Housing Hope CEO is wrong; homelessness result of bad choices

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, October 18, 2022

In a recent story (“Housing Hope CEO reflects on 25-year career helping unseltered people,” The Herald, Oct. 5), the CEO, Fred Safstrom says, “People used to believe homelessness was caused by bad choices.” I have to disagree with that. Unless you are born mentally disabled or with the world’s worst and longest string of bad luck, the only thing that leads to long-term homelessness is bad choices. The only reason “minds and policies” are changing is because liberals are pushing it.

If you go to school, stay in school; learn at least the basics of what they attempt to teach you, obey basic laws, stay out of jail, stay off drugs, don’t drink to excess, don’t create children you didn’t intend to create, develop something resembling a work ethic, choose your friends wisely, save some of the money you make, work your way up in the job market (entry level McDonalds jobs are not career positions) and do things in your life that you may not want to do but should; like get up and go to work every day; then you will significantly reduce the chances of being homeless. And that’s just the basics.

Richard Quint

Everett