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Comment by CapstanRoller | Hacker News Reader

>There’s plenty of free cash/food/shelter around for those who need it.

There's plenty, but very little is actually given to those who need it.

Ironically, the most recent survey in the special unhoused enforcement zone near me found that the number of people living on the streets was almost identical to the number of empty beds at the shelter.

A lot of homeless people don't go to shelters because they can be more dangerous than sleeping on the street

I really can't imagine how having a tiny home with 4 walls and a door with a 24/7 security guard would be more dangerous than a tent on the sidewalk. I do know that 1-2 people per month get kicked out of the shelter for fighting, but not sure how that compares to life on the streets.

I think a bigger factor is that the tiny homes limit how much stuff you can bring (aka 1 bike per person, cant build your own structures on the land, no drugs, etc), which seems to be the most common reason people gave for not wanting to go.

> I really can't imagine how having a tiny home with 4 walls and a door with a 24/7 security guard would be more dangerous than a tent on the sidewalk

One: many homeless people feel dehumanized by how they're treated by the staff, and

Two: homeless shelters are full of homeless people

>a tiny home with 4 walls and a door with a 24/7 security guard

You are not describing any homeless shelter that I've ever seen. Usually they are very crowded communal sleeping facilities with barely any security and zero privacy. Theft and assault are a common occurrence.

Cash is more likely to be nefariously hopped on than computers, especially when the resale market for the computers is destroyed.

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