118 Comments

As a former homeless person, I dare ANY of those holier-than-thou asshats to spend a week on the streets with no money and nowhere to live...no one ASKS to be homeless, most of the time it's just unforeseen circumstances that makes them into someone that society thinks brought this onto themselves. Things look a whole hell of a lot different when you're not in your ivory towers, trust me.

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As a former homeless person, I must agree. It wasn't my choice to sleep on the streets some nights, but that's what I had to do on occasion. This Court disgusts me.

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I’m sorry to hear that, Rich.

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This is horrific. The majority of homeless people in our country need HELP, not punishment!

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Louder for the people at the back!

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In line with the Republican ethos of "fuck poor people". Since they can't profit from them, let's make them illegal.

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Actually, they can only profit from them by jailing them, since the 13th Amendment only allows slavery as punishment for criminal acts. So by saying that the homeless can be arrested means that the for-profit prisons can make money on them.

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Isn’t that what debtor’s prisons were?

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"can't profit from them as customers, lets profit from turning them into consumers of the prison system"

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We need affordable housing! We need Mental healthcare hospitals. Something is terribly wrong with our society going back the Reagan years! He closed the facilities in California as Governor and then nation wide as President.

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Yep it all goes back to the Reagan Administration, that’s why the Cruel Christian Republicans love him. Oh and in case someone thinks churches will step in and let homeless sleep there, yeah Joel Osteen moved quickly to close his church to hurricane victims so extremely doubtful.

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To what kind of facilities are you referring?

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Mental Health hospitals. If you notice many people living on the streets have significant mental illnesses. Many psychiatric meds have harsh side effects. Jail is now the substitute for mental healthcare. Our police shouldn’t have to manage it.

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And yes, when I was homeless, I noticed that a significant portion of those in the shelter with me had various mental illnesses. It's not good that they have nowhere to go to get better.

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I don’t think it’s right to not care for those among us who need help. They should be allowed their dignity. It breaks my soul to see this.

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Okay. I thought it better to ask than to assume. I was hoping you were not referring to institutions for people with intellectual and development disabilities. The timeline you described is similar to the one for shutting down those, so I asked an open-ended question. Thank you.

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Not at all. I had a schizophrenic stepson. His illness was so hard. His delusions were terrible. He hurt himself. As an adult we couldn’t help him. He needed inpatient care.

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I hope I was able to answer your question.

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You did

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Isn’t it amazing how many people don’t know this? Reagan essentially defunded Mental Health,

those ill without supports, without anyone monitoring meds or how they were doing, is it a surprise they ended up in the streets?

Reagan wasn’t good for California but we elected the celebrity president over all states.

We should have learned but we didn’t. In 2016 we elected a celebrity who wasn’t good for anyone or anything and here we are with his handpicked Supreme Court Jackals declaring homelessness a crime.

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Homeless shelters are always full. Foster care is filled with more than half a million kids no one wants. Animal shelters kill animals.

Do better!!!

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Agree

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I have worked with the unsheltered in Phoenix for over 8 years. There are many reasons for being unsheltered. There is no simple solution or one-size for all action. I’ve spoken to people who work 2-3 jobs and can’t pay 2 months rent to get shelter. I speak to those unable to work who would love to be in a more traditional home, but don’t have the support from anywhere to do that. 😡

I’ve seen a lot of mental health issues and addiction issues. Those with pets who are their family might not go to a shelter without their pets. 🐶🐱

It is a heartbreaking issue and we’ve seen a lot of people die at early ages. The heat in Phoenix caused 645 deaths in 2023, with the homeless population accounting for 45% of those deaths. 🥺

Groups like mine (Atheists Helping the Homeless-Phoenix) [Sorry God] are a stop gap. We are often told to stop and let the large non-profits and government agencies “fix” the issue. I always reply that as long as one person shows up for what we do, we’ll be there for them.

Thanks for the soapbox. ❤️

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Good to know you are doing what you can to help! Thank you.

Our group (Justa Center) is also in Phoenix and know exactly what you are telling people about this issue. Working together, many of us are called to help in community.

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Definitely hear good things about Justa Center! Thanks for all you do.

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Jesus himself was homeless in his adult life. He ended up being treated like a criminal, but not for being homeless!!

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That’s right Pamela, Jesus stayed in friends houses. Did not have extra clothes. We must care for the stranger, orphan and widow. We must have a heart for our neighbors.

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Making decisions from atop their stacks of silver coins is remarkably evil. Knowing that these people were appointed by the ringmaster of evil himself says to me that now that he is a convicted felon, their appointments should be null and void. Along with their decisions.

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Supreme Court justices can be impeached, too. Especially for corruption (Clarence Thomas) and for not recusing themselves when they can’t be impartial (Samuel Alito (flags supporting traitors) and Clarence Thomas (his wife was part of the planning for January 6 and was texting the former President’s Chief of Staff during January 6).

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YES!!

But what are the odds it will happen? We are on a slippery slope and no one is tossing any lifelines.

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Thanks for bringing that up Elysse. Love your name

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Seems like it should be, but now they’re in control.

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You speak the truth there.

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Agree.

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The "justices" ( if you can call them that) who voted for this have ulterior motives. I believe they are in in Project 2025. I believe they will do whatever they can to end democracy in the United States and install Trump as dictator. The US, as we know it, will cease to exist. It will become another Nazi Germany.

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Maybe they own shares in private prison companies?

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All that I was taught in church as a child has vanished like smoke from a candle. The words of compassion have evaporated and have been replaced by vile and noxious words.

We have no remaining morals in SCOTUS, and if the orange anus eliminates the constitution, he needs to take the court and bury them in their robes as they are burying humanity.

God have mercy.

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Same here. Christianity really took a beating in late ‘70. So much hate and judgement.

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Incredibly reprehensible. People that are homeless need our help not be considered criminals.

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From God’s best seller:

“He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Proverbs 14:31 (NIV)

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because of the Supreme Court, the US is the laughingstock of the whole world

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Trying. The only way to get to these corrupt judges is via the Senate and we don’t have a filibuster-proof majority. We have to work on that while we still can. We have to vote for every Democrat running and in the future we have to run good, strong candidates in the future. Let no republican go unchallenged!

God, can you lend a hand here?

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FYI Supreme Court justices can also be impeached for corruption

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Yes, I know that but again, that road goes through the Senate.

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So when will that start? Never!!

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A few of them need to be removed. Two in particular, for me. Three if you count the TFG appointees

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Very many of the homeless are mentally ill. Inadequate as it was, in the past such people were warehoused in State Hospitals, until it became too expensive. They were farmed out to Group Homes and Nursing Homes until that got too expensive. And now? They are criminals? Prisons? Jails? Let’s talk some more about “too expensive”!

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The US has criminalized being unhoused and our country has effectively criminalized mental illness, too, because most of us can’t access mental health care. It’s shameful and it doesn’t represent what most people in the US believe is the right thing to do.

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Agreed. The priorities are all wrong here.

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It breaks my heart

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I believe Reagan wanted to give tax breaks to rich folks so it was OK to street the most vulnerable. Surely we’ve evolved enough to care for those who cannot care for themselves.

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Homeless people need help, not jail. Jail does not help. The current Supreme Court is a farse paid for by entitled, false profits, rich white men with billionaire friends to pay for the destruction of the country. 😡

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