Helping homeless
What homeless folks need is simple.
1. 100% safe places to camp out or have shelter provided where they can sleep secure in their persons and possessions.
2. Hygienic facilities for them to clean their bodies, clothes, etc., along with toilets and showers/baths.
3. Wholesome food.
4. Psychiatric staff to evaluate mental problems from attention deficit disorder (ADD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to depression and addiction, and then services to address these mental health challenges.
5. Other medical staff to evaluate and treat as many medical problems as possible, from tooth decay to bleeding ulcers.
6. Once basic needs have been met and the stresses of having been homeless are largely removed, those folks who can work at some job need to be identified because they need vocational training that actually leads to secure and appropriate employment.
In most places, clueless but well-intentioned governmental officials have neglected to give the homeless the one thing they most need to stop being poor: an income that is sufficient for rent, mortgage, etc., payments and the other costs of modern life.
Fail to do that at some point, and the homeless stay dependent and poor in more ways than financially. It is unjust and immoral neglect by “society” (i.e., us) and should stop immediately.
My nonprofit corporation specializes in vocational training and employment of the disabled, the homeless among them. Working with dogs is wonderfully therapeutic for many people, and there are many careers within dog care and recreation that welcome disabled employees.
The answer is right in front of us.
Carl Oguss
Hilo
Not their fault
Regarding the sorry state of the Central Fire Station building in Hilo: Please don’t blame the fire department.
I know for a fact that the firefighters who work there would like nothing better than to have the station power-washed, at the very least (and it’s not much better inside), but there are other factors involved which are out of their hands.
Let’s hope Fire Chief Kazuo Todd will respond to the public’s concerns with a better explanation soon.
Helie Rock
Hilo