Homelessness

· I think true compassion towards the homeless not only includes efforts to create housing options or provide food. I believe compassion towards the homeless includes protecting them from themselves. 

· Studies show that the majority of homeless suffer from mental health issues or substance addictions. Those issues need to be addressed and because of the nature of addictions and mental disorders, the suffering individuals may not elect to enter treatment programs voluntarily.

· To truly be compassionate to the homeless, and to avoid the health and safety problems that can be caused by homeless living, we need to consider policies that mandate treatment, taking people off the street and committing them to facilities where they can be helped.

· While individual liberties are always to be taken seriously, the rights of fellow citizens to live in communities free of cholera, typhus, hepatitis A, and used syringe needles on the street must take precedence.

What this means for the community is that high-quality facilities must be constructed and staffed to treat the homeless. We Republicans need to support the repurposing of funding to create needed facilities and our Democrat neighbors need to support shifting the government’s primary focus to the treatment of mental illnesses and addictions.