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[ “If that was my brother or my stepdad or let’s say whoever — or somebody I loved and they were down and out — is this how I would want them to be treated? No,” said Illeng. “It is cruel.”

If a relative of mine were that down and out, I wouldn’t have them living on the streets. I would bring them into my house or apartment. ]

I have to wonder how many homeless would be taken in by families if they just asked... sadly many are mentally ill and would never even think to ask.

I'm not saying all, but *many* of the homeless have close relatives with whom they refuse to live, or who refuse to live with them.

Why? Because many of them --- not all --- are very hard to live with. They drink and they stink, they drop lighted cigarettes hither and thither, they make messes,they leave trash wherever they go, they fight, they yell and cuss, they steal things from each other, they're paranoid and go around mumbling and making menacing remarks, they accost you, they scare you.

A lot of it is due to the whole gamut of mental illnesses. A good deal of it is attributable to drugs.

It is pathetic, and sure, it'd break your heart if it were somebody you loved. That doesn't mean you can invite them into your home.

Some of them can live peaceably. And for some, it's an on-and-off thing: sometimes serene and friendly, sometimes crazy as rats.

There are reasons their parents, brothers, exes, adult children, don't want them in the house.

There needs to be protective, controlled-living residential placements for such as these. Mental asylums.

Churches, here's your mission: step up.

You are so correct. My wife deals with them every day at a mental healthcare facility.

A couple weeks ago, she ask if I had any shoes/boots that I no longer wanted since they had homeless people out on the streets walking around in 115 degree weather-ON THE CEMENT!

I gave her every dang shoe/boot I could find that I had not worn in a long time.

And yet I work part time for a guy who is going to Africa for a Christian Outreach org to do things like that. I blow up at him. WTH? We got mentally challenged homeless here in the USA and he is going over to Africa to help those?

Be not deceived. Many homeless are homeless by choice, could live with family if they wanted to. The resistance is that families tend to want you to act like a decent person, don’t get drunk or stoned, wash, use the toilet like any normal would.

Parents are like fascists, man...