Reducing and eventually eliminating NYC's (and Everywhere's) Homeless Population

There are homeless people just about everywhere, but in large places like New York City, the situation is markedly larger. In this post, I'll discuss ways to reduce and eventually eliminate homelessness (and in my next post, go over prevention).

Shelters have been deemed sometimes more dangerous than being on the streets. Close quarters of people who have very little wanting another's things, or simply not being in a mental state to be close to others and deal with an uncertain, less than ideal living situation could definitely lead to problems. I think buying or making a large hotel or chain of hotels to house them as the first step would be a more permanent solution, but that can be scaled down over time as preventative measures and laws keep people from losing their homes in the first place.

Some rooms could be repurposed to medical rooms. The first floor already has tables and a place for continental breakfast, so it would be perfect to serve meals. They could be checked daily medically, with room service also acting as a search for anything illegal, dangerous, or not beneficial to their recovery and re-entry to society. There would first be classes to take centered around taking care of themselves (basic cooking class (which also helps save money on food bill), personal finance (free courses are offered on Acorns Kids, perhaps Khan Academy, etc.)), taking care of their belongings and their living area, emotional management, and on work and the workplace (interpersonal communication, general good work habits, motivation/goal setting, organization, scheduling and time management, resume writing/job hunting/interview skills/Linkedin profile creation (which are also classes that contribute to a business degree or as high school credit if done correctly), etc.). Though not everyone needs them, it would be better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them. The lobby between meals could serve this purpose, or meeting rooms if present.

Passing medical exams would be the first step. Being on drugs prevents people from working well and reliably, prevents them from being well in physical and mental health in general, takes a lot of time, and takes money. Recovering from drug addiction (if addicted) would have to be the first step to continue the process. To prevent spots being taken just to be get short term temporary help with no real change, it could be limited to entry once a month for a week (or however long a professional would think is necessary to get clean primarily), and after 6 months/tries/fails, having to take a longer term break before trying again here, or being sent to an inpatient care facility.

Also, upon entry, they would receive a personal care kit with essentials to keep themselves clean. Clothing could be gotten from the local good will and set up as a shop in a repurposed meeting room, a gift shop, or a hotel room. Obtaining any State ID/License, Social Security Card, and a bank account (could happen during the finance class), would definitely come before job hunting. A basic government-funded smart phone would be necessary for classes, banking apps, and could also be used for job search when they don't have access to a computer or library, amongst other things.

Fixing any educational barriers to entry in the workforce would be next, as well as looking for which type of job most suits each candidate.

There could be a job fair each week that is not a regular job fair, but one where you can go around and sign up for training that happens during the week (after the class week) and then they have a guaranteed temporary job, real training, real skills, and something recent to put on a resume as well as a supervisor to provide a letter of recommendation. These jobs would of course vary by place. The training could be through a local business person/company or perhaps better yet, the local community college on government loans. But, if for instance, it was construction work, they would be trained and help with a current job, as many as a contractor could do on each job (sometimes just 1, sometimes more). I saw someone on YouTube ask a homeless man if he wanted a job that day, and he trained him and took a little extra time to finish the job, but did help him that day by giving him work, a bit of training, and paid him. Or, they could work as a dishwasher, fast food worker, stocker, or other service type job. Local businesses could be given incentives to fill a number of positions with the recovering homeless from the hotel to ensure that there are plenty of job openings, and that businesses find it worth it to give them a chance. If the person does not have a high school diploma or GED, GED training would be the step before (which yes, could potentially take four years, but housing at the hotel is not permanent, and there are other steps and jobs to be had without, so barring no serious medical or mental reason, they should be able to move onto the next steps, even with GED training ongoing). So the job fair could be split into temporary/holiday jobs, entry level, and career level (training/schooling required).

After passing courses and getting and keeping a job, it is time to move onto more permanent housing, but with plenty of oversight through therapy sessions weekly, a job counselor meeting weekly, and financial planner meetings at least monthly. Housing could be done in a number of ways.

1) Through the housing section of the Department of Social Services. Placement as available could be provided. If none is available, then try 2.

2) Work with local apartment complexes to get a lower price. These could be offset by donations for a year to give the person a chance to buy furniture and kitchen items, or could start with donated items/money.

After this is successful for a year and they have saved up a certain amount of money for both a house and transportation, it will be time to move them to a tiny house. If it is not successful, have a time limit to become successful again (3 months) or resort to a previous step and its housing, retaking any classes that would have solutions to the issue while following up with their therapists and counselors specifically on the issue.

1) Tiny Houses such as a Tesla tiny house would be best, where the overall price of the house itself is low (like $10k) and built-in solar panels cut back or eliminate energy bills. These likely have an electric car charging port, which could charge up whatever electric means of transport they may get. They are also moveable, if eventually after full recovery they did want to transfer to another place.

Relocation to a less expensive city during the program could be an option, within the network of other providers in this program.

I think that apart from education, job search/work/training, there should be hobbies that are skills taught to people while still in the hotel phase, like sewing, crocheting (knitting is more difficult, but a knitting machine and a few ideas after learning some crochet basics could make a few items), and other useful hobbies like maybe automotive maintenance, first aid/nursing, or something that could make products to sell or a service to sell would be good. A list of public high school courses such as PIne Forest High School in Fayetteville, NC could be referenced for common job/hobby courses, with available teachers already.

After a hobby, a reading club would also be very beneficial. Reading books like the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Adults by Sean Covey could help shape a person's paradigm. Other self help books and specifically themed reading groups would be great, especially with backing from the public library or an online bookshelf like VitalSource that can provide a group's worth of books at the time.

Hobby and Reading clubs could be open to the public for a monthly fee, which would go to help support the program. This could also get some new people that could potentially make friends and provide a sense of community apart from the people living there currently. The overall goal of these groups is to provide a sense of wellbeing, perhaps relaxation, or work, definitely a sense of satisfaction and happiness, because "The only thing more rare than a millionaire is somebody who is happy no matter the circumstance." --Cat Greenleaf, The Talk Stoop.

The hotel could also train food service workers and chefs, since they will be making food for everyone three times a day, and provide job training while in culinary school, or maybe even long-term jobs as openings are available. This could also have a bakery side that is open to the public, and a pizza restaurant or the like that is also open to the public, and a sit down restaurant, where all proceeds support the facility and workers (similar to how Gordon Ramsay had a bakery in a jail). Having a restaurant inside would also train front end staff, and there would be no shortage of potential workers! Perhaps having Gordon Ramsay help with it and turning it into a similar type show would not only bring more customers to try such delicious food as well as publicity, but also help those in need in another, sometimes overlapping sector. The establishments themselves could be next door to the hotel to provide enough space and a real, quality work environment and area for the guests.

There are also laundry jobs that could be done. These would not necessarily be job training, but could provide some small amount of income (as it does in jail, but a little better). It could be a starter job, or something that is done as a gig work type job within the facility.

I think that educationally and therapeutically, some of these ideas could be applied to jail and perhaps even prison, to reduce the number of career criminals and/or returnees.

Other means of funding the homeless would be starting an app like Treat, but human-based instead of dogs, where the game has a sponsor backing it, but can make money through ads and monthly subscription donations. People could save up in-game currency to purchase something off of someone's wish list, or contribute to it. Or, it could be something similar to or mixed with freerice.com, where it provides an educational component for the user, while the ads pay for food to go to the hungry. I particularly enjoyed one site to gift a bundle of farm animals to a family in a foreign country, and perhaps bundles like that could be purchased to fund clothing/shoes/toiletries/etc.

As for how to get people into these shelters when they obviously need help but refuse to go..Well, it is a freedom to choose to be homeless. If it is made illegal to be homeless within city or county limits, they would have an insanely difficult time surviving (unless they're trained wilderness survivalists). As much as I don't want to take away someone's freedom to be homeless, I also understand that the majority of people don't want homeless around, so if it came down to a vote, I think the homeless would be outvoted and homelessness could be illegal, at least within city/county limits. Businesses and private property don't allow loitering, so why should the city? And what homeless person would take their chances out in the woods versus the plan above? Sure, there will be some. And there may be more crime in the countryside surrounding for a little while, but eventually those will be locked in jail, and if it is found they do not have a home, they could have their release contingent on successfully completing the program (which does take a good amount of time). After enough places outlaw it, they will have nowhere to go, and really no options other than private sources like homeless shelters or whatnot, which upon registering with them, will lawfully get them started on the program. They may have to wait in a shelter for an opening, at least in the beginning. These shelters will be funded to take care of all of their needs and keep them off of the streets, not doing crime, and not loitering about. They would have to be different than the current shelters, since nobody really trusts those, so again, it may be best just to buy a group of local hotels.

There are outreach programs in place that could help to bring in the willing homeless.  The unwilling homeless would likely have to be dealt with by the police. ID cards would have to be updated regularly, and everyone must have them to determine whether someone has a residence. Anyone without an ID card but showing signs of homelessness could be taken to their place of residence and have someone vouch for them in-person or over the phone. If it is against the law to be homeless and loitering, then they would have the choice to go to jail, where they would be eventually assigned to the program, or go to the program facility directly.

For the people who will take a long time in rehab, whether it is drugs, mental illness, or another reason: They will need to be moved out of the general population and go into special care facilities. Yes, this might take a lot of government money; but with all the money being saved, there is plenty to cure homelessness, and everyone is taken care of and safer because of it.

The problem with drugs tends to overlap with homelessness, at least in some places. It is a separate issue, but at least within the homeless population, drug problems can be eradicated. And with proper medical care, and replacing what their body is missing with what they need, along with a mindset and attitude of not just cooperation, but wanting to feel better and be happy, plus plenty of emotional support, physical and mental recovery should be possible in individuals that have fixable physical and mental problems.

Will this be 100% successful? Yes, if you give no other options and don't take no for an answer. Freedoms are limited only to support a safe, healthy lifestyle. We have seatbelt laws to protect us, not to harm us. If we have protections from being ejected from our car, surely we can come up with some laws for if we are ejected from our homes.

A first step: reaching out and connecting with the homeless.