大俠行天下日記 我見我聞我思 09/03

休斯敦流浪漢在抗議中

休斯敦市政府以六千五百萬元預算在两年中協助解決流浪漢問題， 在疫情期間協助他們之居所和飲食 ，由于疫情關係 ，原本每週四天在市立圖書館廣場上發放食物之計劃已経停止了一年多， 隨著疫情之減緩 ，本週內市立圖書館將再開放， 但是市政府決定將不让救災單位在廣場上繼續發送食物 ，因而引起流浪漢們的示威抗議。

目前在大休斯敦地區大約有超過五千名的流浪人口， 他們許多都在高速公路桥下或公共場所紥棚為家， 或在許多十字路沿路乞討， 已經成為社會上令人厭惡之現象， 就在此時 ，德州州議會通過法律授權各地方政府加強對流浪漢之管理並對許多越軌行罰款懲戒。

美國许多民主黨執政的州市政府比較同情弱勢， 尤其對流浪漢們有許多特殊之優待， 以致在洛杉磯、舊金山、芝加哥和休斯敦等大城市造成巨大的困擾。

我們要呼籲政府有關單位對此問題加強整顿 。其中包括對那些身體健康这給予再職訓練。 建造集中型之住所，來管理這些失業者。

政府之福利政策有些是在養懶人， 他們依賴救濟也會造成社會之不安， 是非常嚴重的社會問題。

   Houston’s Homeless Problem Is A Social Issue

After the pandemic hit the Houston library, it has been shut down since 2005. “Houston Food Not Bombs” has provided meals four nights per week at the library’s plaza. Now the downtown library will open soon, but the group was told they will no longer be welcome there.

The city wants to relocate the group to the property nearby the municipal court, but the homeless people said they have a right to be out in the public space just as much as we do.

Over the last year, the City of Houston and Harris County have worked with the Coalition for Homeless to create a COVID-19 Homeless Housing Program. With a $65 million budget, it will help more than 5,000 homeless in the Houston area.

Today the state of Texas has just passed a law banning homeless encampments on public property and it will go into effect on September 1^st. Violators could be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and could be fined up to $500 dollars.

We are urging the government to solve the fundamental problem to retrain these homeless people in order to let them get back into the job market. We also need to build homes for them in specific areas to provide them with a safe shelter.

This is a very serious social issue. In our nation today many people have become homeless because they want to depend only on government help, especially in big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston.