I read an article that talked about how a lot of mental illness among homeless people is caused by homelessness. Stress hormones increase (no surprise), there’s a lot of sleeplessness, difficulty accessing mental health that is theoretically available to them, lost access to communications (lost or uncharged cell phones) mean doctors can’t call with reminders,…
Sorry I don’t have a citation.
And that is indeed the problem, though I would point out that even with health insurance, it’s difficult to get mental health care.
Or they have some small mental health issues, that make it hard to hold a job and maintain the responsibilities of a household. With a very small amount of help, they could be fine productive citizens. Absent that help, they go into a spiral that results in homelessness, and then descend quickly from there.
Best way to eliminate the homeless problem is to give them homes. Shelters provide little but protection from the elements, and often expose a person to more dangerous or unhealthy issues than sleeping under the stars.
There needs to be a process between these two statements. Otherwise, it’s just a disaster in the making.
I wish I could sleep sitting up. I’ve tried so often. I will get so sleepy I’m starting to fall asleep, but then I’ll feel like I’m falling and jerk awake before I go all the way. After a little bit of that, I get woke up and just start feeling antsy, like I can’t keep still. I’m pretty sure my body is trying to keep me awake, and the only thing that helps is going to bed.
That said, my cousin (who actually became homeless) had no trouble sleeping anywhere, regardless of position. She seemed to have inherited the sleep apnea common on that side of the family. It took a while to find her a place to live, and involved doing things I would have rather not done to speed up the process.
And yet, we are told the reason that medical costs are so high is because of all the homeless people who get health services without paying.
At least, we were told that. I haven’t heard that statement for awhile.
The trick is adequate neck support. If you don’t have it, when you start to fall asleep, your head will flop one way or another, giving you that sensation of falling. Even if you don’t wake up to that, or if you already have your head down, you will wake up with massive cricks in your neck.
Somehow, I doubt that these benches that are designed to keep you from laying down will provide that.
You have to actually fill out paperwork, whick requires an address (like a shelter) to apply for Medicaid. Then unless it’s an emergency you can only go to healthcare providers that accept Medicaid. And you have to keep track of the card that shows you’re eligible for Medicaid. Also you probably need to show photo ID to prove that it’s your Medicaid card. Sometimes states contract out Medicaid to private insure company so you have to both sign up for a managed Medicaid care plan and only go to providers that that accept that specific plan (as opposed to the companies other health plan or Medicaid in general). If that seams hard to follow (& that was a simplified processdescription) imagine how hard it would be for someone who’s homeless, may have mental health issues, and possibly has limited education or English skills.
To answer the op- they sure look effective.
The local tranist authority took away benches entirely at the Frankford Terminal. They now have these steeply angled butt rest things (about 3 feet off the ground, steeply angled as I said and impossible to sleep on).
One FB group I belong to posted pictures of park benches with the middle seat missing and gushed about how now wheelchair users could feel included. I and a few others saw that the real reason was to prevent sleeping on them.
To quote Oscar Wilde
“The rich and the poor are as brothers.”
“Aye. And the name of the rich brother is Cain.”
I think it’s more likely the arm rests are an aid to people with mobility problems, which will be disproportionately represented at a doctor’s office. Sitting down or standing up is much easier when you can brace yourself on an arm rest.
Entirely possible. I’ve also seen other benches with mid-bench arms in areas where homeless people sleeping on them isn’t really a risk: upper floor condo amenity decks, outdoor rec areas with paid admission, etc. I’m in landscape construction so I see a lot of benches. Point really was just that mid-bench armrests certainly can be there to prevent sleeping but aren’t as necessarily “100% hostile design” in the same fashion that floor spikes are or benches with tilted seats that require “Active” sitting or else you’ll slide off.
I spent a couple of months as a homeless guy in London in the mid-1960s. Different times of course and it was in the summer.
Sleeping on benches at night was impossible because the cops just rousted anyone they found. Some people had cardboard setups under bridges, but that was pretty risky. I became nocturnal.
On sunny days, I would take my shirt off and stretch out for a sleep on the grass in a park - no one cared about sunbathers. If it was raining, railway stations were pretty safe. The important thing was to keep clean and tidy.
At night, there was casual work at Covent Garden - then a fruit and veg market. Truck drivers were happy to part with a few shillings for a hand with loading or unloading, and cheap food was available in nearby workman’s cafés. An affordable wash and brushup was available in the station and my suitcase was safe in a locker.
I did spend some days in a squat, but it was too noisy, so I gave that up.
How did you handle it when you were homeless?
This. I pretty much need to brace myself when I stand up due to bad knees.
Also, the clinic I go to has a number of seats that are wider than usual to accommodate people who need the extra room to sit comfortably.
Many of them do, but that’s not going to do them any good if they won’t take their medications.
The armrests may also be there to discourage super-morbidly obese people from sitting there, if a bench isn’t sturdy enough to hold them.
I’d never heard of this until now. It sounds deliberately cruel and in the US it’d be a violation of the ADA, wouldn’t it? And it raises a question—in that situation where do the morbidly obese sit? Seems they are more in need of a seat than most.
I’d assume they’d have their bases covered by simply making sure some seating in the waiting room can accommodate people that are several hundred pounds more than average.
Here’s a 600# and 1000# capacity chair (which appear to look like any other chair and don’t appear to cost any more than any other chair)
https://www.amazon.com/EMMA-OLIVER-Multipurpose-Church-Chairs/dp/B08PZJDHB9
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OCQWZ24
(FTR, I have no idea if obesity has anything to do with this, I was just pointing out that IF it is, chairs like these would likely cover them if there’s an ADA issue)
Yes, it’s not like this hasn’t been tried before. People with severe untreated mental health problems are generally incapable of caring for themselves, much less an apartment. They quickly become rundown buildings that require a lot more upkeep. They also tend to use a lot of police resources.
I’ve never had Medicaid and I’m too young for Medicare, but is this true? You may have to show your card the first time, but once in the system you are set. I couldn’t even tell you where my insurance cards are. When I go to the doctor I’m asked for my birthdate and name. I’ve never had to show any kind of insurance card or ID.
That’s assuming homeless people have a set area where they go to the same couple of places for healthcare.
Kaiser issues insurance cards with bar codes on them. You beep your card every time you do anything with them, including picking up the prescriptions that wouldn’t have been there if a Kaiser doctor hadn’t submitted them. You also have to give your number if you call a customer service line.
So when you go for a checkup, there is a place to scan your card at the check in desk? How about when the nurse comes out to get you? They also ask for my DOB and name to doublecheck.