Bush Policy Works:This Can’t Be…
…Or so say Democrats, regardless of the facts.
According to this Washington Times article, the Bush administration’s plan to reduce homelessness appears to be working. Here’s some of the details:
The homeless counts, taken in one-day tallies in shelters and streets at varying dates across the country, are “not an aberration,” said Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and President Bush’s point man on the issue. “They are part of a national trend.”
The goal of the 10-year plans is to put the most dysfunctional homeless people in the country, that 10 percent to 20 percent who are continually on the street with addiction or mental problems, quickly into permanent “supportive” housing with counseling services to help them get healthy. Those chronic cases are a tremendous financial burden on their communities in hospital, jail and other services, hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece annually in some instances. The savings from stabilizing these homeless people in more cost-effective supportive housing can be used to extend services to all the homeless, say Mr. Mangano and other proponents of the plans.
Makes sense to me. Getting people help so they can fend for themselves isn’t just good policy; it’s the morally right thing to do.
The only thing that I don’t get is this: If you listen to Democrats, you’d believe that the Bush Administration only cares about rich people. The treatment of these homeless people seems humane and intelligent.
Technorati Tags: President Bush, Homelessness, Mental Illness
Cross-post at LetFreedomRingBlog
May 21st, 2006 at 11:53 pm
[...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: Culture | [...]
May 22nd, 2006 at 7:41 am
Gary, come on! This is obviously Republican spin! Like “We’re winning in Iraq” and “The economy is good.”
For all the crap Pres. Bush takes from liberals, he does a LOT right.
May 22nd, 2006 at 9:41 am
In San Francisco, the current mayor won office partly by promising to enforce his program “Care Not Cash”, which was designed to move homeless people off the street and into supportive housing. The plan has been in effect for almost two years, and the city has placed almost 1,500 people in stable housing with services provided, if necessary. This was accomplished by reducing the monthly General Assistance grant from $400 to $59. In exchange for the loss of cash, the city provided each homeless person with a bed in a shelter and put them on the list for permanent housing. The average wait was a few months, which is nothing given the fact that some of these people had been on the streets for years. HOWEVER - over 50% of “homeless” people refused this offer of housing. Surprise! They were told that since shelter or housing was available they STILL got only $59 if they refused it. Well, guess what? The number of “homeless” people on General Assistance in San Francisco dropped from 2800 down to 350 - in 18 months. Every month now, “homeless” people come into the welfare office here to apply for General Assistance. They are offered a shelter bed while waiting for housing. Yet still over half refuse the housing. These people are not “homeless”. They are transients, drifters, petty con artists, dealers and hucksters. Bush’s guy came out here and was walked through the program here. He was most impressed. It works. But it’s hell for the drifters and transient petty criminals who used to milk the system.
May 23rd, 2006 at 4:29 pm
Santa Monica is like “Little Frisco” with regards to the trickster transients and other unassorted freeloaders.
May 23rd, 2006 at 5:50 pm
I suppose each city is different. One of the 400 or 500 homeless in the Long Beach Winter Shelter was from San Francisco. Neat, clean, religous woman, talented artist. The “beds” are cots, one right next to the other. There were 4 port-a-pots, no showers, or sinks available, even thought the funding states those things are to be provided. That was better than the Orange County Winter Shelter where the “bed” was a mat on the floor. They did have indoor plumbing, two toilets and one shower. Sleeping (if one can sleep) that close to others one gets head lice, and the “shelter hack”, which could be TB. There are people with sores, sometimes oozing. People come in high on crack cocaine, or drunk. The mentally ill are also there. That is the reason some homeless in Long Beach say no to the offered bed in a shelter. It’s only for overnight, and out on the streets during the day. For a recovering addict, the temptation is often too strong not to get drawn back into the drug or alcohol world.
There could be as many as 50 people left standing on the sidewalk because there were not enough beds available. Those were the Winter Shelters. Guess the Year Round Shelters were full. Don’t know much about San Francisco homeless, maybe Long Beach has a larger than normal population of War Vets than there. Sad, if they were homeless in San Francisco, they’d be given a big whopping $59. for getting their leg blown off in a war.
I wonder how those 1,400 people managed to get jobs and get off the streets in 18 months time. I’d imagine none of the 1,400 were mentally ill, drug addicted, alcoholics (if they were, how’d they make the transisiton).
June 7th, 2007 at 10:52 am
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December 28th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
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