4 ms·
Read your own sources more carefully. The $40k figure was for homeless people with mental illnesses in NYC (a more expensive subset of homeless, and a more expe
by Camillo 10y ago
Read your own sources more carefully. The $40k figure was for homeless people with mental illnesses in NYC (a more expensive subset of homeless, and a more expensive city than most). The figures given by Mangano later in the article have no citation.
More importantly, you are comparing all the services consumed by mentally ill homeless people in NYC with the homeless budget of the city of SF alone. Look at table 17 in the study [1]. Here is where those $40k came from:
$12,520 NY State Office of Mental Health
$11,596 Medicaid (inpatient)
$2,613 Medicaid (outpatient)
$6,229 NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation
$4,658 NYC Department of Homeless Services
$1,822 US Department of Veteran Affairs
$645 Department of corrections (city)
$368 Department of corrections (state)
Of these, only $11,532 came from the city.
[1] http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=spp_papers http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067...
- quinnchr 10y agoFunding source isn't really relevant. NYC has a guaranteed right to shelter [1], they'd be providing the same services regardless of state funding. [1] https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/30/wealth-poverty/behind-new-yorks-right-shelter-policy https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/30/wealth-poverty/behind...
- johncolanduoni 10y agoPerhaps, but the focus on a specific, more expensive set of homeless people sure is.
- traek 10y agoYes, but it's misleading to compare city+state spending in NYC to solely city spending in SF, and conclude that SF is underspending on the homeless. To be a fair comparison, we'd also have to include what the state of California spends on the homeless.
- quinnchr 10y agoTrue, but as far as I know California has never funded homeless programs at the state level. The only thing listed in the 2015 budget is: "Housing Support Program — The Budget contains $35 million General Fund for CalWORKs Housing Support Program services, an increase of $15 million, which provides additional support to CalWORKs families for whom homelessness is a barrier to self‐sufficiency." Which leaves medicaid spending, which according to my previous source only 20% of the homeless population in SF receive. Assuming medicaid pays the same amount poer person as in NYC that would bring the per capita homeless expenditure to about $35000.
- mdorazio 10y agoThis is no longer the case. The state recently approved $2B in funding to build and maintain housing for the mentally ill homeless [1]. That's close to $70k per homeless person with mental illness, or an additional $17,500 per homeless person if we don't group by mental illness. [1] http://fox40.com/2016/06/27/california-lawmakers-approve-2-billion-for-homeless-housing/ http://fox40.com/2016/06/27/california-lawmakers-approve-2-b...
- reid_fatman 10y agoExactly. People are "homeless" because it makes economic sense for them to be homeless.
- aminok 10y agoWhy does Thailand have so fewer mentally ill and drug addicted homeless, despite its government spending so much less on social programs for the homeless?
- afarrell 10y agoPerhaps for the same reason that head injury rates were lower in WWI before steel helmets were introduced: the mortality rate was higher.