Sunday, September 3, 2017

Of Homeless Remediation Specialists & Friendship Volunteers

  I've been thinking lots on how to solve homelessness, what I would do if it were mine to solve. What would be my plan of action?
  To some extent, you cannot help someone if you do not identify them, So, the first step would be to place workers on the streets, talking to each person, identifying and cataloguing them. Call them homeless remediation specialists, perhaps. They would document each homeless person they came in contact with and start each of them on a program, hoping to remedy their homelessness.
   Have you ever heard of registering the homeless? I haven't, either. But, I believe it would help. How can you expect to help someone if you don't make contact with them, if you don't take down contact information, and say, "How can I get hold of you if I come up with some help for you?"
   So, you register the homeless. I wonder if that is a novel idea. You thus have registered homeless people and non-registered homeless people.
    Perhaps the first thing the homeless remediation specialist would do would be to mediate between the person and the family. Most every homeless person comes from a family, and the reason they are out in the streets is because of a rift in their family ties. Some have left home of their own choice, and some have been asked to leave. I know of no homeless program that seeks to put them back together, but it seems that should be the first step. I would not pressure the families to take them back, as they might have reason for having asked them to leave. I would not seek to put the families on guilt trips, but, instead, praise them for what they have already done.
   But, I would try to bring about reconciliation. I would ask the homeless person if he (or she) would be willing to go back, and I would ask the family if they would take him (or her) back. Some would say, yes. And, as simple as that, you would have solved some of the homeless problem. A segment of them would be off of the streets and back in homes -- in families -- where they are best served.
   Second, I would provide each homeless person a friend. We would have friendship volunteers, if I can call them that. Every person still on the streets after the effort to get them back into their own homes would be given a friend, someone who would keep contact with them, either visiting them or calling them on the phone. These people would ask how they are doing, and be sounding boards for the homeless to discuss their problems with, investing however much time they chose. When the homeless person had a problem, the volunteer would be free to solve it themselves, or pass it along to the remediation specialists, who would be in full-time positions.
   Third, I would provide a jobs for the homeless, as least when possible, when they would accept them and when jobs could be found. The homeless remediation specialists would come with a list of companies willing to help the poor, offering them work, having them come in and sweep floors or whatever.
   And, there's where I go to bed for the night. I might add more steps to my plan, later. Food and shelter obviously have to be provided from the get-go, unless the person is choosing to sleep on the streets.

 

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