I think the time has come to institute compulsory in-house treatment for certain categories of homeless and sidewalk psychotics. Doing nothing is cruel to those suffering from drug abuse and/or various psychoses and causes chaos throughout society. Good posting and discussion Ms Kasparian.
One thing I often think about when discussing the issue of homelessness is think about who is often absent from the conversation. We always have multiple sides debating the issue, but often forget that some of the most invaluable insight about what solutions should exist are the people who are living in the homelessness crisis. I recognize the issue is complex, but I never see an emphasis or a desire to reach out to folks who are suffering and struggling with their homelessness experience. This could be really informative and tell us how we should proceed.
Completely agree! Narratives matter. But I don’t just mean interviewing them to get their perspective but involving them in the decision making process or giving them stakeholder power when creating programs and strategies and solutions for mitigating the crisis.
What infuriates me about this issue, as someone with loved ones who are on the street with severe mental illness, is that we would NEVER allow people with Alzheimers to live on the street, even though they are no more impaired than people with psychotic disorders.
No matter how horrible inpatient care can be, it is NEVER as horrific as letting people lay in their own shit for days or eat out of dumpsters or get raped repeatedly (there is no more easy prey for predators than a mentally ill homeless woman).
I agree that inpatient care needs to be humane and as dignified as possible, but the same is true of nursing homes. Are they perfect? No! There is a horrific amount of abuse. But should we close all the memory care homes and let people with dementia fend for themselves?
I have lain awake at night worrying about people I dearly love because they are living on the street and refuse to even enter a shelter much less a hospital (they kick them out after 48 hours anyway, so they basically traumatize them and kick them out on the street!)
Just imagine people with Alzheimers being allowed to "choose" to live outside rather than at home (most of them would, especially at night) then ask yourself how "humane" it is to let psychotic people "choose" to live outside.
People with Alzheimer’s are demonstrably mentally incompetent. People with schizophrenia are not, and there was a huge, but huge leftist movement in the 1960s and 70s to the point of taking it to court that the mentally ill are still entitled to all the freedoms you and I enjoy, and that you can’t “imprison” them in an institution against their will.
It’s important to recognize that “wandering” behavior IS a symptom of schizophrenia and other psychosis-related mental illnesses. Even when they have a place to stay, most will walk out the door one day, hop a bus to somewhere and wander around for weeks before somebody finds them and brings them home. That’s when they catch a bus from one small town to another. When they end up in a city wandering, they stay wandering and join the rest of the homeless there.
Most times those illnesses are not only the direct cause of homelessness, but they come with paranoia as a symptom, so they will actively distrust anybody trying to help them. If you provide them with Social Security Disability income (because they cannot hold a job and absolutely qualify for it) and a place to stay independently, then best case they’ll start wandering again when the medicine wears off, or worst case they’ll destroy the place looking for the cameras and microphones you’re using to spy on them, and then leave anyway.
Involuntary commitment to a facility may be the only humane option.
It’s also important to recognize, when considering this option, that many of the studies of these facilities in the 60s and 70s were conducted fraudulently and their findings were fiction.
This was a great conversation! It's nice to hear from someone who has both great compassion and a deep understanding of the problems and viable solutions. Hopefully, he can be a part of creating the models for programs that work in California and beyond.
Oh, and as for "homeless services" they should defund ALL of them. My beloved friend was given a one way greyhound bus ticket to a strange city where she doesn't know a soul, in the middle of winter, and they listed her as HOUSED. She ended up on the freezing cold street thanks to the city of Austin's ECHO program, which is a heartless money suck rather than anything approaching homeless services.
I used to work in homeless programs and I can PROMISE you that ALL of the people who genuinely care have QUIT. It is simply too painful to work in a system that neglects and disregards homeless human beings while sanctimoniously claiming to "help" the homeless and gobbling up billions of dollars in tax payer money.
I have ordered this book.
Thank You professor Gong for writing about this issue.
Such an important and under-discussed topic, good guest. There are tradeoffs here, but it’s clear to almost anyone living in a major city in the US (especially in CA) that the pendulum swung way too far toward a dystopian/libertarian version of “freedom” and that has had a lot of negative impacts.
Thank you, Gio. Not only for the kind comments about me, but for sharing your own evolution with me and for keeping an open mind. It speaks volumes that you are able to see the good in someone like me even when I've said things in the past that I'm not proud of today.
You have always been the best thing that TYT has had to offer IMO. I admit that for some time I did quit following you because I believed that you had taken that big ol nasty blue pill. But now, I am an even bigger fan of yours for having the courage to publicly admit the moments that you aren't proud of and are still continuing to do. I can't scream from the rooftops enough that you are a very rare person (especially in journalism) for this and you have won me back! We need more people like you in this world. Thank you Ana for being a real human.
WOW, I'm sure you have a million fascinating stories! Out of curiosity, have you ever been to Minnesota? I'm just wondering if you have information about the homeless situation here. Thank you!
Sorry that it took me so long to respond; I've been dealing with some health issues. Anyway, I used to hang out in Minneapolis from my late teens through mid-twenties and volunteered at a homeless shelter and a service delivering meals to people with advanced HIV/AIDS (kinda like Meals to Wheels). I'm 48 now, so that was a while ago. I loved Minneapolis, and Uptown was my stomping ground because it was really laid back and eclectic. Greater Minnesota is more my speed now. Des Moines sounds nice! I'll have to make a point of checking it out sometime. I'm not really in the cities much anymore, but in terms of homeless people when I was there, while not uncommon, you never really saw all that many, depending on where you were, of course. It's probably different now, though. I recommend that everyone visit Minnesota! Minneapolis is great for its lively and diverse atmosphere, fabulous arts scene (museums, theaters, music, everything), and excellent restaurants (seriously, so many are amazing). Still, the North Shore (especially Grand Marais and Grand Portage) is my favorite--I love Lake Superior! Grand Marais is an artsy little town on Lake Superior, and Grand Portage is way up at the tip. I apologize for rambling. Do you write about your experiences? If not, you should! 🕊️♥️🤲
I think the time has come to institute compulsory in-house treatment for certain categories of homeless and sidewalk psychotics. Doing nothing is cruel to those suffering from drug abuse and/or various psychoses and causes chaos throughout society. Good posting and discussion Ms Kasparian.
One thing I often think about when discussing the issue of homelessness is think about who is often absent from the conversation. We always have multiple sides debating the issue, but often forget that some of the most invaluable insight about what solutions should exist are the people who are living in the homelessness crisis. I recognize the issue is complex, but I never see an emphasis or a desire to reach out to folks who are suffering and struggling with their homelessness experience. This could be really informative and tell us how we should proceed.
Completely agree! Narratives matter. But I don’t just mean interviewing them to get their perspective but involving them in the decision making process or giving them stakeholder power when creating programs and strategies and solutions for mitigating the crisis.
What infuriates me about this issue, as someone with loved ones who are on the street with severe mental illness, is that we would NEVER allow people with Alzheimers to live on the street, even though they are no more impaired than people with psychotic disorders.
No matter how horrible inpatient care can be, it is NEVER as horrific as letting people lay in their own shit for days or eat out of dumpsters or get raped repeatedly (there is no more easy prey for predators than a mentally ill homeless woman).
I agree that inpatient care needs to be humane and as dignified as possible, but the same is true of nursing homes. Are they perfect? No! There is a horrific amount of abuse. But should we close all the memory care homes and let people with dementia fend for themselves?
I have lain awake at night worrying about people I dearly love because they are living on the street and refuse to even enter a shelter much less a hospital (they kick them out after 48 hours anyway, so they basically traumatize them and kick them out on the street!)
Just imagine people with Alzheimers being allowed to "choose" to live outside rather than at home (most of them would, especially at night) then ask yourself how "humane" it is to let psychotic people "choose" to live outside.
People with Alzheimer’s are demonstrably mentally incompetent. People with schizophrenia are not, and there was a huge, but huge leftist movement in the 1960s and 70s to the point of taking it to court that the mentally ill are still entitled to all the freedoms you and I enjoy, and that you can’t “imprison” them in an institution against their will.
I'm so sorry to hear you have loved ones living on the street and lacking the vital care they need! That's heartbreaking. ♥️💔♥️
It’s important to recognize that “wandering” behavior IS a symptom of schizophrenia and other psychosis-related mental illnesses. Even when they have a place to stay, most will walk out the door one day, hop a bus to somewhere and wander around for weeks before somebody finds them and brings them home. That’s when they catch a bus from one small town to another. When they end up in a city wandering, they stay wandering and join the rest of the homeless there.
Most times those illnesses are not only the direct cause of homelessness, but they come with paranoia as a symptom, so they will actively distrust anybody trying to help them. If you provide them with Social Security Disability income (because they cannot hold a job and absolutely qualify for it) and a place to stay independently, then best case they’ll start wandering again when the medicine wears off, or worst case they’ll destroy the place looking for the cameras and microphones you’re using to spy on them, and then leave anyway.
Involuntary commitment to a facility may be the only humane option.
It’s also important to recognize, when considering this option, that many of the studies of these facilities in the 60s and 70s were conducted fraudulently and their findings were fiction.
This was a great conversation! It's nice to hear from someone who has both great compassion and a deep understanding of the problems and viable solutions. Hopefully, he can be a part of creating the models for programs that work in California and beyond.
Ana, this was a great and necessary conversation. Thank you.
Hi Ana,
Love your substack videos. Is it possible to post these on your personal or TYT’s YouTube channel?
Oh, and as for "homeless services" they should defund ALL of them. My beloved friend was given a one way greyhound bus ticket to a strange city where she doesn't know a soul, in the middle of winter, and they listed her as HOUSED. She ended up on the freezing cold street thanks to the city of Austin's ECHO program, which is a heartless money suck rather than anything approaching homeless services.
I used to work in homeless programs and I can PROMISE you that ALL of the people who genuinely care have QUIT. It is simply too painful to work in a system that neglects and disregards homeless human beings while sanctimoniously claiming to "help" the homeless and gobbling up billions of dollars in tax payer money.
I have ordered this book.
Thank You professor Gong for writing about this issue.
Oh hey, this was a good interview.
Thank you both for doing this.
I have a dozen cases in illinois
concerning the medical neglect
& abuse/mistreatment of those
confined to Forensic MHC's after
being railroaded or trafficked by
the county staff & mafia-owned
private hospitals.
The place i was in seemed like
a place the homeless were taken
to die since they would not spend
any money on patient healthcare.
They diagnose patients with the
things they don't have, & then deny
treating or diagnosing anything
the patients do have. The doctors
sabotage meds & it's a real AHC.
2025Y01M18D
0445H(GMT-7H).
Such an important and under-discussed topic, good guest. There are tradeoffs here, but it’s clear to almost anyone living in a major city in the US (especially in CA) that the pendulum swung way too far toward a dystopian/libertarian version of “freedom” and that has had a lot of negative impacts.
Thank you, Gio. Not only for the kind comments about me, but for sharing your own evolution with me and for keeping an open mind. It speaks volumes that you are able to see the good in someone like me even when I've said things in the past that I'm not proud of today.
You have always been the best thing that TYT has had to offer IMO. I admit that for some time I did quit following you because I believed that you had taken that big ol nasty blue pill. But now, I am an even bigger fan of yours for having the courage to publicly admit the moments that you aren't proud of and are still continuing to do. I can't scream from the rooftops enough that you are a very rare person (especially in journalism) for this and you have won me back! We need more people like you in this world. Thank you Ana for being a real human.
WOW, I'm sure you have a million fascinating stories! Out of curiosity, have you ever been to Minnesota? I'm just wondering if you have information about the homeless situation here. Thank you!
Sorry that it took me so long to respond; I've been dealing with some health issues. Anyway, I used to hang out in Minneapolis from my late teens through mid-twenties and volunteered at a homeless shelter and a service delivering meals to people with advanced HIV/AIDS (kinda like Meals to Wheels). I'm 48 now, so that was a while ago. I loved Minneapolis, and Uptown was my stomping ground because it was really laid back and eclectic. Greater Minnesota is more my speed now. Des Moines sounds nice! I'll have to make a point of checking it out sometime. I'm not really in the cities much anymore, but in terms of homeless people when I was there, while not uncommon, you never really saw all that many, depending on where you were, of course. It's probably different now, though. I recommend that everyone visit Minnesota! Minneapolis is great for its lively and diverse atmosphere, fabulous arts scene (museums, theaters, music, everything), and excellent restaurants (seriously, so many are amazing). Still, the North Shore (especially Grand Marais and Grand Portage) is my favorite--I love Lake Superior! Grand Marais is an artsy little town on Lake Superior, and Grand Portage is way up at the tip. I apologize for rambling. Do you write about your experiences? If not, you should! 🕊️♥️🤲