People On This Group Are Sharing Examples Of ‘Urban Hell’ That Look Like A Dystopian Movie But Are Sadly Real (40 Pics)
Not every building is as beautiful as the Palace of Versailles. Or blends into its surroundings as well as the Macallan Distillery. On the contrary, there are many structures across the world looking like outcasts that will fall apart during the next storm. In some places, they aren't isolated examples, either — even an entire neighborhood can be an abomination. And you can find them on r/UrbanHell.
It's a photography subreddit of "all the hideous places human beings built or inhabit." The online community invites everyone who wants to explore the darker side of the cities, towns, and villages in our shared world and welcomes any photos which show either ugliness, or a problem in urban development. Rural and suburban nightmares are also allowed.
Below you will find a collection of pics that perfectly describe what this subreddit is all about.
This post may include affiliate links.
The Annual Monsoon Ritual Of Mumbai's Ocean Giving Back What Has Been Dumped In It
If only nature could actually give back all the trash to us, maybe we will see the damage we are doing :(
Hong Kong Street Life
About half of the global population already lives in cities, and by 2050, two-thirds of the world's people are expected to live in urban areas. But as you can see from some of the photos in r/UrbanHell, in cities, two of the most pressing problems facing the world today also come together: poverty and environmental degradation.
Bad urban development isn't just ugly aesthetics. It's also poor air and water quality, insufficient water availability, waste-disposal problems, and high energy consumption, all of which are exacerbated by the increasing population density and demands of urban environments. Strong city planning is essential in managing these and other difficulties as the world's urban areas grow.
New Delhi - During Lockdown vs. Now
For a few months earth took a breath, then humans came back with a vengeance :(
Hong Kong
This image makes me anxious :(
Beirut Port
Some of the biggest problems caused by urbanization are:
- Intensive urban growth can lead to greater poverty, with local governments unable to provide services for all people;
- Concentrated energy use. It leads to greater air pollution with a significant impact on human health;
- Automobile exhaust produces elevated lead levels in urban air;
- Large volumes of uncollected waste create multiple health hazards;
- Urban development can magnify the risk of environmental hazards such as flash flooding;
- Pollution and physical barriers to root growth promote loss of urban tree cover;
- Animal populations are inhibited by toxic substances, vehicles, and the loss of habitat and food sources.
It's Baffling How Fast It Changes
Solutions might include:
- Combat poverty by promoting economic development and job creation;
- Involve local community in local government;
- Reduce air pollution by upgrading energy use and alternative transport systems;
- Create private-public partnerships to provide services such as waste disposal and housing;
- Plant trees and incorporate the care of city green spaces as a key element in urban planning.
Ultimately, cities can bring us obstacles and opportunities as well as freedom and captivity, and it's up to us to get the most out of them.
People Offering Prayers At River Yamuna, India, Which Is Frothing From Industrial Waste
And none of these fools has the sense to even consider that bathing in industrial waste speeds up your reincarnation process.
Hotel In Łodz, Poland
Its not a nuclear cooling tower. It is for a heating, electric and hotwater generating plant ( TETS in Russian) most are coal or gas powered and that is for releasing steam.
An Interesting Perspective I've Stumbled Upon In Macau A Year Ago
The difference between the have's and the have not's, in one photo.
Before And After A Desert Is Turned Into A Soulless Suburb Of A Desert. Jk, Its A Single Photo Of Arizona
The water waste hurts. Why do you want lawns in a desert? If you want green lawns, move to England (no offense, England. You have the rainfall, is all.)
Not A Very Romantic Scene
Blame your government’s. This is their fault . They buy rubbish from countries and do not dispose of it correctly.
People Living Next To A Helicoidal Street In Chongqing
Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Comparison Of 1964 - 2016.
Electrical Wiring And Water Pipes In A Brazilian Favela
Literally, Just Thanksgiving Traffic In La
Private Houses On The Roof Of An Eight-Story Mall In Zhūzhōu, China
Downtown Seattle, In The Heart Of The Retail District
I don't understand how the US can have money to make bombers but not to help citizens who need help.
Because of our Calvinist roots. The idea is being poor or homeless isn't just an economic problem but a character flaw which makes you unworthy of help. Whereas if you are rich, its because you are good and god is blessing you
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Oh come on, that's so naive. It may have started there but it is NOT the logic now. The logic now is keep as many people poor and struggling to survive as possible, and set the middle class fighting with the working class, so they don't take collective action against the very few billionaires and the ruling class which CHOOSES to keep everyone else down, for their own enrichment and for power.
I have relatives in Missouri and Pennsylvania. I hear this explanation from them all the time. I had a coworker dismiss the 99% protesters a few years ago by saying the just needed to try harder to find jobs. Others agreed with her.
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Its true. A:: pf those "poor people" are in tents that cost well over $100. WELL over.
I suggest you google Prosperity Gospel/ theology which is an outgrowth of Calvinism.
But than how is it that most US people think it's fair billionaires don't pay much taxes but think it's unfair if billionaires should pay higher wage? It's still go easy on rich and punish the poor. :-/
The wealthy don't pay taxes because they invest all of their money into different assets that can't be taxed... They don't pay taxes because they completely circumvent them when and where possible.
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Do you understand math and economics? The rich pay more in taxes because they make more. They do pay more than what idiot democrats call the fair share.
You are absolutely incorrect on this. Taxes are for the middle and lower classes. The rich use every available loophole to lower their tax bill. Why do you think Donald Trump paid almost no taxes for years. However I believe there is a reckoning coming.
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A loophole that Obama and Biden created!
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Donald Trump paid more taxes than everyone in this picture plus the population of your entire town. 90 percent of the taxes are paid by the top 20 percent of our population. Wealthy people get to take exemptions, but it's the uniparty (both dems and republicans) who make those laws allowing it. Wake up, things have changed.
Since when is $750 more than the taxes of an entire town? Wake up, Trump hasn't taken responsibility for anything he's done. And @ Nubis: I've never heard *anyone* say that they think it's fair that the wealthiest of our US citizens don't pay a lot in taxes. EVER. And @ Joe: not all of Pennsylvania is like that, but there are way too many here like that.
@Kathat, truth. Funny how many Billonires "pledged" to give away most of their fourtunes when they die. But all that money will go to charities they have established and their children work at. It's literally a tax move when they die. We need a revolt, a literal revolt. Eat the rich
They aren’t that tasty. I say we tax the rich.
If someone was able to literally scoop 3/4's off the money pile of the top 10 richest, they would gain it right back in the blink of an eye.
I agree that some of the tax situations need to change but expecting somebody to just give away their money to help people is just naive. You could throw money at this situation all day long and it's not going to get fixed. So many of these people chose their situation. Yes there are some that have issues and need help and I agree with that and I'm happy to help them but there's plenty of people out there that chose that life. Then there's also the people who don't want help. So you build a nice place and you let all these people live there free. And then they don't take care of it because they're not responsible for it.
If you actually looked at homeless people as people, you would see this as a humanitarian issue and try to understand the story behind what you see here. But you don't, you blame one of the worst situations you can be in on people "choosing" this. People from vets to younger people like me and older people and everyone in between get into this situation, and many people are one paycheck away from this being the only place they can go. And once you're there, it's almost impossible to climb out of. Your kind of thinking actively harms HUMANS who are suffering and you can't even see past your own privilege to learn our stories and realize you're so very wrong about people "choosing" homelessness. It's horrific to hear someone say that, honestly, as someone who's not only lived this hell for years but has learned the life story of so many in tents and shelters. Your incorrect assumption of the worst in people harms us. You are literally telling me I chose to be disowned for my sexuality.
I've been on and off homeless since I was disowned at 18 for being bisexual, I've been homeless in multiple states and use a power wheelchair as I'm permanently severely disabled and have lived in shelters in multiple cities and states, including Seattle. I've talked to the actual people you're referring to, and one of two out of dozens and dozens have actually chosen to live outside. It does happen, but the vast majority of people had bad circumstances like medical debt, loss of job or loved one, disability, getting disowned for being LGBT, and many other reasons and would give anything to get off the streets. It's absolute hell being homeless, and you clearly have never experienced this hell. What you're saying is a myth that people say to make themselves feel better about how bad the homelessness problem is in America specifically. It's absolutely not true, and I would give anything for stability but as I can barely walk and have no family from being disowned, I won't ever have that
And so many people are in the same position. The reason you see trash is because trash cans are hard to find, as are public restrooms. And police come with no warning and take people's only belongings away, including their only shelter, their tents, and personal important items that can't ever be replaced. The people's area is literally torn apart and they have no place to go - as someone who has also volunteered and worked with homeless people, I've seen all sides of this, and trust me, if they had somewhere to go they would. You can't leave your items when you're homeless as they'll likely be rifled through and stolen, or torn down. You need an address for every job application, and you can't get a job if you "look homeless" so even if you can leave the only shelter you have there are still many barriers to getting a job, like money for public transportation, a way to bathe and wash clothes, which costs money, not to mention "criminals" small or not can't get housing even decades lat
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Eat car poop instead it suits you better and it'll make your breath smell better.
Relatively few people know what Calvinism actually is, but many willingly participate in the Ponzi scheme called "capitalism". Until that changes, wealth inequality will be accepted.
Listen to USA news and religious programming enough and you know Samantha's right. I've heard it myself; it is The Way in evangelical congregations.
Yep,,,but I think Samantha Lomb may also have a point. The mentality she describes hasn't quite gone out of the American psyche..especially in those on right..
Calvinism doesn't explain this, I grew up in Holland which saw the origin of calvinism and they have social security systems that work. Same in other european countries.
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Look up how much YOU spend on defense and how much the US spends on YOUR defense. THEN we can talk.
It's so much more complicated than helping. Many are addicted and others are mentally ill. Most are both. Sometimes you can't help people. I had a friend that offered to take in her mentally ill brother, yet he chose to live on the street.
Yep, here in the U.S., we put the poor, the injured, the mentally ill, and the addicts out on the street. It astounds me that people are OK with this.
The mental illness and addiction often happen BECAUSE of the homelessness, and that brother of your friend is the exception, not the rule. I've been on and off homeless since I was disowned for being bisexual by very conservative christians the moment they legally could when I turned 18 and besides three exceptions, everyone I've ever talked to at shelters and on the streets would give anything for actual shelter. This is in multiple states and cities. The vast majority of homeless people don't have any family or person to take them in or they would be there. One person does not speak for the wants and experiences of thousands of people in the US alone. I've also found that addiction and mental health are issues, yes, but the vast majority fell on hard times and couldn't get back on their feet again. So no, most people are not addicted and mentally ill. I've volunteered with homeless people and lived on the streets. you should actually talk to people to gain more than one example.
People with addiction issues and mental health issues are just the most visible ones, as the rest try to be as out of the way as possible to avoid tents being torn down by police and items destroyed in that process.
Should we just hand out money to anyone that wants it then? We already have subsidized housing and food.
how do you know these are functional? do you live in them? do you rely on any of these accommodations? probably not.
The DoD doesn’t even help their own veterans. And they cry like babies if someone proposes cutting their budget by 1% because that means generals won’t get their shiny toys. The military-industrial complex is a cancer on society.
One of your greatest military leaders (if not one of the best in history) warned against the MI complex manipulating government. Not just American liked Ike.
Although when he was younger he oversaw using the military to attack homeless veterans camped outside of DC in a huge tent city. (Bonus Army Riots)
The VA is not part of DoD. The Veterans Administration is kept defective by design because it is politically expedient to treat veterans like dirt - it drives them into the arms of the far-right
The VA is its own department, yes. However, the DoD is the entity responsible for military personnel. They could absolutely step in and help, or create better civilian transition programs, or give their current personnel better life skills, pay, training, etc.
Blaming that on the military is ridiculous! Many bases have been closed down, military workforce has been reduced. After China's cheap products have raped out economy, liberals have put our country in a deficit that there's no way out of in any of our lifetimes, and terrorist make a consolidated strike against this nation, everyone will be asking why the bare bones military isn't protecting everyone! That's probably a line waiting for concert tickets!
the DoD walked away from...Tfas? Pfas? that runoff from the weekly fire drills on every single military base, every, anywhere in the world. Oscoda Michigan has been seeking some sort of resolution to the DoD/Wurtsmith poisoning Van Etten Lake and Cedar Lake for....fifteen years, now? Maybe close to twenty. The Cohn brothers would say....DoD gives it the high hat...
sorry. i grew up there. and went to a large handful of those weekly fire drills. jet fuel spilled all over the broken hulk of...there at wurtsmith, a b52. in bermuda, it was one of those awacs hulks on the runway way out and gone....but a big old fire every week, to keep the firefighter's hands in...and all that chemical s**t...rolling off the tarmac/concrete/whatever...
....thought it was...a luxury...to go to the air force base beach on Van Etten...a lot warmer than Lake Huron downtown...and no big waves...you could actually swim. float. in a stew of chemicals, it turns out now...fifty years later, we find out..
is it a party that's lied? no...it's the Dod, and both parties, thanks to ike's militaryindustrialcomplex come to full fruition...never ending wars, bought conscience's on either side of both parties, private armies!!...good. very f*****g patriotic, really..
Easy: republicans and libertarians, most of whom are trust fund babies, yet they think they’re self-made and that everyone else can “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”. So they refuse to pay people a living wage, or pass universal healthcare reform, then they raise rents through the roof, and cut every social safety net program to the bone, or out completely. As a result, middle and lower class incomes have flatlined and not kept up with inflation for the last 40 years, there are tenants priced out of rentals they may have lived in for years which results in homeless people who are actually working full time jobs (!), and people with addictions and/or mental issues who are not in rehab or care homes or other needed programs, and also can’t get access to, or just afford, necessary medications to control their conditions and allow them to function well enough to work. That’s how you end up with massive numbers of homeless people, even—-and in most cases, especially—-in the wealthiest cities.
This is factually inaccurate. Most Republicans are in fact VERY poor. The problem is that they vote against the policies that could help them because: A. They're largely uneducated and Fox tells them the policies are scary and bad. B. One day they're totally going to be rich somehow and the government better stay away from their money. I agree with the rest of your point, but I think we need to ditch the image of the fat-cat republican (which is about 5%), because most of them really are just ignorant poor people getting the wool pulled over their eyes (watch The Social Dilemma), not to mention good, old-fashioned, home-grown racism and fear of change (see my earlier point about ignorance)
I really don't see how Republicans or Libertarians are responsible for Seattle where they haven't held political office for decades? It's been said that 95% of the homeless in Seattle have drug dependency issues and/or mental health. To blame this on a political party is just passing the buck and offering nothing to suggest a fix.
You're absolutely correct, and I'm a (very) liberal Democrat. The entire West Coast looks like this right now, because this country puts its poor, sick, mentally ill, and addicts out on the street. Both parties contributed to shutting down all the mental institutions and not passing universal healthcare. We are ALL to blame.
This country also treats mental illness and addiction criminally because we have for profit prisons that have quotas to fill and it’s easier to punish people than to treat them. There’s still a huge stigma attached to mental health in this country. You would never hear someone say “Instead of insulin for your diabetes, have you tried to meditate or take a walk in the woods?” But if you take medication for depression or anxiety disorders, you’ll hear it repeatedly. As if your illness isn’t real. And if you self medicate those issues with alcohol or drugs because you don’t feel you can seek treatment due to the stigma and become addicted, then you’re a horrible human with no control who should be punished in our prison system therefore helping them meet their contracted quotas. Our country is broken.
It is almost impossible to get adequate mental health help in the US. (I speak from experience.) And the reason we do not get mental health care? Republicans. One of the best provisions of Obamacare was enforcing mental health coverage. And guess who wanted to strike down Obamacare?
It's been difficult for decades. DECADES. Through several presidencies and both sides of political fence. No one party can be blamed. They both fail.
Not making further births illegal for 5 or 10 years was never even considered despite a fix to current problems.
That is the biggest piece of BS I have read all day. Most people on the street have mental or chemical issues. In the past they were confined to institutes until they were able to control themselves. After a court ruling in the 70's, all those patients were released and most wound up on the streets because their family's couldn't handle them. Until we are willing to forcefully put them back into places that will help them, its not going to change. Once that part is done, then resources can be utilized (and not wasted) to get the others, aka families, back on their feet and into normal patterns and life styles.
Thank you, J! That's exactly what I was thinking of, when the government implemented the court ruling. Wasn't this spurred on in part by JFK/his administration? I am to recall learning that.
That is not the problem. This sort of thing happens in Democrat territory, because the Dems basically lure people to live on the streets by providing free benefits to homeless and (mostly drug addicted) people, and not providing housing for them. In San Francisco, “homeless” people use the streets as outdoor toilets and the police are not permitted to arrest them. Instead, the city govt. spends hundreds of thousands of dollars hosing down the streets daily. Golden Gate Park has become another homeless encampment, with needles, refuse and excrement everywhere. These places are also dangerous to everyone including the homeless themselves.The crime rate has soared. The govt. has gotten rid of bail for misdemeanors—but those can include defecating on the sidewalk and other disgusting and unsanitary practices. So the police don’t bother to arrest anyone, and the lunatics are running the asylum (I include the governor among them.). I will not visit San Francisco again.
Because if you don't have to look at it, it doesn't exist, right? If it wasn't San Francisco, these people would be living (or barely living) somewhere. Housing would help. It's difficult to get a job without an address. It's difficult to get your life together without mental health services. I'm glad you are fortunate to be able to visit where you like.
i like this one. The loudmouths are the ones born with a silver spoon in it.
You blame Republicans, but that is a city governed by liberals. Looks like you typed out that big paragraph of BS for nothing.
Except this is Seattle, which is heavily Democrat controlled and has been for a long time. In fact most of these types of encampments are in Democrat controlled cities. Why? Because the politicians and the bureaucrats could care less about individuals and use the situation to suck money out of taxpayers as they pretend to do something. Such as adding more and more regs on building low cost housing, giving out funding to their best buds and the result is an apartment unit costing 1/2 million dollars for each unit.
One problem with "universal health care" is that it is potentially unlimited. It is not subject to market forces, so there is no limit to what people want in terms of health care -- as long as the general public pays for it. If the doctor says your child needs an operation, or would benefit from correcting a deviated septum, the parents NEVER say, "Well, I think we should wait until the price comes down a little" --like they say about piano lessons or a new bicycle. Then, once the tax burden becomes unbearable, the government starts economizing on health care, and it ends up in the horrible, deprived mess that is seen in "universal" health care in India, for example. The fact is that we can afford good health care ONLY if everyone pays for it themselves instead of pushing the costs off onto the general public.
Yeah, I'm sure Biden is counting his pennies. Democrats are just as rich and spoiled as Republicans. Rich democrats don't care about poor people any more than rich republicans do. They just like giving you handouts to make you dependent on the government as they slowly take away your constitutional rights in exchange for some perceived low level security. Oh yeah, that, BTW is slavery and you all are voting for it.
Do I even need to tell you how wrong this is?
Yet the majority of homeless live in cities/states run by liberals. Seattle, NYC, San Fran., Los Angeles....
Wierd, I thought Seattle as well as other cities that look like this were democrat run cities.
Wierd, I thought Seattle as well as other cities that look like this were Democrat ran cities.
But this is Seattle, WA. The government is controlled, city and state, by Democrats. The city itself is over 90% Democrats. This is the Lefts mess and what you see in this picture are the results of Democrats, their policies, and their failures. That's a fact.
Truth! And don't forget San Francisco. They let the homeless shoot up publically in the rail system.
Worse than that, San Francisco supplies drugs to poor and homeless people. After putting them up in hotels and giving them monthly checks on top of their SSDI and their food stamps.
This is literally not true at all. I was homeless in San Francisco, and not only is SSDI almost impossible to get anywhere in the country on purpose, I am still months and months away from receiving it and I've had 18 hours of reconstructive spinal surgery in the past 2 years literally to save my life and went from working 70+ hours a week as a barista and other physical jobs to now having to use a power wheelchair to make myself food. And those "monthly checks"? I have no idea where you heard that, but that is absolutely a complete myth. There are no "monthly checks," getting on SSDI is almost impossible and can take years even if you're severely permanently physically disabled, and the city definitely does NOT "supply drugs to poor and homeless people". If you're very lucky, you might get a temporary room in a hotel with a sink and no ability to do laundry whatsoever, and there are very few spots available. The only part of what you said is true is food stamps, so people don't starve
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You're a plagiarist. I've heard every word you just typed on every alphabet network (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC) every hour since it became evident that Quid Pro Joe was going to fail.
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"republicans and libertarians, most of whom are trust fund babies" possibly the stupidest, uneducated ideological drivel on the entire internet today. Congrats! Back up any of that Bullshyt? No you can't. stupid sheeple
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Yet Seattle is a liberal bastion, as are all the other trash cities (like Portland, Detroit, etc.). It has nothing to do with libertarians / GOP, and everything to do with showing how much the left's policies absolutely destroy everything.
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Nope. That’s not it at all.
It is absolutely it and I suspect you're a Republican or libertarian who thinks you "worked hard to get what you have" and people who are poor just aren't working hard enough, and you ignore systemic racism and classism and sexism and the overt power grabs of the Republican leaders to keep everyone else their working drones forever.
A lot of people in Seattle actually choose and prefer to do this. There are a lot of social welfare programs in that city.
Came for this. My parents ran an inner city ministry in a large city and offered help to low income as well as homeless, regardless of citizen status. Low income folks wanted help and we were willing to work for it, most took advantage of everything my parents had to offer. The homeless folk are, typically, a different breed. They were comfortable on the streets and that was their home. They didn't want to take advantage of what was offered to them, only what would get them through to the next day. (For the most part! Always exceptions!) Edit: that's not to say they were all getting screwed in one way or another. It was still difficult to get help if you wanted it and my folks could only do so much. It's a broken system and always will be.
Oh ya. Who the hell wouldn't want to live in a tent on freezing wet concrete. Please tell me you were being sarcastic otherwise that was an idiotic statement.
No one chooses to be homeless, unless they are mentally ill or suffering from addiction. That is a whole other issue that isn't being addressed though. Mental illness is not a choice and addiction offers a bit of comfort in a hellish existence. Affordable housing and opportunities to earn a living wage would eliminate all but the most severely challenged homeless.
as a person who works for a non profit that helps homeless, I learned over the years some of the homeless prefer to not live in housing because they don't like rules, they rather use their money for drugs or alcohol than pay to live inside, some military vets don't like being inside because of PTSD and they feel trapped, there's a lot that outsiders who only see photos don't know
As a homeless person, I resent your repetition of that myth. It simply isn't true. I suggest that you find another job, with that judgemental attitude. No wonder so many homeless people don't want to go to a shelter: the abuse from the staff is an unreported nightmare.
If you think anyone would " rather" have an addiction, you know nothing and should find another line if work.
There are too many veterans that do not get the care that they need. So many are alcoholics or drug addicts and that prevents them from getting the help that they need. Help is available for veterans but again then you have to follow their rules you have to follow the way they tell you to live. Many veterans are not willing to be told how the f**k to live
The US is not a socialist state. Government does not exist to help people, it exists to govern...mainly through legislation. The main reason the US is in such a horrible position now is that the branch of government in charge of that legislation is refusing to act according to the legislative will of those they represent, opting instead to engage in partisan power-grabbing and political muck-raking. Legislation in the US is now being done more by the executive branch through what are essentially edicts, than by the legislative branch through the standard process. Naturally, this situation creates larger and more numerous cracks for the poor and disadvantaged to fall through, and fewer ways for them to get back out. Nevertheless, it is still not the job of the government to provide that help. The fact that thay have done so, and continue to attempt to do so is not out of obligation but out of compassion.
Wow..... the government is definitely there to help their people too.... Otherwise the country will just be a third world country.
I do not agree with you about the veterans. I was a homeless veteran but that's what? In order to get help you have to quit drinking and drugging. So the issue has become many of our homeless veterans choose to live that way. I'm not saying that is heartbreaking to witness it's just a simple fact I know!!😢
"With great power..." It's not only a government's privilege to pass rules on a whim, they get an attached obligation. The rules are there to protect people and thus prevent the next violent revolution incited by the desperate to better their lot in life through any means.
Lol. Who are you people?? Because you aren't even close in your opinions about homeless in America. And the government is suppose to be BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE. So if it isn't the job of the government to make sure EVERYONE in America at the very least can afford a place to live, then please tell me exactly who's job it is?
Spoken like a true Trustafarian. If you pay taxes, then lose your job or have huge hospital bills it IS the governments job to help you stay off the street. By the people, FOR the people.
That is one political point of view. During 1930s the government's activities began to change toward Welfare State role.
I live in Seattle. It did not use to be like this, sure their were homeless people but, they did not set up large camps in middle of the streets. During Covid everything went to sh*t. Now they even have a homeless encampment on an elementary school property (ages 5 to about 11). And the police are doing nothing about it. There are many great things about Seattle, the homeless population was not one of them. And yes, I agree we spend way to much on our military.
During the Great Depression camps like this where common. They where called Hoovervilles. After the Depression we set up social safety nets so this would happen less. Then people got outraged that 1 person out of 1000 was cheating the systen. So we got rid of the safety nets and here we are. And this can not be blamed on just one party. Reaganomics and Neo-Liberalism both caused this.
There are still safety nets. In the depression the homeless were just poor. These people are mentally ill and addicted. They closed the mental hospitals in the 60's.
How American to first think that it's the police that should do something about the homeless people. What, arrest them? Forcibly move them? Confiscate their stuff? It's the city and the social services that should interfere, not the police.
This was a problem before COVID...even in 2015 when I was going to school in Tacoma the grass next to the sidewalk across the street from my building was tent city and it took the city 3 weeks to clean up the mass of garbage that was left after they cleared them out
Police shouldn't be doing anything about it anyways. They need a place to live, food, and medicine; not jail and fines.
Just throwing money at the problem won't help. Almost all these people are mentally ill or addicted. They closed all the mental hospitals down in the 60s instead of reforming them.
I suggest that you read the book "Fulfillment." It documents how Amazon has destroyed Seattle by filling the city with so much money that the cost of housing is beyond the reach of the middle class. And Jeff Bezos led the resistance to the 2-3% tax on businesses which the city council passed to combat the problem of homelessness, of which Seattle has the 3rd largest population.
Lillian, this started before Covid. We had four German students visit in 2014 and after a day of sightseeing, they came home and asked if there was a recent natural disaster, because of all the tents in Pioneer Square and downtown.
But I've seen news about those street camps even for Covid. Surely Covid made it even worse but Seattle had a problem even before? :-/
Same thing with Denver- never saw tents until it hit. Now they are everywhere
K, i am with you. also in Denver. i live downtown. it's EVERYWHERE, and I'd like them to stay visible so that we keep it on the forefront of people's minds. I feel nothing but compassion for people struggling to still have autonomy and cleanliness amidst that heatwave we just had, etc. And it will get far, far worse as the rolling evictions finish processing. That's where most of this came from: Confluence of tragedies: Covid, no work, no pay, eventual eviction. 😢
These tent ⛺ encampments are in every major city - not just Seattle. Ck out Mass/Cass in Boston...
What do you think the police could do about homeless people ? Oh yes, I know, what they are doing here : harassing them, trashing the tents and their last possessions, pushing them away to another neighborhood, then another, and another, and keeping them on the move day and night. It will surely learn those people to stop being homeless
Because none of our politicians can agree on anything. They all just want more money.
Most homeless are mentally ill and you cannot force people into treatment. Being mentally ill does not erase your rights.
I'm sorry, but that may certainly be true for a few people, but not all, nor most, are so mentally distressed that they don't deserve a chance at help, or have to live on the streets because of it. Especially in the U.S., there are an incredible number of veterans among the countless homeless. For a country that claims to love its troops, this is, and I apologize for the choice of words, a disgrace. If what you say were true, we would see similar images in other industrialized countries. But in this massiveness you see it only in the USA, especially in the big cities. This is also due to the fact that medical care in the U.S. costs vast sums of money, while those who need it elsewhere are given a helping hand in solidarity. Try to get psychological help in the U.S. if you don't have insurance or money. In other comparable countries, however, this is not a problem. And there is hardly any other comparable help for the socially weak in the USA. It's survival of the wealthiest.
Most homeless veterans are suffering from a mental illness. Also, bagging on the United States sure is fun and yet solves nothing. Have you lobbied your local representatives to increase public funding for accessible mental health for the poor? Try that instead of being smug.
It wasn't just down to Reagan. It is a legal matter of deciding you can't force people to stay in a hospital against their will.
In reality only a bout 30% of homeless people on WA State have a mental illness or addiction issue. Most are just people that lost jobs and can't get into housing due to lack of work or having an eviction on your record (which makes it damn near impossible to get into housing).
I take back my comment, and now feel bad because I was ignorant to a whole other side of the streets.
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had the left not forced mentally ill treatment centers to be closed decades ago...............
I live in Seattle. In 2019, we spent $64 million on the homeless situation. $64 million. Obviously, the problem is not lack of money. Here, the homeless are offered a place to live, a place where the social workers and health professionals can help them. Most homeless choose to live on the streets. It's dangerous, disgusting, and dehumanizing. But that is their choice. The rest of us find it abhorrent. The filth alone and the danger are making this city unlivable.
Same with Portland. It's so bad over here. I will say I was 17 kicked out and on the streets of Portland. By 20 I got into a shelter and finally saw a future for myself. But I am now 22 with a job, going to school, and have my own apartment, while being a single mom! Although, I do have help from the state but I will say living this way is a choice. Help is everywhere these days. You just have to value yourself enough.
I also live in Seattle. 64 million is just a bit over the property value of a single block of homes in a nicer neighborhood. Not The Nicest, just on the over average side. It's such a small amount of Bezos' or Gates' net worth that it wouldn't even cover the costs of their minute to minute financial management. On the other side, it would not be enough to pay for just the maintenance on most military vehicles if you believe our spending budgets. It's also less than a third of what we spend on the unaccountable spoiled brats in blue. Finally, we set up systems where people have to choose between assistance with housing OR food OR medication and then get inexplicably confused when some of them choose an option other than shelter (or when we set up requirements for housing that people can't meet because, surprise, those medical problems that we decided as a society were just not trying hard enough were what put them on the street in the first place).
I think you got your answer in how foolish some of these latter responses are. These people have mental of physical health issues, or have suffered through a tragedy. Many Americans (I dare say *most*) do realize these people need help and the issues that issues that led to their situation need to be addressed. Unfortunately too many in power think that you must lower takes on the “job makers” (most wealthy people so that they can create more jobs (false pretense) and that those jobs will raise up the poor (another false pretense since if you’re addicted to drugs or suffering depression… or don’t have a permanent address, you can’t hold-down a job!)
Except most Americans think that the mental health issues the homeless have are things like schizophrenia, and such. But the most common mental health issue they have are depression and PTSD.
Because our politicians literally don't care about anything except money and power...even though they do nothing with either one.
You can't help those who do not want it! Beleive me the US pours money into trying to fix this. it just get worst. Blame the drug companies who have made opioids so easy to get that created so many many druggies.
Pouring money into help that isn't working. Maybe it's time to change the approach...
A lot of the problem that people have being addicted to opioids is due to a gene defect that makes the body take up a massive amount of morphine from relatively small amounts of opioids. This causes much of the addicts we see. It's called a wild effect. There are others, including myself, that receive absolutely no effect from opioids at all. One doctor when I was admitted to have a radical hysterectomy and I wasn't getting any pain relief that worked gave me a massive dose of morphine, 100 times more than a normal person would need and nothing. My blood didn't even register that I'd been given it. Before prescribing opioids the doctor should check for the gene defect. It would result in a lot fewer addicts.
The US has enough money to do both. However, when the cash is distributed to the local governors /mayors....by the time it gets down to these people? Very little left. The graft is absolutely astounding.
Seattle spent over $1+ billion addressing the homeless situation last year yet the homeless grew 47%. Its not due to lack of funding, but funding the wrong issues such as actually buying addiction aides as in crack pipes & wire mesh pads. Addiction & crime is what is enabling the situation. Open Air drug markets set up in tent cities & now police are restrained from even entering the camps...it leads to human suffering & humans giving up on life outside of living like this. There is outreach programs that was helping get people into housing & treatment but city council gave high dollar contracts to those that encourage this & want to defund police & addiction treatment. I wish people looked more at the truth instead of calling for more money to be funneled into the Homeless Corrupt Complex of politicians & their buddies that profit from human suffering.
They buy such things as crack pipes or needles to reduce the spread of HIV and Hep C. That is very important because when it is not contained, it can even trickle down to people who never used drugs in their life (Ex. a husband in a sex-starved relationship has sex with a prostitute, who is infected). Also, it goes both ways - a lot of people use drugs because they are homeless, or poor with no prospects and the only way they even have a chance of wanting to stop (You have to WANT to get clean for addiction treatment to work - no amount of threats or jail time may deter some people) is to be given the chance to improve their lives through housing, education opportunities, and decent jobs). Another reason a lot of people start using drugs and get addicted in the first place is that they are self-medicating to treat their mental illness. The problem with people who have a mental illness is they often don't know they are actually I, and they don't know/ cannot afford treatment )
They have all kinds of help. They don't want it. They don't take it. Some are crazy. Some want it this way.
@Yugan, me, either, and I never will. It's seen as a handout, not a hand *up*, and yet countries with strong "safety net" programs have better healthcare, generally lower unemployment, etc. ... *sigh* Your American Dream is now hoping a charity gives you a *tent*.
My son spent a couple of years working in Skid Row in Central Los Angeles. He made a point of showing me that the vast majority of people living in Skid Row do not WANT our “help” nor do they want to live inside of a structure. When Covid hit, the City Counsel forced local hotels and motels to take the homeless off the streets. THEY DESTROYED the rooms, hallways, stairs and elevators within days. It’s not uncommon to have a dead body on the street in broad daylight with people walking around it to continue shopping or conduct business. There’s so many OD’s in skid row that EMS can show up, deliver medication to stop the OD only to have to come back (same day) and do it again on the same person. I’d hate to be a business owner in that 10 block area or hell, even within a mile of it. The homeless have all the rights not the businesses.
Because our politicians on both sides suck. America has a lot of greed in the upper ranks.
Every single one of those tent-living people gets a federal disability check. So how come they don't simply move into subsidized housing such as Section 8 or housing projects?
Because in most big cities, the waiting list is a mile long. There is not near enough subsidized housing.
Because people "are lazy" and "do it to themselves". 🙄 But big business gets all the help in the world.
Exactly. I worked in Portland, 80+ hours a week. I could not afford housing. I lived in my car, and would get the cheapest hotels possible when needed for a shower and refresh. I was very lucky that I had a car prior. The homeless aren't lazy, the rich just messed everything up.
The USA is a capitalist country and the politicians are too busy making money for themselves rather than actually doing anything to help the people of the USA. They pit each other against one another while the media drowns out anyone who isn’t an extremist on one side or another so they have no chance of being elected by the mass and creating a peaceful society because that is not profitable. That is why homelessness is such a problem along with the fact that we don’t have the proper systems in place to take care of the mentality ill.
Well-said! And increasingly, the world's elite is tilting towards that. Why make billions of folks a bit richer when they can grab more for themselves (and pay for vainglorious pursuits like going to space and collecting $100million art).
But it's even worse to force people to help people.
sadly, some don't want help when offered. My husband offered some food and a 6 pack of bottles of water (about 6 meals of food) in a box once, the jerk only wanted cash. At least he was honest after my husband took the box into the car again that he said "I'm out here for smokes money and maybe a free beer". Haven't seen him again, I think he was a nomadic panhandler
There is plenty of help available. Unfortunately most do not want to comply with the requirements of drug/alcohol rehab or work training requirements in order to get the help.. Sadly many have mental health issues and even though there are free mental health services, the homeless with mental health issues are not capable if keeping appts. Years ago it was permissible to take the severely mentally ill into facilities for treatment even if they didn't want to go. It was done for their own good. Now due to liberal policies that is no longer done. Libs say we shouldn't infringe on their right to self determination.
Oh yah, all the "libs" fault huh? Check out how your boy Ronnie Reagan turfed millions of mental patients back out to the streets.
Many are mentally ill and/or substance abusers. No matter what they are given, they make a mess of the situation. Also, defense is a Constitutionally required part of our government.
The US believes in people helping themselves, earning their own way and having little reliance on federal or state aide. Any kind of public help is considered communism or socialism and that's apparently a bad thing.
If we eliminated corporate welfare and spent our tax money on infrastructure and affordable healthcare then we wouldn't need any equal outcome nonsense.
You're right -- The US DOES believe in helping yourself and earning your own way. What is the alternative? Everyone sponging off of everyone else? Does an alternative to "helping yourself" and "earning your own way" even exist? Americans in the goodness of their hearts vote to tax themselves of some of their hard-earned money to take care of the helpless ... but clearly that cannot be "take care of EVERYONE." The vast majority of people MUST help themselves and earn their own way. They pay for their own benefits, and even share some of their own money to help people who do not help themselves. Every penny that working people give to non-working adults is taken directly from the children of the working population. One of the greatest incentives to work hard is in the benefits that it brings to your children -- good food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, extra-curricular enrichment ... all these are curtailed by the high taxes people have volunteered to pay.
You have a shallow way of thinking. Most of these people are there by choice. When the US closed down mental institutions, they all went to the street. And in this particular town, half of what you see is spoiled, rich kids from decent families who go down there to join the counterculture for awhile because they can live lawlessly.
90% percent of those people are there because they want to, remember is a free country, people are free to choose, they decided that getting high is more important than a house.
Are you familiar with the term - Rough Sleeper? Homelessness is common enough in England that they have their own euphemism for it.
Are you under the misconception that there are no homeless people in Canada?
You clearly just didn't understand their comment. It means the opposite.
Yes, it has priorities. They just don't include doing anything for the people.
You don’t combat something you refuse to see. You can’t talk about something you refuse to accept as reality. And when you decide what kind of people homeless (or displaced if that’s easier to digest) you help choose their fate. I love my country, I do, but this is the real we the people.
Most of these people are abusing drugs and most of the time they do not want to follow the rules.
Simple. Our government does not care about us, and instead of helping Americans puts money into programs for illegal immigrants. And like it or not America is heavily invested in the security of other nations, hence why we have bases all over the world.
A lot of those citizens don't want help nor have any desire to better their lives with free handouts. I'm all for helping those who not only need it, but actually want it and want to do something with it. I'm from Seattle. Unfortunately, some facts of life are sad and shitty.
This is just a picture of people camping out to catch Concert tickets or Black Friday sales. You can tell by the lack of trash and condition of the tents and people.,The actual homeless sights are buried in trash and sewage and the people are dirty and destitute. The smell is horrendous. Not like these where they look straight out of GW magazine. Sad thing is there are too many to count I live in a small city in New Mexico. The pop here is 50,000. And the homeless here is over 1000. Yep, one in ,50 are permantly homeless. And the world is poised to make those numbers are expected to get much worse. Most had been living in a community set up in a dry riverbed until a huge rain swept them away like flushing a giant toilet. It's was a tragedy, but never even caught the news. Sad, desperate times my friends which is just gonna get worse, ....much worse. .
I know a couple of homeless people. They do not want any help. They want to be homeless!!! One that I know is a lawyer!!
Believe it or not, not everyone wants help. Some will not accept help unless they can dictate how help is delivered. I once saw a neighbor in an apartment that was provided for her , set her kitchen curtains on fire so she could get into a newer housing project. There was nothing wrong with her unit-- except the fire. I could see her from my window setting fire to her kitchen. You just never know about people.
Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, The Clintons, the rest of the democrats. Charity starts at home. Has a poor man ever given you a job? Trump is right. America must take care of it's home and people first then they can and will help others.
spoken from a privileged person who has never been homeless in their life
Unless someone has a severe mental or physical handicap, this is the people's choice to live this way. Businesses can not even get enough employees for $15+ an hour, because many would rather take the "free" Gov't money.
you do realize over 50% of homeless people ARE disabled? this is such an under researched and privileged take on homelessness. stop trying to make yourself feel better. it’s okay to acknowledge our country is shitty. disability pay is also unlivable (less a month than a lot of paying wages). just say you don’t know anything about disabled life.
