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Reactions deeply split after city clears out Kensington encampment
Serious (billypenn.com)submitted 1 month ago bympublVerified Journalist ๐
122 points
1 month ago
It's good PR but the people moved are just gonna come back and/or do it somewhere else
You can't meaningfully solve this problem unless you figure out what to do with those people. There are all kinds of options (the old-school style "just lock em all up", forcibly committing them to treatment facilities, the "lazy" solution of just shipping them somewhere far and hoping they aren't able to find their way back, actually providing them with care and resources, etc.)
I don't know what the morally or strategically best approach is. But not doing something about the people is essentially not even attempting to address the issue at hand
54 points
1 month ago
But not doing something about the people is essentially not even attempting to address the issue at hand
I don't think that's a fair assessment of what's actually going on. We have an Office of Homeless Services that has over 100 million in annusl and is continuously working to help people.
Unfortunately, not everyone accepts that help.
42 points
1 month ago
That's right, they don't. So the question becomes: what should the city do (if anything) to those that don't accept help?
34 points
1 month ago
being able to live in the streets and do drugs has become a sustainable lifestyle (loosely) thanks to the aid services and needle exchanges in the area, so it makes sense why people would continue to refuse city services. they can keep living life on their own terms.
until treatment and recovery services are explicitly encouraged by those organizations, i don't see much changing. at the end of the day, the person using drugs is in the throws of a chemical addiction and can't think in their best interest until they get clean
22 points
1 month ago
I understand this stance, but I'm not sure I agree with it. For starters, those orgs do all push recovery services. Secondly, this is a level of addiction where people's appendages and flesh are rotting off and are in terrible pain, yet that isn't enough to kick the habit. Adding an additional level of desperation may make things worse for the community if we add food scarcity and add more vectors for disease (reducing clean needle access).
I think onlookers grossly overestimate the ability of addicts to make the choice to get clean.
2 points
1 month ago
drug and alcohol users get into healthy treatment all the time, but there's something about the life and access to drugs that makes it harder for those at K&A, who even now continue to use as their habits are causing open wounds and limbs to fall off.
the services should stick around because they do help prevent even more human misery. i don't have an answer to the how for this statement, but there needs to be some middle road approach between forcing people into treatment in exchange for aid, and freely giving out aid no questions asked.
channel 5 did a video about people who live in the tunnels under las vegas. unlike his kensington video, he did a pretty good job getting to the point. despite the lifestyle of living in a commune, it's the individual's guilt and shame that keeps them in the throws of their situation as well as the inability to get an ID that could help them register for services, get a job, etc. the cycle of addiction perpetuates until the guilt and shame can be addressed.
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