Comments for University Seminar 101 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar Just another Blog.montana.edu weblog Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:15:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on Homelessness: A Fringe Issue? by kyle.kors http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/what-are-the-main-causes-of-homelessness/topic-2/#comment-350 kyle.kors Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:40:18 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=15#comment-350 Jordan, I am glad you brought up the Vietnam War veterans because it presents an issue that I believe society needs to understand. Soldiers are sent to war and expected to follow orders, they are not in control of why they were sent there. In the sixties and seventies Americans seemed to shun Vietnam War veterans readily because they did not agree with the war in general. This is what the already mentally distraught soldiers had to come home too, a country who disliked and were not willing to help them. So instead of getting the help they needed, they got pushed further into their mental insecurities. In other words, if you are going to hate a war, hate the war by all means, you are entitled to your opinion, but leave the soldiers alone, they are only doing what they are told, in fact, some would even disagree with it themselves but cannot do anything about it because they are following orders. Jordan, I am glad you brought up the Vietnam War veterans because it presents an issue that I believe society needs to understand. Soldiers are sent to war and expected to follow orders, they are not in control of why they were sent there. In the sixties and seventies Americans seemed to shun Vietnam War veterans readily because they did not agree with the war in general. This is what the already mentally distraught soldiers had to come home too, a country who disliked and were not willing to help them. So instead of getting the help they needed, they got pushed further into their mental insecurities. In other words, if you are going to hate a war, hate the war by all means, you are entitled to your opinion, but leave the soldiers alone, they are only doing what they are told, in fact, some would even disagree with it themselves but cannot do anything about it because they are following orders.

]]> Comment on Homelessness: A Fringe Issue? by kyle.kors http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/what-are-the-main-causes-of-homelessness/topic-2/#comment-349 kyle.kors Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:12:39 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=15#comment-349 Million Dollar Murray Blog For some homeless people it is not a question of being reintroduced into society, but whether they even want to change their lifestyle. For example, Christopher McCandless, the main character of the nonfiction novel Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer, adopted the homeless vagabond lifestyle in order to escape society and all of its peculiar quarks. When it comes down to it, it depends on whether or not the homeless person even wants to come off the streets. They may, perhaps, enjoy or prefer their lifestyle. In other more extreme cases the homeless person is suffering from a mental illness, hindering them from living a life that is agreeable with society. “ Of the estimated 744,000 people who are homeless on any given night, 40 to 45 percent of them have a serious mental illness”(Nichols). The stereotype associated with all homeless people is really nothing more than a small, noticeable statistic. What makes it a hard to help the populous of homeless people with mental illnesses is a person willing to accept the burden and another to donate the necessary funds to aid the particular person’s illness. It has to be harder to live homeless and have a mental illness tacked onto the situation because it is easier for a ready and willing society to shun them. Million Dollar Murray Blog
For some homeless people it is not a question of being reintroduced into society, but whether they even want to change their lifestyle. For example, Christopher McCandless, the main character of the nonfiction novel Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer, adopted the homeless vagabond lifestyle in order to escape society and all of its peculiar quarks. When it comes down to it, it depends on whether or not the homeless person even wants to come off the streets. They may, perhaps, enjoy or prefer their lifestyle. In other more extreme cases the homeless person is suffering from a mental illness, hindering them from living a life that is agreeable with society. “ Of the estimated 744,000 people who are homeless on any given night, 40 to 45 percent of them have a serious mental illness”(Nichols). The stereotype associated with all homeless people is really nothing more than a small, noticeable statistic. What makes it a hard to help the populous of homeless people with mental illnesses is a person willing to accept the burden and another to donate the necessary funds to aid the particular person’s illness. It has to be harder to live homeless and have a mental illness tacked onto the situation because it is easier for a ready and willing society to shun them.

]]> Comment on Healthcare by sarah.daniels3 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/healthcare-for-the-homeless-and-mentally-ill-a-privilege-or-a-right/#comment-348 sarah.daniels3 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:53:16 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=30#comment-348 <a href="#comment-306" rel="nofollow">@hannah.stroebe</a> I really like how you emphasize that we cannot give up on the homeless, even if they do not want our help. It seems like most people would give up just because a homeless person is not thrilled about receiving help, but the only way we can permanently fix the homeless problem, is by persevering and helping the people who need help. I completely agree with you that we cannot give up on the homeless population just because they don’t want help, but I also think there is a fine line between helping, and forcing people into doing something that they do not want to do. I do not think it is moral to force someone to do something, even if they are in the worst situation possible. I think your argument would be stronger if you added the other side of the story. You mention that we cannot give up on people, even if they say no to help, but I think that there is a difference between not giving up on the person, and going too far. The only way someone will accept help is if they want it, if they don’t want help there is nothing we can do about it. I think the situation that Lopez discusses in terms of Nathaniel, is different. Lopez does not force anything on Nathaniel, he advises and provides options, but everything that Nathaniel does is Nathaniel’s doing, not Lopez’s. I like how you mention that we should give them options, but I think you could go into more detail of what those options might be and how to make those things happen. I think it’s a hard situation when it comes to mentally ill homeless people, but you do not specifically mention a type of homelessness, and if you did, that would make your argument stronger. Looking at different perspectives is always a good way to strengthen your argument. “There are some cases where the homeless person may just want to stay homeless just because they have tried the other route and were not satisfied, but there are cases where the individual does not know any better and just is stubborn and will deny help. Does that mean we listen and let them suffer more?” (Stroebe). We cannot make someone see the other side; they have to make that leap on their own. Furthermore, you’re right, happiness is different for everyone, but again, examples would help your argument. Something like, for example, some people find happiness in the simple things in life, such as food and occasional shelter, and some people find happiness in material things and expensive objects. Some people are content with living out of a bag and moving from night to night. And some people rely on a house and static things in their lives. Examples like those could show more specifically what you’re talking about. “Also I do understand that everyone is the judge of their happiness but don’t you become more and less happy when you experience new things,” (Stroebe). This statement if very broad, and left me wondering what you meant, again, examples would help clear up the uncertainties in your argument and would make if easier for the reader to understand what you’re talking about. @hannah.stroebe
I really like how you emphasize that we cannot give up on the homeless, even if they do not want our help. It seems like most people would give up just because a homeless person is not thrilled about receiving help, but the only way we can permanently fix the homeless problem, is by persevering and helping the people who need help. I completely agree with you that we cannot give up on the homeless population just because they don’t want help, but I also think there is a fine line between helping, and forcing people into doing something that they do not want to do. I do not think it is moral to force someone to do something, even if they are in the worst situation possible.
I think your argument would be stronger if you added the other side of the story. You mention that we cannot give up on people, even if they say no to help, but I think that there is a difference between not giving up on the person, and going too far. The only way someone will accept help is if they want it, if they don’t want help there is nothing we can do about it. I think the situation that Lopez discusses in terms of Nathaniel, is different. Lopez does not force anything on Nathaniel, he advises and provides options, but everything that Nathaniel does is Nathaniel’s doing, not Lopez’s. I like how you mention that we should give them options, but I think you could go into more detail of what those options might be and how to make those things happen. I think it’s a hard situation when it comes to mentally ill homeless people, but you do not specifically mention a type of homelessness, and if you did, that would make your argument stronger. Looking at different perspectives is always a good way to strengthen your argument. “There are some cases where the homeless person may just want to stay homeless just because they have tried the other route and were not satisfied, but there are cases where the individual does not know any better and just is stubborn and will deny help. Does that mean we listen and let them suffer more?” (Stroebe). We cannot make someone see the other side; they have to make that leap on their own.
Furthermore, you’re right, happiness is different for everyone, but again, examples would help your argument. Something like, for example, some people find happiness in the simple things in life, such as food and occasional shelter, and some people find happiness in material things and expensive objects. Some people are content with living out of a bag and moving from night to night. And some people rely on a house and static things in their lives. Examples like those could show more specifically what you’re talking about. “Also I do understand that everyone is the judge of their happiness but don’t you become more and less happy when you experience new things,” (Stroebe). This statement if very broad, and left me wondering what you meant, again, examples would help clear up the uncertainties in your argument and would make if easier for the reader to understand what you’re talking about.

]]> Comment on Healthcare by christofer.gibbs http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/healthcare-for-the-homeless-and-mentally-ill-a-privilege-or-a-right/#comment-347 christofer.gibbs Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:00:49 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=30#comment-347 @danielle.patton, I somewhat disagree with your opinion that Mr. Lopez should have never lied when dealing with Nathaniel. Admittedly, anything that risked breaking the trust between Lopez needed to be weighed carefully. It is not uncommon for homeless people to distrust people, social workers or mental health professionals attempting to offer help to them [Mental Health Journal; Apr2009, Vol. 45 Issue], sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes for paranoid reasons. Nathaniel's distrust of places like Lamp may be a combination of both paranoia and well-founded fear. He has been abused horribly in the past by so-called health professionals, and considering that that mental abuse was piled on top of Nathaniel's existing illness and it's almost miraculous that Lopez was able to get through to him initially at all. Lopez does have to constantly be aware of the trust issue throughout every interaction with Nahthaniel. However, despite all that, I do think that carefully calculated white lies were useful when dealing with Nathaniel, particularly when Steve convinced him to go to his apartment by telling him that was the only place he could hold band practice, can be excusable and perhaps even beneficial. Nathaniel was stuck in a deeply entrenched rut, one that he was initially very unlikely to get out of. If a white lie ultimately served to help him get out of that rut, then it is certainly justifiable. @danielle.patton, I somewhat disagree with your opinion that Mr. Lopez should have never lied when dealing with Nathaniel. Admittedly, anything that risked breaking the trust between Lopez needed to be weighed carefully. It is not uncommon for homeless people to distrust people, social workers or mental health professionals attempting to offer help to them [Mental Health Journal; Apr2009, Vol. 45 Issue], sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes for paranoid reasons. Nathaniel’s distrust of places like Lamp may be a combination of both paranoia and well-founded fear. He has been abused horribly in the past by so-called health professionals, and considering that that mental abuse was piled on top of Nathaniel’s existing illness and it’s almost miraculous that Lopez was able to get through to him initially at all. Lopez does have to constantly be aware of the trust issue throughout every interaction with Nahthaniel. However, despite all that, I do think that carefully calculated white lies were useful when dealing with Nathaniel, particularly when Steve convinced him to go to his apartment by telling him that was the only place he could hold band practice, can be excusable and perhaps even beneficial. Nathaniel was stuck in a deeply entrenched rut, one that he was initially very unlikely to get out of. If a white lie ultimately served to help him get out of that rut, then it is certainly justifiable.

]]> Comment on Media Depiction of the Mentally Ill by chad.sievers http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/media-depiction-of-the-mentally-ill/#comment-346 chad.sievers Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:22:57 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=38#comment-346 @genea.serrano, Mental illness in homeless is certainly a prominent issue and could be a main reason for causing homelessness. It was interesting to read about some of the side effects of schizophrenia. It might be beneficial to elaborate on even more causes of schizophrenia and to get really specific about the disease. This, I think, would help strengthen your response that schizophrenia is a major problem among homeless people. It might also help in the first paragraph to mention, in greater detail, how schizophrenia affects the homeless. How many homeless people have a mental illness and how many have schizophrenia? About one third of all homeless suffer from some sort of mental illness. I think this would help link the first part of your response to the second. I really liked the personal story with regards to schizophrenia. Maybe more elaboration would help catch a reader’s eye. It was a very interesting story and more facts would have been fun to read. Such as where did he serve and what sort of things could have caused this onset of schizophrenia. The German study mentioned in the second paragraph was intriguing but maybe getting more specific about the details of the program would be more interesting. Who funded the project and who organizes the program? The fact that schizophrenia can maybe cause homelessness was interesting but more studies and better research would help make this point much stronger. The program mentioned was also good, but do all professionals agree with Aune’s opinion and studies. The best way to find support for a specific example is to find more people and more studies that agree with Aune’s. The more sources that support this opinion the better and stronger your point will be. When regarding homeless programs for the mentally ill, it would also help to give other opinions and studies that might not agree with these facts. This could allow the reader to be objective when deciding for himself or herself. It would also give a starting point for disproving their programs with specific facts and research. What makes this program the best for people with schizophrenia? I like the idea of narrowing mental illness in homeless to just schizophrenia. I think what is needed to really strengthen your response and your idea is more research. Also, it might be beneficial to expand on different parts of mental illness and how it is related to the homeless. You could also go more in depth on how these different aspects of schizophrenia relate to Nathaniel in The Soloist. Do you think these programs mentioned in your response would help Nathaniel? And, is this program similar to the one Lopez wants for Nathaniel? Nathaniel seems to have a positive response to music maybe mentioning other things that have a response on schizophrenia would help. Overall, the ideas in your response are good and interesting. The main thing that I think would help strengthen the paper and ideas is more support. The more examples given on your opinion will make people more likely to be swayed by it. @genea.serrano, Mental illness in homeless is certainly a prominent issue and could be a main reason for causing homelessness. It was interesting to read about some of the side effects of schizophrenia. It might be beneficial to elaborate on even more causes of schizophrenia and to get really specific about the disease. This, I think, would help strengthen your response that schizophrenia is a major problem among homeless people.
It might also help in the first paragraph to mention, in greater detail, how schizophrenia affects the homeless. How many homeless people have a mental illness and how many have schizophrenia? About one third of all homeless suffer from some sort of mental illness. I think this would help link the first part of your response to the second. I really liked the personal story with regards to schizophrenia. Maybe more elaboration would help catch a reader’s eye. It was a very interesting story and more facts would have been fun to read. Such as where did he serve and what sort of things could have caused this onset of schizophrenia.
The German study mentioned in the second paragraph was intriguing but maybe getting more specific about the details of the program would be more interesting. Who funded the project and who organizes the program? The fact that schizophrenia can maybe cause homelessness was interesting but more studies and better research would help make this point much stronger.
The program mentioned was also good, but do all professionals agree with Aune’s opinion and studies. The best way to find support for a specific example is to find more people and more studies that agree with Aune’s. The more sources that support this opinion the better and stronger your point will be. When regarding homeless programs for the mentally ill, it would also help to give other opinions and studies that might not agree with these facts. This could allow the reader to be objective when deciding for himself or herself. It would also give a starting point for disproving their programs with specific facts and research. What makes this program the best for people with schizophrenia?
I like the idea of narrowing mental illness in homeless to just schizophrenia. I think what is needed to really strengthen your response and your idea is more research. Also, it might be beneficial to expand on different parts of mental illness and how it is related to the homeless.
You could also go more in depth on how these different aspects of schizophrenia relate to Nathaniel in The Soloist. Do you think these programs mentioned in your response would help Nathaniel? And, is this program similar to the one Lopez wants for Nathaniel? Nathaniel seems to have a positive response to music maybe mentioning other things that have a response on schizophrenia would help.
Overall, the ideas in your response are good and interesting. The main thing that I think would help strengthen the paper and ideas is more support. The more examples given on your opinion will make people more likely to be swayed by it.

]]> Comment on Media Depiction of Homeless by geri.hall http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/media-depiction-of-homeless/#comment-345 geri.hall Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:22:32 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=36#comment-345 @pierce.ware, Pierce in response to your blog, reguarding Nathaniel's struggles with schizophrenia, I am a bit puzzled when you state that Nathaniel's story was just like so many other homeless peoples. I am not clear on if what you mean is all homeless are schizophrenics or what you are saying is that all homeless were once on their way to becoming a solo violinist. I believe that just as not all people are the same, same goes for schizophrenia and the type of treatments that are used. True that some of the homeless may have a hidden talent within themselves and I’m sure that none of the homeless people had thought when they were smaller that one day they would end up homeless, that is just not a goal people tend strive for. Just like any others persons personal stories if you take the time to sit down or in Steve Lopez's case stand in a tunnel, most likely you will find that almost everyone has an interesting story behind them. In the beginning Steve Lopez was purely interested in Nathaniel for his columns and in the end he had became his friend and that just may be the type of help Nathaniel may need. The fact that Steve Lopez had become Nathaniel friend was a step in the right direction for Nathaniel's recovery. Majority of schizophrenics have a better chance of progressing with some sort of support in most cases it would be a family member or spouce but giving Nathaniel's' condition, being homeless a friend could just as easily take the place of a family member. Being that Nathaniel has a mental disablitly I think that it would be unfair to say that he is happy being out on the streets. Nathaniel may seem alright with being out in the streets day after day but I would think that he would be just as happy anywhere because as long as he is able to play his music he will remain happy. @pierce.ware, Pierce in response to your blog, reguarding Nathaniel’s struggles with schizophrenia, I am a bit puzzled when you state that Nathaniel’s story was just like so many other homeless peoples. I am not clear on if what you mean is all homeless are schizophrenics or what you are saying is that all homeless were once on their way to becoming a solo violinist. I believe that just as not all people are the same, same goes for schizophrenia and the type of treatments that are used. True that some of the homeless may have a hidden talent within themselves and I’m sure that none of the homeless people had thought when they were smaller that one day they would end up homeless, that is just not a goal people tend strive for. Just like any others persons personal stories if you take the time to sit down or in Steve Lopez’s case stand in a tunnel, most likely you will find that almost everyone has an interesting story behind them. In the beginning Steve Lopez was purely interested in Nathaniel for his columns and in the end he had became his friend and that just may be the type of help Nathaniel may need. The fact that Steve Lopez had become Nathaniel friend was a step in the right direction for Nathaniel’s recovery. Majority of schizophrenics have a better chance of progressing with some sort of support in most cases it would be a family member or spouce but giving Nathaniel’s’ condition, being homeless a friend could just as easily take the place of a family member. Being that Nathaniel has a mental disablitly I think that it would be unfair to say that he is happy being out on the streets. Nathaniel may seem alright with being out in the streets day after day but I would think that he would be just as happy anywhere because as long as he is able to play his music he will remain happy.

]]> Comment on US 101 Town Hall Blog by emily.edwards http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/2009/01/22/hello-world/#comment-344 emily.edwards Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:38:37 +0000 #comment-344 @john.scrantom, test @john.scrantom,
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]]> Comment on Media Depiction of the Mentally Ill by brenna.mooney http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/media-depiction-of-the-mentally-ill/#comment-343 brenna.mooney Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:15:38 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=38#comment-343 @sarah.ralls I think it is interesting that you say that once you invest certain amounts of time into someone you become attached. I think that takes a certain person. Not everyone is capable of that kind of emotion. So I don’t think that that it is a completely true statement. I do not understand why you state that it is hard to fulfill someone’s wishes or to keep promises. It’s simple, why would you make promises or fulfill wishes that you wouldn’t be able to make happen? It’s a choice, you can choose to fulfill wishes and make promises, just make them reasonable. Also why is it a problem to become emotionally attached to someone? I understand there are ramifications by getting involved with someone like Nathaniel but I think that by becoming emotionally attached to someone or something strengthens the relationship. It makes it easier for people to trust, for example Nathaniel. Yes it was only supposed to be a couple articles, but when you become consumed by something like Nathaniel’s situation, you are driven to show how amazing you think it is to other people. I just think Lopez was so captivated by Nathaniel’s situation that he wanted to share it with as many people that he could make possible. I do not think that he was expecting what had happened next. He was completely surprised when people sent him letters back saying that they wanted to help, especially when they said they wanted to send Nathaniel instruments. Back to the statement of becoming attached, even if you just read a column about someone, and you’re not actually around them you can become just as attached as the person who is writing the columns. I do agree that Nathaniel became attached to Lopez. I believe that at first he did not want to become attached and he didn’t want to rely on him. It was great that Nathaniel finally had someone to trust, but I do not think that it made things a lot better and that is because of his disease. His schizophrenia blew up normal arguments ten times more than needed. I think the reason Nathaniel felt like he didn’t need help, wasn’t just because of his disease, I think it also had to do with the fact that he was comfortable where he was. I think the idea of being in a place like Lamp scared him because he would be around people all the time and when he would have to leave his room he was scared people were going to steal his things, where as when he lived on the streets he had his cart, which he watched and carted around everywhere he went. Nathaniel has also been let down before, by his father, so I think trusting people is a little different for him. It’s difficult for people like Nathaniel to trust people when they have been let down before especially when they have a disease like schizophrenia. It takes a very strong person to take on the responsibility of helping someone put their life back together. @sarah.ralls
I think it is interesting that you say that once you invest certain amounts of time into someone you become attached. I think that takes a certain person. Not everyone is capable of that kind of emotion. So I don’t think that that it is a completely true statement. I do not understand why you state that it is hard to fulfill someone’s wishes or to keep promises. It’s simple, why would you make promises or fulfill wishes that you wouldn’t be able to make happen? It’s a choice, you can choose to fulfill wishes and make promises, just make them reasonable. Also why is it a problem to become emotionally attached to someone? I understand there are ramifications by getting involved with someone like Nathaniel but I think that by becoming emotionally attached to someone or something strengthens the relationship. It makes it easier for people to trust, for example Nathaniel. Yes it was only supposed to be a couple articles, but when you become consumed by something like Nathaniel’s situation, you are driven to show how amazing you think it is to other people. I just think Lopez was so captivated by Nathaniel’s situation that he wanted to share it with as many people that he could make possible. I do not think that he was expecting what had happened next. He was completely surprised when people sent him letters back saying that they wanted to help, especially when they said they wanted to send Nathaniel instruments. Back to the statement of becoming attached, even if you just read a column about someone, and you’re not actually around them you can become just as attached as the person who is writing the columns.
I do agree that Nathaniel became attached to Lopez. I believe that at first he did not want to become attached and he didn’t want to rely on him. It was great that Nathaniel finally had someone to trust, but I do not think that it made things a lot better and that is because of his disease. His schizophrenia blew up normal arguments ten times more than needed. I think the reason Nathaniel felt like he didn’t need help, wasn’t just because of his disease, I think it also had to do with the fact that he was comfortable where he was. I think the idea of being in a place like Lamp scared him because he would be around people all the time and when he would have to leave his room he was scared people were going to steal his things, where as when he lived on the streets he had his cart, which he watched and carted around everywhere he went. Nathaniel has also been let down before, by his father, so I think trusting people is a little different for him. It’s difficult for people like Nathaniel to trust people when they have been let down before especially when they have a disease like schizophrenia. It takes a very strong person to take on the responsibility of helping someone put their life back together.

]]> Comment on Social Programs : Who Pays? by jera.clark http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/funding-social-programs-for-the-homeless-who-pays/#comment-342 jera.clark Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:04:25 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=29#comment-342 Response to Erica Bader I generally agree with your first statement about how most people think about the homeless as being those who are the outcasts of society. However I do believe this is a changing view due to the condition of our economy and how parents and guardians are loosing their jobs left and right. It is from those stories that the crisis of homelessness is starting to be seen through a different perspective. You talked about the freedom Ranch Maui Incorporated; I was wondering where they got the money from in order to help the homeless? I ponder this because there are many costs when it comes to rehabilitation, not only for the drugs or other treatments methods but also for people to provide the counseling and guidance. I would’ve liked to know more details about the ranch because I find it very intriguing. In this post you also mentioned how everything would in a way be better if there were more homes that the homeless could go to or programs they could be enrolled in. Yes, I do wish this could be a possibility but then again where is the money going to come from? Who is going to be the ones to run the programs and what training are they supposed to have? Overall I believe you state very valid and emotional claims, which is very enticing to the reader such as myself. The only criticism I really have for you is about the whole money issue. You touched on many topics in such a limited amount of space which was tied together very well. Response to Erica Bader

I generally agree with your first statement about how most people think about the homeless as being those who are the outcasts of society. However I do believe this is a changing view due to the condition of our economy and how parents and guardians are loosing their jobs left and right. It is from those stories that the crisis of homelessness is starting to be seen through a different perspective.
You talked about the freedom Ranch Maui Incorporated; I was wondering where they got the money from in order to help the homeless? I ponder this because there are many costs when it comes to rehabilitation, not only for the drugs or other treatments methods but also for people to provide the counseling and guidance. I would’ve liked to know more details about the ranch because I find it very intriguing.
In this post you also mentioned how everything would in a way be better if there were more homes that the homeless could go to or programs they could be enrolled in. Yes, I do wish this could be a possibility but then again where is the money going to come from? Who is going to be the ones to run the programs and what training are they supposed to have?
Overall I believe you state very valid and emotional claims, which is very enticing to the reader such as myself. The only criticism I really have for you is about the whole money issue. You touched on many topics in such a limited amount of space which was tied together very well.

]]> Comment on Social Programs : Who Pays? by kristen.marcure http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/the-soloist/funding-social-programs-for-the-homeless-who-pays/#comment-341 kristen.marcure Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:40:16 +0000 http://blog.montana.edu/universityseminar/?page_id=29#comment-341 <a href="#comment-296" rel="nofollow">@erica.bader1 </a> Erica, you have a great point that if we were to have more types of programs for homeless people then there would be less homeless in the streets. However, as a country, the United States is in an economic standstill. And being in an economic standstill makes it hard to help others when we cannot even help ourselves. The job availability for our country is hopeless; some of the biggest companies are either going bankrupt or on the verge of shutting down. And what used to be affordable housing is making people who were doing good, now homeless. By the reduce amount of jobs and billons of people in our country, it has become almost impossible to make a decent living. By trying to influence people to fund no-profit organizations for homeless people with addictions is becoming almost impossible. Also, is prostitution really a form of homelessness? Even though prostitutes stand on street corners and offer themselves to people for money does not mean they are homeless. But it is an interesting thing to think about, because a person would think since they are earning money then they must have somewhere to live. Most homeless people that I have seen or heard of beg for money, but there are homeless that drink the money they earn away. But most prostitutes portrayed by some kind of media show them living somewhere; it would be very interesting to find the statics of prostitutes that are actually homeless and not just doing it for a job. The United States can only do so much for the homeless. And with our economic standstill it makes it hard to support the homeless and ourselves as well. @erica.bader1

Erica, you have a great point that if we were to have more types of programs for homeless people then there would be less homeless in the streets. However, as a country, the United States is in an economic standstill. And being in an economic standstill makes it hard to help others when we cannot even help ourselves. The job availability for our country is hopeless; some of the biggest companies are either going bankrupt or on the verge of shutting down. And what used to be affordable housing is making people who were doing good, now homeless. By the reduce amount of jobs and billons of people in our country, it has become almost impossible to make a decent living. By trying to influence people to fund no-profit organizations for homeless people with addictions is becoming almost impossible.
Also, is prostitution really a form of homelessness? Even though prostitutes stand on street corners and offer themselves to people for money does not mean they are homeless. But it is an interesting thing to think about, because a person would think since they are earning money then they must have somewhere to live. Most homeless people that I have seen or heard of beg for money, but there are homeless that drink the money they earn away. But most prostitutes portrayed by some kind of media show them living somewhere; it would be very interesting to find the statics of prostitutes that are actually homeless and not just doing it for a job. The United States can only do so much for the homeless. And with our economic standstill it makes it hard to support the homeless and ourselves as well.

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