New York homeless get free ticket out of the city

[viper37]

City Aids Homeless With One-Way Tickets Home
this time I searched before posting... better not be here already 


Anyway, I like that
Voluntary measure, and only for people who can be housed outside of the city.  It gives a chance for people to get a second or third chance.

[Barrister]

If done right it is a very sensible idea.

The reason many people become homeless is due to a lack of social supports.  Most people if down on their luck can go live with mom/brother/nephew until they land on their feet.  But if you're in a strange city you're forced to fall back on government supports or livingoff the street.

[garbon]

Recently there was an article in SF about this homeless women with two kids. Some city officials put on a fundraiser to get her money for plane tickets back home. A few months later she was back in SF as she didn't like it there.

[derspiess]

Recently there was an article in SF about this homeless women with two kids. Some city officials put on a fundraiser to get her money for plane tickets back home. A few months later she was back in SF as she didn't like it there.

I bet the person who sat next to her on the plane was awfully appreciative 

[DGuller]

I wonder if Scandinavian countries with their generous welfare system have a homeless problem, and to what extent if yes.

[Josquius]

I wonder if Scandinavian countries with their generous welfare system have a homeless problem, and to what extent if yes.

They crop up occasionally but come winter they freeze to death.

Or seriously...I've never seen anyone who was clearly homeless in Sweden- a few rough looking sorts who may have been homeless but I've never actually seen someone sleeping rough.

[Darth Wagtaros]

We now know from talk radio that socialists euthanize the mentally ill and elderly, both a major percentage of homlessness. 

[Eddie Teach]

Recently there was an article in SF about this homeless women with two kids. Some city officials put on a fundraiser to get her money for plane tickets back home. A few months later she was back in SF as she didn't like it there.

I bet the person who sat next to her on the plane was awfully appreciative 

Probably had the kids sitting next to her.

[MadImmortalMan]

Funny, we buy our homeless tickets to San Fran.

[Martinus]

Aren't the majority of the homeless people with some sort of mental disorders? Which would make homelessness more of a mental health coverage (or lack thereof) issue than a social support issue.

[garbon]

Aren't the majority of the homeless people with some sort of mental disorders? Which would make homelessness more of a mental health coverage (or lack thereof) issue than a social support issue.

According to the information on this site, that would not be the case (for the US):
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html

Approximately 16% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005). Despite the disproportionate number of severely mentally ill people among the homeless population, increases in homelessness are not attributable to the release of severely mentally ill people from institutions. Most patients were released from mental hospitals in the 1950s and 1960s, yet vast increases in homelessness did not occur until the 1980s, when incomes and housing options for those living on the margins began to diminish rapidly. According to the 2003 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Report, most homeless persons with mental illness do not need to be institutionalized, but can live in the community with the appropriate supportive housing options (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). However, many mentally ill homeless people are unable to obtain access to supportive housing and/or other treatment services. The mental health support services most needed include case management, housing, and treatment.

[Barrister]

Aren't the majority of the homeless people with some sort of mental disorders? Which would make homelessness more of a mental health coverage (or lack thereof) issue than a social support issue.

I'll give you the classic lawyer answer - sort of.

Do most homeless people have mental health issues?  Yes.  #1 amongst them are alcohol and drug issues, but they can have various other issues as well.

But these are generally not people who are incapable of functioning in society, and aren't people who are incapable of taking care of themselves (indeed, living on the street requires a great deal of self-awareness).  It's just that they have difficulty in doing so.  With some supports they can even return to independent living.  As such it becomes more of a social issue.

In Canada (and I believe the US) anyone with a serious mental health illness that can not look after themselves will be placed in a hospital.  No doubt.  The question is what to do with people with more subtle issues - and it's generally been agreed that hospitalization is a very expensive, very inefficient, means of dealing with people like that.

[Slargos]

I wonder if Scandinavian countries with their generous welfare system have a homeless problem, and to what extent if yes.

Yes, many more than you would think.

Last I read any concrete numbers on the subject was admittedly a few years ago and with the last decade's mass influx of illegals there's just no saying. Regardless, the number I recall quoted was around 20 000 people (Sweden, have no idea about the other countries) who were not currently registered at any adress. In this, granted, you will also have a lot of people who are technically homeless but nevertheless stay with friends or family. Homeless of the permanently outdoors/skipping from shelter to shelter variety are certainly not particularly visible so you would be excused for believing there are none in Scandinavia.

The only thing I can say with a relative degree of certainty is that Oslo has a far more visible community of beggars and homeless than Stockholm. The whys of that are unclear to me.

[Caliga]

According to the information on this site, that would not be the case (for the US):
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html

Approximately 16% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005). Despite the disproportionate number of severely mentally ill people among the homeless population, increases in homelessness are not attributable to the release of severely mentally ill people from institutions. Most patients were released from mental hospitals in the 1950s and 1960s, yet vast increases in homelessness did not occur until the 1980s, when incomes and housing options for those living on the margins began to diminish rapidly. According to the 2003 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Report, most homeless persons with mental illness do not need to be institutionalized, but can live in the community with the appropriate supportive housing options (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). However, many mentally ill homeless people are unable to obtain access to supportive housing and/or other treatment services. The mental health support services most needed include case management, housing, and treatment.

TRANSLATION:  It's Ronald Reagan's fault.