Julia GalefVerified account

Shelters need to be reimagined. Not as warehouses for those civilization has disgarded. But bright beautiful communal spaces that inspire those living in them to imagine a better tomorrow. Places that elevate their communities, not detract from them.

Probabilistically-IMBY?

You joke but I think “probably not in my backyard” has legs

It'll be hard to convince people that the proposed randomness is indeed random. Sounds too much like an obfuscation layer for corruption, and in fact, I can't think of any laws that rely on randomness as an instrumental component.

That doesn't mean they wouldn't work. And there are publicly-trusted random processes: "We've divided the city into 26 sections, numbered 1 through 26. The city whose number corresponds to the red ball on the next powerball drawing after election day will build a shelter."

How do they handle this in Europe? My assumption is they have homelessness better under control.

Depending on the countries: a mix of guaranteed income, public housing, housing subsidies, risk aversion (so less personal debt & personal bankruptcies), public health (so no medical bankruptcy), less zoning, more familiar support & restricted eviction.

I get what you’re saying but these sound more like solutions that avoid short-term homelessness. What about long term homelessness? That’s where I would think the shelters come in. People who never work, don’t have a car to sleep in, no family/friends network, mental, addicted.

In other words, that answer implies there are no shelters in Europe. Is that true?

There are. I didn’t get your point about short-term though. The measures I listed *prevent* homelessness and address many of its causes. Solving a root problem rather than a symptom *is* a long-term solution; shelters, which instead alleviate the symptopm, are a short-term one.

Majority of homeless are short term and the more robust European social safety net surely reduces that. I 100% agree.

I’d actually be very interested to know how it works in Asia, where I saw very few homeless people AND they do not have such a big safety net as Europe.

I’m guessing that the family dynamic plays a role. It’s not socially acceptable to let your kin live like that no matter their situation. In the West (especially US) more fault is put on the individual.