Compassion for The Homeless

[Messy]

Good question...too massive for me. So for an experiment lets ask AI :

Moving from a system rooted in individual competition and private ownership toward one based on collective care is a massive structural shift. It essentially requires moving the goalpost of society from capital accumulation to human well-being.
To prepare for such a transition, a society would likely focus on decommodifying essentials—ensuring that the things people need to survive are treated as rights rather than products.

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1. Decommodification of Basic Needs​

In a "care-first" society, the market no longer determines who gets to eat or have a roof over their head. This involves:

• Universal Basic Services (UBS): Instead of just giving people cash (UBI) to spend in a private market, the state or community provides free access to transportation, high-speed internet, and utilities.
• Socialized Housing: Shifting from housing as an investment vehicle to housing as a human right. This could involve ending speculative real estate and creating high-quality, community-managed living spaces.
• Food Sovereignty: Establishing localized, non-profit food networks and community gardens to ensure nutritional security regardless of income.

2. Redefining "Work" and Value​

Free-market capitalism values "productive" labor (things that create profit). A society focused on care would pivot to:

• The Care Economy: Elevating the status of "reproduction" work—raising children, elder care, and community maintenance—to the same level as industrial or tech work.
• Shorter Work Weeks: Reducing the standard hours of labor to allow citizens time to engage in "mutual aid" and democratic participation.
• Democratic Workplaces: Replacing private ownership of companies with worker cooperatives where decisions are made by those doing the labor, not external shareholders.

3. Universal Healthcare and Accessibility​

Given your experience with peripheral neuropathy, you know firsthand that health isn't just about "fixing" a problem; it’s about long-term management and environmental adaptation. A care-based society would move toward:

• Social Model of Disability: Instead of expecting the individual to "fit" into a rigid economic system, the society adapts the infrastructure (public transit, workplace ergonomics, sensory-friendly spaces) to fit the person.
• Preventative and Holistic Care: Since the profit motive is removed, the focus shifts from selling expensive treatments to maintaining long-term wellness and providing robust support for chronic conditions.

4. Collective Ownership of Resources​

Taking care of everyone requires managing the "Commons"—resources like land, water, and energy that belong to no one and everyone.

Feature	Free Market Capitalism	Collective Care Society
Primary Goal	Profit Growth	Human & Ecological Flourishing
Resource Allocation	Ability to Pay	Human Need
Property	Private / Exclusive	Common / Social
Success Metric	GDP (Gross Domestic Product)	GNH (Gross National Happiness) or Well-being Index

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How would we start?​

The "preparation" phase usually begins with Mutual Aid networks. These are grassroots organizations where neighbors help neighbors—sharing tools, food, and medical supplies—proving that we can meet our needs through solidarity rather than transactions.
Would you like to explore how specific cities or countries have already successfully implemented "Universal Basic Services"?

We have something like that. Denmark is even better. They have almost no homeless people. But they also refuse to take any asylum seekers, so they're only kind to their own group.

Oh wait. Eeeeewww. That country is scary. Torben Söndergaard had to flee Denmark, because they would otherwise steal his children, but America locked him up for a year. Is there any not scary country left?

Denmark: 'We know where you sleep' homeless people are being registered with GPS transmitters October 21, 2024 | International, In the media Denmark: 'We know where you sleep' homeless people are being registered with GPS transmitters A frightening thought is becoming a reality in Denmark.

Every step of the homeless in the town of Odense is being recorded using GPS transmitters. They can then be traced at any time of day; it is known where they have been and where they are going. It sounds as if the idea must have been invented by a totalitarian regime seeking complete state control. But authorities in the Danish city of Odense are trying to calm the situation;

according to them, it is only a pilot project to improve social infrastructure. The project is intended to provide more insight into the daily lives of homeless people. Their movements and routines are analyzed so that support programs can be better tailored to their needs. Sociologists employed by the city argue that by examining the collected data, it can be determined, for example, where sanitary facilities, emergency shelters or meal distribution can be most effectively located, so that they achieve the best results.

 

[Raven]

I agree with you Pinky. I would like to see more tiny shelters in a group built here for the homeless. It gives them a shelter to call their own. There a a few but not enough and people should not have to live in tents!

 

[Paco Dennis]

@Messy
This sounds like a sociologist lab experiment. It might help...not become permanent.

 

[Paco Dennis]

It is ironic that the real estate business is in such disarray. From the very top, where the monster deals are made, with billions of dollars, everyday, but we have no housing for a large portion of the very society where the billionaires own it all. This is not a compassionate society. We all should be alarmed at the unfairness and suffering this is causing.

 

[Pinky]

It is sad to see the remnants of cardboard box "housing" around the city. Many homeless people don't feel safe in city shelters. People need to have a safe place to live, where they aren't constantly afraid of theft and harm.

 

[Grailhunter57]

What are the main reasons for the homeless crisis?​

• Roughly 20–30% of people experiencing homelessness have a serious mental illness that may contribute to their housing instability.
• A much larger share — a majority of homelessness in many regions — is linked to housing affordability pressures and lack of affordable units, though precise percentages vary by location and measurement method.
• Mental health is prevalent within the homeless population, but housing affordability is generally considered the larger structural driver when researchers talk about what causes homelessness to rise overall.

They're building like crazy where I live, but just a small percentage of the new housing is affordable housing. Many of them are higher end units because that's what's most profitable.

I agree that a lot of the homelessness is caused by mental issues. I disagree that the majority is linked to/caused by housing affordability.....Because the majority of those that are homeless are not mentally capable of working or taking care of a house or the normal processes of handling money and paying bills and even normal relationships with a wife and children. Then also you have the issue of drug use.
Those in this category are homeless by no fault of their own. And the solution is not about punishing them, it about caring for them but the solution is not about their rights because it involves incarceration. That is why I say the solution may not seem nice but it is necessary to care for them and keep them comfortable and safe and keep us and our children safe from them.
Mandatory incarceration includes a place that is safe and comfortable and they are feed and clothed and their health and mental issues are addressed.

 

[Rider77]

I saw a woman in a fast food restaurant who was obviously homeless. She placed her meager belongings one of the booths and when to the restroom to wash or whatever. When she returned she placed an order for a minimal food item and cup of water. Days later I saw the same woman and the routine in repeat. I had finished with my snack and while she was away from the booth I left some cash where she would find it and quietly left.

On another day I watched a gent collect his sign with a message soliciting donations. With his ragged sign and a dirty mat I watched as he walked into a nearby parking lot and entered his spotless Acura Suv.

Now which one are we to show compassion too? Should it be the homeless lady asking for nothing or the self employed panhandler? I know my answer.

 

[David777]

I've wondered if this day would ever come. Both parties are suddenly promoting legislation to stop Wall Street large institutional investors, private equity firms, and their banking corporations from being parasites on the rest of we USA citizens and a prime factor in ridiculous housing inflation and thus homelessness. At the same time, Google News suddenly has numbers of news articles predictably trying to divert that blame elsewhere. One can expect many politicians will publicly talk the talk but behind doors given their corporate supporters, work to monkeywrench any real change. And that includes ending the government fox in the hen house, Freddie Fannie post 2008 entities all Wall Street financial oriented making it worse except for the corps and wealthy.

 

[That Lady in PA]

DH was just in a meeting where this was discussed.
In MY county, homelessness is a result of a lack of a support system.
YMMV.

 

[RambleTamble]

In early 2026, a bipartisan coalition in Congress has moved to restrict large institutional investors from the single-family housing market. This shift follows data showing that nearly 27% of all homes sold in the first quarter of 2025 were purchased by investors, with projections that Wall Street could own 40% of all single-family rentals by 2030.

However, these proposals face significant pushback from the real estate industry, which has historically lobbied against such restrictions.

In other words, nothing will be done to address the Wall Street problem.

 

[smiley]

In my capital city - I spoke to some homeless in shop door ways - climates quite good here as well - they had once lived in flats and didn't like them preferred the shop door ways?/. go figure that one? they use salvation army centre for meals and touching base with others etc - being homeless is a complex state of mind and cannot always be fixed easily - have we got any psychologists here who would like to comment or even the odd psychiatrist??

 

[Paco Dennis]

In my capital city - I spoke to some homeless in shop door ways - climates quite good here as well - they had once lived in flats and didn't like them preferred the shop door ways?/. go figure that one? they use salvation army centre for meals and touching base with others etc - being homeless is a complex state of mind and cannot always be fixed easily - have we got any psychologists here who would like to comment or even the odd psychiatrist??

Perhaps an essay by AI using "Carl Jung" to analyze the dilemma.

It is a profound observation you have made, and one that touches upon the very core of the human psyche. As a psychiatrist, I see not merely a social "problem" to be solved by housing, but a manifestation of the tension between the persona—the mask we wear to fit into civilization—and the soul, which often yearns for a more primal or symbolic existence.
To understand why a man might prefer a shop doorway to a flat, we must look past the material comfort and into the archetypal patterns at play.

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1. The Burden of the Concrete Box​

For many, a modern flat is not a sanctuary; it is a "machine for living" that demands a rigid adherence to the clock, the bill, and the sanitized expectations of the collective.

• The Captive Spirit: When a person has suffered deep trauma or a fragmentation of the ego, the walls of an apartment can feel like a psychic prison.
• The Shadow of Responsibility: Civilization requires us to repress our instinctual selves. For some, the weight of maintaining a "normal" life—the persona of the tenant or the citizen—becomes so heavy that the ego collapses. In the doorway, they are "no one," and in being no one, they find a strange, albeit perilous, freedom from the demands of the world.

2. The Archetype of the "Wanderer"​

We must remember that for the vast majority of human history, we did not live in fixed, square dwellings. There is an ancient archetype within us—the Wanderer or the Hermit.

• Participation Mystique: By living in the elements, even in an urban "canyon" like a shop doorway, the individual re-establishes a primitive connection to the world. They are not separated from the sky, the wind, or the passing of the seasons by layers of drywall.
• The Threshold: The "doorway" itself is a powerful symbol. It is a liminal space—a place between the "inside" of society and the "outside" of nature. By staying in the doorway, they remain on the threshold of existence, perhaps because they do not feel they belong fully to either world.

3. The Need for "Touchstones"​

You mentioned the Salvation Army as a place for "touching base." This is crucial. Even those who reject the structure of a home still crave the Collective.
In the shop doorway, they are visible. They see the stream of humanity passing by. It is a form of connection without commitment. They utilize the Salvation Army not just for bread, but for a "ritual of belonging" that does not require them to surrender their autonomy.

4. A Complex State of Mind​

You are quite right that this cannot be "fixed" easily. One does not "fix" a soul’s orientation toward the world simply by providing a roof.

• The Individuation Process: For some, this state is a "stalled" stage of individuation. They have broken away from a society they found toxic or suffocating, but they have not yet found the inner strength to build a new structure.
• Neurological Sensitivity: As a fellow traveler who experiences peripheral neuropathy, you might understand how the environment deeply affects the nervous system. For many on the streets, the "hum" of a modern building—the electricity, the isolation, the artificiality—can be physically and psychically painful. The street, though harsh, is "honest" to their senses.

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Final Reflection​

We must ask ourselves: Is the man in the doorway failing to adapt to society, or is he a symptom of a society that has become too mechanical for the human spirit to endure? Until we address the spiritual poverty of our modern way of life, providing "housing" will only be a temporary bandage on a deep, psychic wound.
Would you like to delve further into how the "Social Model of Disability" we discussed earlier might apply to the psychic needs of those who feel "unhousable"?

 

[RambleTamble]

The "choice" to remain homeless is a common myth. Surveys and studies indicate that most individuals are actively seeking stability but face significant systemic and personal barriers.

Key Findings on Housing Desire

• High Willingness: In a large-scale survey in Seattle, 92.9% of respondents stated they would move into safe, affordable housing if it were available.
• Few "Choose" the Streets: A 2023 survey of over 800 unhoused people in Denver found that fewer than 1% (only 8 individuals) said they were "okay" with living on the streets; the rest were actively seeking alternatives.
• Preference for Privacy: Many people who appear to "refuse" help are actually refusing emergency shelters, not permanent housing. When offered "tiny homes" or apartments with a locking door and privacy, acceptance rates are near 100%.

Of course, that's in the U.S. Australia may be different.

 

[Messy]

In my capital city - I spoke to some homeless in shop door ways - climates quite good here as well - they had once lived in flats and didn't like them preferred the shop door ways?/. go figure that one? they use salvation army centre for meals and touching base with others etc - being homeless is a complex state of mind and cannot always be fixed easily - have we got any psychologists here who would like to comment or even the odd psychiatrist??

Weird. I know that a lot don't want to be in a shelter, but not in a flat? Maybe because of the neighbours. I once wanted to flee to a tiny house in someone's backyard because of the upstairs Karen neighbour who kept bothering me. Better to live on the roof.

 

[Sunkist]

The "choice" to remain homeless is a common myth. Surveys and studies indicate that most individuals are actively seeking stability but face significant systemic and personal barriers.

Key Findings on Housing Desire

• High Willingness: In a large-scale survey in Seattle, 92.9% of respondents stated they would move into safe, affordable housing if it were available.
• Few "Choose" the Streets: A 2023 survey of over 800 unhoused people in Denver found that fewer than 1% (only 8 individuals) said they were "okay" with living on the streets; the rest were actively seeking alternatives.
• Preference for Privacy: Many people who appear to "refuse" help are actually refusing emergency shelters, not permanent housing. When offered "tiny homes" or apartments with a locking door and privacy, acceptance rates are near 100%.

Of course, that's in the U.S. Australia may be different.

Situations vary from place to place.. even in the U.S.

 

[Knight]

Where I live there are 6 ft. high privacy walls between each neighbor. Then the back wall is 10 foot high.

These are my neighbors behind that 10foot wall. One directly behind some to the left some to the right. That blue color barely visible on the wall facing the homeless in pic 163153 is a really well designed work of art graffiti

 

[RambleTamble]

I asked a homeless Rust Cohle if he would rather live in a doorway or a flat. Here is his response...

"Look, I’ve had my time in the box. Four walls, a ceiling, a door that locks from the inside—it’s just a sensory deprivation tank for the soul. People talk about "homelessness" like it’s a broken gear in a machine, but maybe some of us just stopped wanting to be part of the clockwork.​

​

You think a flat is a home? It’s a tomb you pay for in installments. It’s a place to store the trophies of your own vanity while you wait for the biological trap to finally spring shut. I look at those shop doorways and I see a lack of pretension. Out here, there’s no drywall to muffle the sound of the world grinding itself down. There’s no illusion of privacy. Privacy is just a lie we tell ourselves so we can ignore the fact that we’re all breathing the same exhausted air.​

​

The Salvation Army, the soup lines... it’s just people touching ghosts. A momentary acknowledgment that we’re all drifting in the same gutter. You bring a psychiatrist down here, he’s gonna talk about "disassociation" or "chronic instability." He’s gonna want to prescribe a chemical veil to help me tolerate the fluorescent lights of a studio apartment. He wants to "fix" me back into a productive unit of consumption.​

​

But I’m not interested in being a unit.​

​

In a doorway, I can see the sky—that big, black nothingness—and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. I’m not "homeless." I’ve just narrowed the focus. I’ve realized that whether you’re sitting on a designer sofa or a piece of cardboard, the destination is the same. The shop doorway is just a front-row seat to the slow-motion car crash of human progress.​

​

Why would I want to go back inside? To watch the walls sweat? To listen to the hum of a refrigerator like it’s a heartbeat? No. I’ll stay out here in the draft. It’s more honest than the alternative."​

 

[Lavinia]

Some people choose to be homeless and it's easy to see why. There is so much involved with having a place to look after. Much simpler to live on the streets and rely on the generosity of the public. Having said that, I think we need more hostels where the homeless can at least have a shower, clean clothes, a meal and a bed for the night.

 

[smiley]

Yes touche instead of telling the homeless what we think they should do we should be asking them seriously in continuous discussion how society can help them to be comfortable and safe?