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Post by kaima on Dec 30, 2008 15:58:58 GMT -7
Conservatives .... Their solutions range from faith based facilities(which will apply for government grants to finance their programs, no answer to the tax dollar problem) extreme measures like incarceration, forcible commitment to a mental health program That conflicts a bit with the actions of Reagan when he closed many mental institutions and the marginally capable were set free to take care of themselves - and increased out homeless rate many times over. Sometimes government is the problem, sometimes rigid adherence to political dogma is the problem .... In Anchorage, Alaska we are supposed to have about 5,000 homeless (in a city of about 300,000). That is a larger population than most of our villages.
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Post by freetobe on Dec 30, 2008 22:29:26 GMT -7
Kai, You may want to read this www.sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.htmlVery interesting paper on the Reagan administrations mental health policy and why it led to the debacle of homeless in America. "Conservative fiscal policy ala Reagan" has more to do with helping big business than conservative aka right wing ideology. What we have today is a conservative population that wants change, but is unwilling to pay the price. Just make the problem go away but don't ask me to pay for it. The move toward easing confinement of the mentally ill began in the 1960's and continued into the 70's. At first it seemed a good idea, but when the fiscal responsibility for it was transferred to the states, (during the Reagan years)the Feds walked away from it, and there was no money or programs in place to assist the released patients outside the institution. Consequently, the stuff hit the fan. Let's fast forward to the present. Conservative, law and order Americans still espouse the same old same old which makes no sense. Involuntary commitment of the homeless mentally ill is not an option unless the family or the state requests it and it must be proven that the individual is a danger to him/her self or others. So here we are back to square one. Where does the money come from to pay for this? These are tough times and likely will get tougher. I hope there are plenty of card board boxes and caves in Anchorage for the 5000 homeless so they may happily survive the winter.
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 31, 2008 0:52:30 GMT -7
Tufta, you mention that in rural Poland that homelessness/addiction is not a big issue/problem and imply that it is likely because of strong family connection. Could you expand on what that theory is about and the criteria used to prove it? I am curious as I am not acquainted with any research on the subject. That is not to say that none has been published. I have been out of the field for some years and am not as up to date as I once was. Thanks. Freetobe, in rural Poland alcoholic addiction is a major problem, together with unemployment. But it seems the people living in the villages care for those drinking and unemployed , as there's almost no homelessness there. Also, the aged people are being care of till the very end at home. These phenomena are said to be linked to the stronger family bonds in the rural parts compared to heavily industrialized and urbanized regions of the country. I cannot direct you to any specific scientific sources here as this knowledge I have acquired directly from a great man, who helped the homeless and unemployed and addicted the most in Poland. His name is Marek Kotański. He is not with us anymore, died in car accident. But his NGO organisation is alive and doing well. Here it is www.monar.org/index.htmlYou can see Marek Kotański's pic in the upper-right corner.
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 31, 2008 0:55:35 GMT -7
Freetobe, have you heard about the same phenomenon i.e. less homelessness and stronger family bonds, in the central parts of the United States. (I don't want to use the term Mid-Western states.)?
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Post by freetobe on Dec 31, 2008 21:41:25 GMT -7
Tufta, In so called Middle America the greatest secrets "lie". FYI Bill Wilson and his co founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, "Dr.Bob" met in a small town in Middle America. The organization known today through out the world as AA began when these two drunks got together, conceived the notion that recovery from alcoholism could be achieved by groups of drunks meeting together to talk about their addiction to alcohol in hope that the sharing of their struggles, failures and successes in trying to conquer it. The members primary purpose for meeting was a desire to stop drinking and help others to achieve sobriety. To this day,there is not a program for recovery that can match it. Their program is an instrumental part of any thereputic treatment for addictive disease. I can tell you that rural America is as troubled by alcohol abuse as rural Poland and our families are strong in their support of their loved ones afflicted by this disease. So far that has not been found to be the answer. It is a far more profound problem that is not resolved only by strong family connections. I would like to know more about Marek Kotanski, but I do not speak or read Polish. Perhaps you can recommend a publication in English? Book, magazine or such.
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Post by tuftabis on Jan 2, 2009 3:14:27 GMT -7
. I would like to know more about Marek Kotanski, but I do not speak or read Polish. Perhaps you can recommend a publication in English? Book, magazine or such. Freetobe/Joan, did you inspect the English language part of the link I posted earlier? Click on history. In the meantime I'll ask people that might know and I will let you know.
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Post by freetobe on Jan 2, 2009 19:33:58 GMT -7
Tufta, Sorry I missed the English flag on the link. Marek seems to be another Bill W, updated Polish version. It gives hope that at least some of the suffering can be eased by his works. Wilson was a wonder in his time. Then the major addiction was alcohol and mainly known by his AA for helping white middle and upper class men who had hit the skids. What is most important about his work is that it was done with out any financial assistance from Government. The AA modality for addiction continues to be used today in treatment for all substance abuse programs in the States. Granted, research into addictive disease has revealed genetic factors which may result in addiction no matter the strength of the family unit. I am convinced that as long as the addictive diseases continue to be viewed as a social/ behavioral problem then there is only limited possibilities for successful treatment. I won't touch on the financial costs.
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Post by freetobe on Jan 2, 2009 23:18:26 GMT -7
Tufta, Been reading a ton of material on Poland's substance abuse program, "The State Agency for Alcohol Related Problems" presents a very impressive description of what they are about but I'm left with the impression that the success rate is about the same as in the States, i.e. nobody knows for sure because tracking success/failure rates are unreliable. The best "ESTIMATED" success rate of similar U.S. programs is 15%. As I've said before, there is a better chance of a cancer cure than one for addictive disease.
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Post by tuftabis on Jan 3, 2009 1:25:38 GMT -7
Hey Freetobe, this was the next link I had for you! But you already know their work. www.parpa.pl/parpaeng/ Marek Kotański was less interested or devoted to the cure of alcoholic addiction per se , more to drugs addiction. And most of all to helping the homeless people get out from homelessness. He was not an addict himself, which I believe was the case with the AA creators. He was a psychologist, and... a hippie in his youth. But since the main reason of homelessness in Poland is alcoholic addiction, which is hardly curable, and being sober is prerequisite for being given a place to live by our NGOs ( to be precise - building it yourself), here we have a vicious circle...
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