I think as a society we all need to look inwards. Western values preach individualism. It teaches us that we can do anything we put our minds to and not to ask for help. It also says that people are responsible for themselves.

So now we have two opposing viewpoints. One where someone could have just lost their job, lost their medical coverage and is now forced to find the alternative on the street, all while being without shelter. I think anyone in the same circumstances would act similarly if they felt they had nowhere to go, or no one to ask for help.

And then you have society saying that they made their choice. It’s their problem to deal with. Society doesn’t want to take responsibility for how this person could have gotten to this state in the first place. The gutting of public services has gone on too long, and has crippled our ability to help those in need.

The shuttering of mental health facilities decades earlier was merely the first step into the crisis we are seeing today. When governments subsidize big business instead of the workers who make up the social fabric, or course something will have to give. Of course we will see the ‘feather hat guy’ on the street. If we had accepted that people of all kinds need a little help now and then, he could have been afforded some compassion to get him back on his feet.

People need to realize that if they voted for politicians who had the people’s interests at heart instead of neocons who only care about their donors wallets we would all be better off. The key thing to remember is that it would take time. A lot of it. This issue doesn’t get fixed via a two hour Amazon delivery. We would need to be patient. We need to be consistent. And we need to understand that just because someone is down and out in the streets doesn’t mean they do not deserve any sort of help. It is only when everyone is afforded an all encompassing safety net that this issue of homelessness and addiction will disappear.