Sheltering Our Homeless Isn't The Biggest Problem

When I exit the Times Square train station every week day, I'm reminded of the growing homeless problem in New York City. With dozens of bums setting up makeshift beds compiled of flattened cardboard boxes, stuffed garbage bags and metal chairs, you can't walk down one block and NOT see a trash-strewn body radiating the stench of human feces.

Now that I've created a visual (and perhaps stirred your nostrils) I can definitely attest to the fact that since Mayor Bill de Blasio has been in charge, the homeless problem is getting worse. Not only is  the percentage of bums in the street increasing, the homeless are also taking over the subways. When I get on the L train at around 6 in the morning, there's at least one or two homeless men in each car - some lying down - taking away seats from those who are on their way to work - some are sitting crouched over in a two-seater with huge garbage bags next to them.

Some of the homeless people I've seen on the trains travel with shopping wagons filled with GARBAGE. Real garbage - not items like their clothes or perhaps blankets. They travel with TRASH - including dozens of empty soda bottles or bottles filled with what appears to be their own urine. Also attached to their mini-home-on-the-go are torn up plastic bags that obviously can't be used to hold anything! Other homeless individuals are trekking around with years-old newspapers and ripped up literature that I'm sure has no lucrative purpose...right? Are these people able to function normally? What person in their right mind (who is mentally healthy) travels all over the city with dozens of bottles filled with their own urine? Did I miss something?

Rent-free, perfect home! Courtesy of NY DAILY NEWS

Let's get real! Now that Mayor de Blasio has planted his pipe dreams of establishing more homeless shelters in the city, should we feel better about the possibility of there being less homeless people on the streets? Or are his elusive plans - which don't pinpoint specifically where the 90 new proposed shelters will be located - proof that he's clueless about how bad the situation really is?

I've been known to strike a few negative chords among my blog readers, who think I'm cold and heartless due to my general statement/belief - that most of the homeless population does NOT want help or housing. Many officials have found that homeless individuals do NOT want to stay in shelters because the conditions there are worse than the streets or subways.

Put it this way - if there were an increasing amount of homeless people turning their lives around and becoming a productive part of society, where are all of those reports??? In my opinion, instead of highlighting de Blasio's plans which may or may not involve using hotels to house the homeless, what percentage of that "growing homeless population" WANTS to live a productive life?

Has anyone surveyed how effective drug abuse programs are and how effective treatment is for those wagon-pushing street dwellers? As we've heard from various news reports, there are homeless people mad/insane enough to push an innocent straphanger onto train tracks!

Mental health facilities may be able to diagnose and medicate those who have imbalances and diseases like schizophrenia. Sadly, people with mental diseases - which prevent them from functioning at a job - may never live in a clean and habitable home.

What about those who point the blame at the high cost of living in our city? Certainly, if you're reading this blog and you have a job/career and a roof over your head, you're functioning normally enough to know that you need to make money and be a productive part of society - no matter where you live or how many roommates you have to tolerate at once to have your own "place."

The New York Daily News does an excellent job of contradicting its own reports with diverse/contrasting articles. In their March 1st edition, they showcased de Blasio's "Nowhere Plan" on page 5. However, to prove that displaced residents with brains - who function normally and want out of the shelter system - they published a story on page 12 in the same issue titled: "Grad To Be Here," which highlights Rosemary Rodriguez, a once-homeless teen who earned a "Beat the Odds" scholarship worth $10,000. As the article states, the 17-year-old and her family were forced to seek refuge in a shelter. But the determined youth didn't let unfortunate circumstances stop her from taking vital steps that could lead to her professional success. The article proved to me that if a teenager could fight through a tragic situation, why can't a normal adult (carrying torn shopping bags in their feces-laden pockets) turn their lives around to be...I don't know...a city worker? Maybe a drug counselor?

What excuse will we make for the thousands of homeless who increasingly refuse to even TRY to make a decent living? If homeless individuals are content with their day-to-day operations and if they're perfectly fine with wreaking of alcohol and yelling out obscenities to strangers for no reason during a quiet morning commute, then why convince them to live otherwise? Some people collect urine bottles while others collect pipe dreams of wiping out homelessness...