What Will It Take?

There are some enlightened municipal politicians who have seen the practical expedience of making a real effort toward solving a by-product blight of modern civilization in the West. One that has resulted in the scourge of homelessness, endemic poverty, people sick in mind and in body left to roam purposeless and helpless in the wilderness of cement surrounded by purposeful, wage-earning citizens who somehow don't notice the presence of the downtrodden.

We have inured ourselves against the unseemly spectacle of street beggars, the homeless, the shiftless, the unwaged, the mentally unstable - society's off-casts. We're wealthier than ever we have been, with giant corporations competing with government in manipulating our everyday existence, steering us into compliance and offering us the rewards of plenitude; the satisfactions of ownership of trifling acquisitions.

We're complacent and accepting of the social order, happy to be a functioning part of it, taking unto ourselves all the pleasures and fulfilment inherent in the social functioning of a wealthy society. The beggars are there by choice. The homeless prefer their 'natural' environment. Shiftless, homeless young people are there because they have rejected society's values. The mentally ill are better off on their own than being locked up in institutions.

We choose to believe these myths because they ease our conscience. And advocates for the homeless shout and scream to be heard in the corridors of political power, entreating the politicians whose choices about allocation of tax dollars could make a difference. And the fact is, in cities across North America, some 200 in all, like New York City, Calgary and Red Deer, things are changing for the better.

These municipalities, taking their responsibilities for representation of all the people in their jurisdictions, are turning to a new supportive housing model to assist people off the streets and into the promise of normalcy and self-care. They recognize that the actual cost of dealing with the chronically homeless in terms of emergency shelter, policing, incarceration-time and hospital services has an actual cost ten times that of providing decent housing for them.

It has been proven to be more cost-effective to build social housing, and in the process providing educational, addiction, mental and physical health services tailored to this population, according to studies. The cost of tending to the homeless in the heartless way that has been done thus far adds up to an average of $400 to $500 a day for all allied services on this ad hoc emergency method we've become accustomed to in our neglect of real needs.

Whereas an individual taken into socially-responsible custody and given a decent home, encouragement toward further education, assistance in their health and addiction needs through social support programmes costs out at $24 to $115 each day, depending on the level of need. "Institutional and emergency responses are much more costly than long-term housing options, even when including the costs associated with providing support services with housing."

If our own moral imperatives haven't kicked in up until now to ensure that we care enough about those in our society less fortunate than ourselves due to circumstances beyond their control, then perhaps the allure of spending less in instituting workable programmes will do the trick.

Says a lot about us a society, doesn't it?