Discussion about this post

User's avatar
JUDY L's avatar

I agree with John. The direction Palm Bay is taking is not helping the tax paying residents that fund the city budget. The more affordable housing, homelessness programs etc. we provide, the more it will attract. Palm Bay needs to raise the median income to attract desired and needed businesses to our city, not lower it. Has anyone asked "What is Suntree or Viera doing about homelessness?" Palm Bay needs an overhaul in thinking.

Expand full comment
John's avatar

Compassion should not be as much a Government function as it should be more a faith based community outreach. Government is for enforcement, such as stop the panhandling at busy intersections. Many of these folks need full-time medical care and need a place to be cared for, while others just need a job to get back on their feet. What is needed is a program that can detect and separate the truly mentally ill from the able bodied person. The States use to provide metal institutions for the mentally insane. That all ended in the 70's and 80's and that is when the homeless problem started to grow across the country. The responsibility of caring for the mentally ill should be the States to house these people in institutions where they have a warm place to live and get the proper food. For the ones that need to recover from drugs and alcohol can be addressed locally and be placed in a work program to help them provide for themselves. Many of the people who panhandle make very good money for doing so. We need to take away that incentive, and focus on the truly mentally ill and get them a safe and clean place to live and be cared for on a State level. Local communities can't meet the need to provide housing for people who can't care for themselves.

Expand full comment
1 more comment...

No posts