• hate2bme@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I am all for helping the homeless but these numbers seem misleading. Now I want to see how much if they also get all of the amenities that come with prison. 3 meals a day and (shitty) healthcare.

    • One_Honest_Dude@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Housing - 10,050 Medicare average cost per beneficiary (2022) - 15,730

      31065-10050-15730 = 5285 remaining for meals, three meals everyday for a year would be $4.83 per meal, low but doable. This assumes the government will be providing everything with no contribution from the individual. Lack of housing is probably the largest impediment to employment, no address or id for job apps, nowhere to shower and be clean, have clean clothes, etc. Addiction is another issue but safe stable housing would be a major help in getting clean as well. So some number of these people will be able to get back on track and start contributing to themselves and society at large.

      I realized after typing I found Medicare instead of Medicaid, it varies by state but average cost per enrollee is 8651, so another 1400 is available in the equation.

      • hate2bme@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        And that is probably on the low end. So even if we round up to $30,000, it’s still less. And the people are better off. I have been a homeless drug addict. It’s a rough life. The only reason I broke free from heroin/fentanyl addiction is because I went to prison. But I also wanted to quit. If someone does not want to quit, they won’t quit.

        Thank you for taking the time to research and do the math. You are a good person.