Get Those Nice Homes Ready For The City's "Homeless"!

Once again, I feel the urge to vent about the city's growing homeless problem. I've already made it clear that I don't think many "homeless" individuals are capable of gaining their independence because most of them aren't mentally stable. If they were employed, successful and had rational thought, why would they spend their life in a shelter if God forbid something happened to their home?

Last week, amNewYork reported that Penn Station was one of the most popular places for the homeless to camp out ("It's a Penn Predicament" Monday, April 24, 2016). Yes, they'd all rather sit on a cold hard floor and bunk out in a dirty and dangerous train hub ALL DAY instead of staying in a shelter and obtaining help finding employment.

The perfect bed and breakfast for a bum! 

I have to admit, I've seen more homeless people on the streets and trains in the last year than I have in the past decade. I now travel to the city for work during the week and there is an unnecessary number of homeless commuters - sleeping with their enormous carts of "belongings" in black garbage bags. Some mornings, homeless individuals are sprawled out across an entire seat, so those who are actually going to WORK to earn a LIVING can't even sit down!!!

Let's get real! The homeless can complain about the horrible conditions in shelters - that they're "restrictive" "unsanitary" and "dangerous." Not to be cold, but who the hell is telling them to spend the rest of their lives in a homeless shelter to begin with? Of course a shelter is not meant to be a luxurious place to live!
In my opinion, shelters serve as TEMPORARY and voluntary housing for those who need to get back on their feet. Shelters are NOT four-star hotels or even low-income residences that provide anything "comforting" to its occupants.

The suggested solutions include building more facilities and offering more career and health services.

Really?

So the man who smells like garbage and human feces - who's been riding the L train for two hours (in comparison to someone like yourself who took money out of their hard-earned paycheck to ride the rails to work every day) hasn't been offered a chance to turn his life around? That "homeless" man feels "safer" on the train, in a station or in a public park than in a shelter? Obviously, this lifestyle is a better option for him than training to get a real job and affording his own apartment where he can sleep in private every night, right?

When amNewYork noted in the report - in their photo caption - that many "homeless feel the conditions in train terminals are better than those in city shelters," it sounded pathetic! How does this look to thousands of tourists who want to see the best that our city has to offer? We can't keep homeless people off the streets and we can't reform them into better citizens. What kind of nonsense is THAT?

Some advocates and even police officers feel that homeless people be left where they are - unless they are viewed as a "danger to the public" or are committing crimes - there's "not much that can be done."

Really?

Sorry to say this, but in our liberal society of letting everything and everyone "be," why wait til that homeless person harasses someone for money - or worse - pushes someone onto the train tracks, exposes himself or urinates in public? Why can't we accept that many homeless individuals need to be psychiatrically evaluated and placed somewhere where they will not harass the public? Come on - NO normal person wants to spend their entire day - every day - bundled up in filthy blankets sleeping on the floor of the Port Authority terminal!

Consider this - now that plans to make affordable housing available in East New York have been approved by City Council, shouldn't some of the homeless - at least in Brooklyn - look forward to having more housing options? Hey - what's REALLY "affordable?" What percentage of the homeless will actively ask for help applying for this housing?

And - hey - what percentage of the homeless are functional enough to know what the hell the Affordable Housing Act actually means??? Did any of them give feedback -- since they're so concerned about finding a permanent place to reside that's "safe" and "clean"? Oh no, that's okay - they're quite comfortable bunking out in public in a dirty little corner with no responsibilities, no bills -- and hey - no landlord!

Stop the pity party and stop making excuses for what needs to be done to solve the city's homeless issue! The homeless need more of this....more of that...

HELLO! The city simply needs more lawmakers tough enough to take on these derelicts and their dirty ways!