Have you heard about the new Dallas homeless center, The Bridge? It's supposed to be the be-all and end-all in taking care of the hardcore homeless. What's different about The Bridge? No rules -- I kid you not, no rules!
You see, the reason some of these folks don't get help is because they're intimidated and they're not capable of following rules. So at the Bridge, they don't have to pay anything and they don't have to go to rehab. Officials say it will be "tough to get kicked out." Many of their expected clients have been barred from other shelters for not following rules. Jay Dunn, the center's managing director, said, "We're not going to write people off. The reason why a lot of people have been experiencing long-term homelessness is not because they haven't had opportunities but because they haven't been able to make those opportunities work." Huh? I'm not sure I know what that means, but I think it means that you can offer most of these people all kinds of services and programs, but it generally doesn't change a thing.
Mr. Dunn needs to get rid of his rose-colored glasses. I don't think he's had much experience with the homeless. The sad fact is, most of those people are homeless because they won't work, they won't give up their drugs and alcohol, and/or they can't get along with people. With no rules, how long do you think it's going to be before this $21 million facility is trashed and the neighbors are complaining to city hall about the problems they're experiencing from the bums hanging around their doors? Not long -- The Dallas Morning News reports that a fight broke out at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Oh, and they do have some rules -- the police stopped the fight.
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