In response to the April 26 letter “Homeless epidemic,” I understand how horrible it must be to work in those conditions and to want a change, but the solution offered will not work. If citations are supposed to create a financial hardship, acting as a deterrent, then the letter-writer has not thought through what it is like to be homeless. If homelessness wasn’t enough of a financial deterrent, then what makes you think a citation is?
What people need is a path to a life where those behaviors are not worth it. A life where you have a sense of self-worth and want to maintain the comforts and joys of being integrated into and a contributor to society. The first step is to prevent more people from becoming homeless. Other than global and local economic conditions, we should provide the health services to those who need it. Drug addiction, alcoholism, mental health, trauma and myriad other health issues contribute to homelessness and get exacerbated by it.
The second step is to give people a place to call home, a place you feel safe, a place where you have the peace of mind and quiet to accept the services you need.
There is a lot of literature and research into this so I won’t go on. But fundamentally, if you want people to stop being homeless, we need to give them the tools and means to provide for themselves, and sometimes that means they need a home first.
— Kevin De Michelis
Anchorage
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