r/mesaaz • u/timesmediagroup • 7d ago

Mesa again debates homeless hotel’s fate

https://www.themesatribune.com/news/mesa-again-debates-homeless-hotel-s-fate/article_9c0ad33c-ab9c-495d-a97f-4edd6047ad40.html
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u/Chimneychilla 7d ago

I am very familiar with some of the homeless population of West Mesa, especially those on Broadway and up and down Country Club and Dobson.

I can’t tell you how many times I and other coworkers have tried to help out them whether it be addiction and detox treatments, housing assistance, access to medical care, etc.

These shelters are strict (as I think they should be), you can’t get drugs or alcohol in and as result most of the unhoused stay out of the shelters. Edit: There is also a lot of theft and incidents that occur in these shelters or places such as halfway houses. Fights, theft, overdoses (more so in halfway houses). The shelters aren’t truly a safe place for the unhoused.

I don’t have a solution to homelessness, but it’s not a housing or even a money problem since many are on access and don’t pay for healthcare and detox program. It’s mental illness and addiction. We don’t mandate treatment unless they are fully incapable of making decisions for themselves.

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u/buppus-hound 7d ago

You’re wrong, addiction and mental illness is not the primary cause of homelessness. Just because you work in the space doesn’t make you an authority especially when you’re flat out wrong.

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u/phelps_1247 7d ago

What is the primary cause?

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u/buppus-hound 7d ago

You’re free to look at the research if you’d like to but it is economic. This mental illness and drug use is bs that people keep repeating.

1

u/BryanThePoet 5d ago

It can be a reason but I think it's a side effect of being homeless because drugs help you escape and once you're homeless and doing drugs you've created that nasty cycle that's difficult to escape.

1

u/buppus-hound 5d ago

I don’t know about that but the idea above as it being the leading cause is not supported by the data and it is absolutely a harmful false belief to have. I don’t know why this person above refuses to believe the data when changing your mind is the better thing to do.