Posted by Cecil on October 29, 1999 at 11:47:57:
I see the world as one great big huge ball of people who are in a constant state of bickering about resource allocation. We're all trying to get something, for ourselves.
Then we put a bunch of labels on the groups and categories of what everyone is bickering over. For example, the reason why we ahve the label 'homeless' or 'transitional living' is because the people in the human body brokerage business need a label for their human body niche market, which are humans that meet their 'income-level-requirement'. If these people were to 'rise above' their income level requirement, the brokers' market would shrink thus, make them lose their jobs, which, if the brokers' get paid per 'shipment'/movement/transportation on these homeless objects, then their incentive is only naturally to increase the stay of homeless objects (the transportation of shipping them around from one place to another). To show the governamental bodies a decrease in numbers per bed, would be to lose a chance of a greater budget next year around. Therefore the incentive to keep shelters/nursing home/mental institutions 'outcast' objects filled up to capacity is only natural to expect when the incentives are designed to keep the beds full.
If you are a 'guest' and your goal is to leave, you won't be able to leave until they get a replacement for your bed, if you are in a tight market. If you are in a big market, then you will get expected to get shipped out and around and 'referred' to another agency so they can meet their numbers of 'people helped'.
In all mental institutions and shelters, an empty bed 'signals' a lower future budget, which most certainly should be kept from occuring, lest you lose your job and 'status' as having the greatest budget and resource control in your industry of specialty.
Thus, numerous rules and regulations get designed to either prevent, slow down, or speed up and hasten guest's ('outcast' objects) length of stay.
Depending upon current market conditions, a guest will either be informed of 'extensions', if fear of slow market is on the outlook, or not informed of 'extensions' if a big 'market' is on the rise.
This is alwayas hard to do, because shelters, mental institutions, jails, and nursing homes are in a constant state of competition with each other, as you can easily read their biggest PR agents, the local newspapers where they reside, that always have 'urgent' fear-provoking articles that 'predict' a rise in 'outcasts' (homeless/transitional people).
Going to Washington DC and trying to pass legislation is a joke. Lobbying is just another business. The only thing that controls anything is the markets, what is in supply and demand. And how people get paid. How resources get allocated. That's why eveyone tries to get their hands on budgets, so they can control who does what and when and how.
This is what life is.
And to seek 'help' from 'advocates' whose job is to help you squeeze their own market so they can be left out of a job is an oxymoron.
Cecil