This cannot be a phenomenon of the times.  Why then,
in this age of affluence and prosperity, in what is 
supposed to be the greatest nation on earth, has nothing 
been done to alleviate the suffering of those who have 
no home or food?  Why is this left to private agencies 
like the Salvation Army and the other United Way agencies 
instead of becoming a responsibility of the government, 
which after all, is the people.  Should not the government 
operate and maintain public shelters for anyone who needs 
a meal and a place to sleep?  It has become more important 
to probe the universe with expensive rockets than to care 
for those who have not the ability nor the will to care for 
themselves.  It would be wonderful if everyone was productive
and self supporting, but that is not the way that it is.  And 
if a person decides to not take advantage of the facility, that 
is their decision, but at least they had a decision to make.  
The fact is that every person has a right to expect the 
government to help provide some basic life support when they 
are unable to provide that for themselves.  We are talking here 
about people who are unable to cope with the demands of taking 
care of or supporting themselves.  
     So, how did we get to this situation?  As a child growing up
in Toledo, Ohio, I don't remember homeless people on the streets. 
I remember a small number of vagrants and hobos, but nothing like
what is known to us today.  In his book, The Death of Common
Sense, Phillip Howard describes the events that eventually led to
the homeless problem that we are now unable to deal with.  It
seems that as the government attempted to enact legislation to
ensure the civil rights of many underprivileged groups of people,
one of the groups so empowered were the mentally ill who were not
violent nor a menace to society.  Many of these people were being
held against their will in mental institutions, placed there by
families and social service agencies that had no other way to
deal with people who were not able to care for themselves.  Once
empowered, those who did not want to remain in the institution
simply signed themselves out.  If they had somewhere to go, such
as a family that would provide some degree of care, that is where
they wound up.  And if there was no family, they wound up on the
streets - trying to fend for themselves.
     As a matter of fact, numerous incidents are cited where
individuals were provided places to live and jobs that they could
handle and within as little as three to six months, the
individuals in question were back on the street, unable to care
for themselves or their domicile.  In actuality, the law gave
rights to people who were not capable of exercising those rights
in a reasonable manner.  Why would one expect that a mentally
deficient person could be asked if they wanted to remain in an
institution or not and come up with a reasonable answer?  They
are in the institution in the first place because they cannot
deal with society.
     The issue does not stop there.  Every citizen should have
basic medical care (including mental health care) available
without regard to their ability to pay or to be insured.  Our
government supports international health agencies that go to
depressed areas in the world and provide basic medical care.  It
would certainly be a sad commentary if those agencies had to come
into our cities and provide that sort of care for the homeless
because we cannot or will not.  
     Here is the bottom line, if the "Right to Life" movement
would put as much energy into assisting the homeless as they do
in harassing medical facilities that are attempting to provide a
legal medical service, their efforts would be a great deal more
helpful and meaningful.  If that statement is offensive to those
people who support the Right to Life movement, then I apologize,
but that is honestly the way that I feel.  And yes, there have
been some very necessary protest movements that have helped to
right great wrongs that have been inflicted upon people of the
world.  But we still have people freezing to death and starving
to death because no one can make them accept what little they
need to sustain life.  
     I would like to see every major city in the country provide
safe, protected, clean, heated buildings where people can go to
wash, bathe, shower, and clean their clothing; a place where the
community can deliver food and clothing that can be made available 
to those that are in need; a place where basic medical care and 
counseling could be provided.  It does not have to be a "mental 
institution", but it should be staffed with trained personnel 
who can provide the support that is necessary.  We can pass a 
tax to build a new stadium for a professional, profit oriented 
sports team; but we can't provide care for those who are unable 
to care for themselves.
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