As a teen in the 80s, I was all about Mtv. In the final years they were constantly talking about the homeless problem. Well shit, I thought, I’m just a kid, didn’t know this was a thing, assumed it always had been.
Yeah, there have always been some people, hobos for example. Post WW2 there was a small population of unsettled people, mostly white men. People of color who were down and out got jailed. Mostly it was older men, disabled and/or suffering from addiction and depending on social security or welfare. There were cheap hotels, “flophouses” and roominghouses in the poorest parts of cities. Old guys staying in such places would be considered housed by today’s standards.
But then in the 80’s things changed. Younger men, and then women, and then whole families became homeless in a way that had never been seen before. Hardworking responsible people unable to get health insurance would lose everything if sick or injured and unable to work, savings taken by medical bills. Veterans with ptsd got no little to no help from the VA. Budget cuts closed psychiatric hospitals and people with chronic and severe mental problems were turned out onto the street, unable to care for themselves. America’s population of “homeless” and “street people” kept growing.
As a teen in the 80s, I was all about Mtv. In the final years they were constantly talking about the homeless problem. Well shit, I thought, I’m just a kid, didn’t know this was a thing, assumed it always had been.
Yeah, there have always been some people, hobos for example. Post WW2 there was a small population of unsettled people, mostly white men. People of color who were down and out got jailed. Mostly it was older men, disabled and/or suffering from addiction and depending on social security or welfare. There were cheap hotels, “flophouses” and roominghouses in the poorest parts of cities. Old guys staying in such places would be considered housed by today’s standards.
But then in the 80’s things changed. Younger men, and then women, and then whole families became homeless in a way that had never been seen before. Hardworking responsible people unable to get health insurance would lose everything if sick or injured and unable to work, savings taken by medical bills. Veterans with ptsd got no little to no help from the VA. Budget cuts closed psychiatric hospitals and people with chronic and severe mental problems were turned out onto the street, unable to care for themselves. America’s population of “homeless” and “street people” kept growing.