot of it, but a combination of AirBNB, holiday cottages, second homes and empty properties makes a lot unavailable. Houses need to be seen as a a home, not an "investment." Perhaps those better off need to take fewer holidays (reduce demand on holiday properties). Also, the costs of bringing an older empty property back into use are not to be underestimated. Yes there's grants.... but I speak from experience when I say that they are (a) not easy to get, (b) unrealistic timescales for the bigger jobs and (c) the amount is woefully inadequate for some places.
Investment property: well it might help a lot if property- land as well as housing- had to be owned by a natural person who was tax resident in the UK (unless they were a registered UK based social landlord or they were the direct owner of a farm and worked it themself). That would get land values back to agricultural levels and push the large investment companies out. The carbon credits offsetting business also needs similar controls for the same reason. There's also IMO a case for a wider adoption of low impact eco communities like Lammas and relaxing Building Regs for such places.
Jobs outside London. Scrap HS2 and move the jobs to where the housing is. Oh, and sort out the energy, water/sewage treatment and transport issues in a practical rather than a dogmatic way.
Finally, I will also point out that bringing in nearly a million mainly unskilled people in a decade will strain any welfare system and infrastructure as well as impacting the local culture if a community receives a disproportionatly large influx of folk with a differnt culture to theirs. If a decision is made that we need migrants then this needs to be properly transparent and discussed, and the government of the day needs to plan properly for doing so, not just name-call anyone with concerns and then dump incoming folk in hotels in the more deprived areas. That's the practical view- and one that keeps getting forgotten because it's taboo to even consider that unmanaged migration has any downsides.
Combination of all of those needed,. I don't think it's a capitalist vs communist thing, or even a left wing vs right wing thing.... more the privledged few (a surprising number of whom regard themself as "left wing" and "socialist") and the big corporations vs the rest of us.
I have tried to be non-poliical; in truth I don't do politics because it's all about identity and postioning whereas what I would like to see is some proper practical solutions.
GC
Im looking for a place in the Highlands...a part of the country that for the first time in 400 years the population is increasing.
Its a conservation area, so little development. (They seem to make an exception for the odd `Eco` home) and it was sold off as holiday lets when folk didnt want to live there.
(Not second homes, as its beyond their prices).
Im probably going to end up in a flat. (Having sold a house)
BUT...I can at least have that.
Its a conservation area, so little development. (They seem to make an exception for the odd `Eco` home) and it was sold off as holiday lets when folk didnt want to live there.
(Not second homes, as its beyond their prices).
Im probably going to end up in a flat. (Having sold a house)
BUT...I can at least have that.
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