by Pretorian » Thu 11 Nov 2010, 19:22:33
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vtsnowedin', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vtsnowedin', 'A')nd I'm not against giving what aid is possible , especially to the children of the homeless. I just don't think that there is any program or act of charity that can actually solve the homeless problem for everyone.
I'll give you my two cents on that...
I think there is more we could do. It would cost very little to provide or simply zone for tar-paper housing and to provide stable postal addresses. That would be cheap and big improvement for homeless. If there were guarded storage, that would be even better. Stability is the the foundation of society and that's probably the number one thing homeless need.

Instead homeless life is much harder then even a pioneer would have it. Because it is illegal to simply be without a home and illegal to build anything, homeless can't build or live in even the most basic shelters or live any kind of stable life. Life like this makes it difficult for people to hold any kind of employment and even more difficult to "get back on ones feet". Living like this it would be hard to even store acorns for the winter.

I've heard people say that homelessness is a choice, but I think the choice is more by society then by the homeless.
You raise an excellent point. Many zoning regulations have the effect , intentional or not of excluding any shelter that does not meet modern American expectations or standards. This leaves the poor man with a piece of land with no legal way to build a shelter on it that he can afford with the money he has in hand. In Vermont today just getting the permits to build anything you want to sleep inside will set you back five to ten thousand.