Sup homies? I missed last week. Sorry. Admittedly, I had just come back from a bachelor party and my fratteries were completely discharged. But even more admittedly, I’ve been finding it difficult to get back to the keyboard and write. So to get back into the groove of it, I’m going to tell you a story about something which recently pissed me off — an infinite wellspring of inspiration for me.
I'm an old SF resident, Seattle area now. I know what's like to worry about what's happening in my neighborhood, in front of my house, in my town. I'm also a father with a child fighting addiction. I've been down the rabbit hole of using personal and public resources to try and help him find housing, stay in treatment, work a job, and preserve a little dignity as a human being. I don't have any easy answers either. I understand the discomfort people have looking at the insanity that is living on the street. It is very hard to watch, to navigate it on your very own sidewalk, and to maintain compassion. Unfortunately we want quick solutions. Our own version of "a fix."
After decades of marginalizing the poor and the sick (drug sick, mentally ill, chronically unwell, financially disadvantaged) we think that a couple cycles of increased city budgets for homelessness "mitigation" is going to solve the problem. We agonize over the cost of addressing homelessness while we float bonds for billions for stadium construction or other "improvements" that enhance the wealth of those already holding wealth. There is a fundamental disconnect between what we say we want (people to be well and housed) and what we do. This is a chronic problem, that needs a chronic solution. We will need decades of prioritizing health over wealth to see real improvement. Are we willing to make that fundamental shift?
As with so many other things in life, our aggravation with someone or something usually reflects a failing we recognize in ourselves. I'm glad that homelessness is aggravating. Let's stop blaming the poor and sick, and start looking at the failure within ourselves to prioritize and value people and health (wellness, housing, livable incomes) instead of worshipping wealth. Do we really want change or do we do we just want a fix?
I'm an old SF resident, Seattle area now. I know what's like to worry about what's happening in my neighborhood, in front of my house, in my town. I'm also a father with a child fighting addiction. I've been down the rabbit hole of using personal and public resources to try and help him find housing, stay in treatment, work a job, and preserve a little dignity as a human being. I don't have any easy answers either. I understand the discomfort people have looking at the insanity that is living on the street. It is very hard to watch, to navigate it on your very own sidewalk, and to maintain compassion. Unfortunately we want quick solutions. Our own version of "a fix."
After decades of marginalizing the poor and the sick (drug sick, mentally ill, chronically unwell, financially disadvantaged) we think that a couple cycles of increased city budgets for homelessness "mitigation" is going to solve the problem. We agonize over the cost of addressing homelessness while we float bonds for billions for stadium construction or other "improvements" that enhance the wealth of those already holding wealth. There is a fundamental disconnect between what we say we want (people to be well and housed) and what we do. This is a chronic problem, that needs a chronic solution. We will need decades of prioritizing health over wealth to see real improvement. Are we willing to make that fundamental shift?
As with so many other things in life, our aggravation with someone or something usually reflects a failing we recognize in ourselves. I'm glad that homelessness is aggravating. Let's stop blaming the poor and sick, and start looking at the failure within ourselves to prioritize and value people and health (wellness, housing, livable incomes) instead of worshipping wealth. Do we really want change or do we do we just want a fix?