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I think it's incredibly insensitive to assume that just because the weather is nice that people are fine being homeless. Homelessness is by and large a product

I think it's incredibly insensitive to assume that just because the weather is nice that people are fine being homeless. Homelessness is by and large a product of mental health issues, and a lack of a good mental health system. >only so many people willing to be homeless... right, because so much of the homeless population just needs to try harder. If this is how people really see the issue it's no wonder that its still an issue.

tmpz22 8y ago
How would you explain homelessness in countries with much better access to mental health services? Homelessness is a combination of issues like mental health services, housing prices, social safety nets, and much, much more. The real question scares people to even think about: what is the real price of ending the homeless epidemic and are we as a society actually willing to pay it? What if housing prices had to cut in half and taxes had to double? What if funding had to increase by 50x? What if 1:5 families had to accept a homeless person into their spare bedroom?
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  > Homelessness is a combination of issues like mental health services, housing prices, social safety nets, and much, much more. The elephant in the room is drug use. Nobody wants to admit it, but most of the problems that the non-homeless experience with the homeless are related to drug use and mental health issues.
LanceH 8y ago
Then, apparently, nice weather causes mental health issues.
maxxxxx 8y ago
If I were homeless I definitely would move to CA or Florida to avoid the winter.
conanbatt 8y ago
I think it is an important concept to understand that the state of california cant reasonably fix this. If san francisco opened a state mental hospital for its homeless population, then all california counties would send people to them. And if california did, then all states would. Mental health does need some sort of federal solution.
- xienze 8y ago
  > If san francisco opened a state mental hospital for its homeless population, then all california counties would send people to them Well, why not take that first step? I see the "we need more mental hospitals" solution trotted out over and over again but it seems that these cities spend a fortune doing everything for the homeless _but_ tackle mental health. Is your concern really that creating mental hospitals would attract too many homeless, moreso than the current policy of providing free drug paraphernalia, safe places to do drugs, lax drug law enforcement, lax attitudes towards panhandling, shelter, good weather, etc.?
  - conanbatt 8y ago
    That the cost of a single mental patient can rack up tens of thousands of dollars a month. Multiply by 10k homeless, you get a fiscal hole, and then you might end up with more nominal homeless on the streets because they are sent to the facilty that cant take them.
kornish 8y ago
I think that's an uncharitable interpretation. The tradeoff isn't between homelessness and not-homelessness, it's between being homeless in Denver and being homeless in SF. There are cities which literally put their homeless on a bus to the Bay Area [0]. [0]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2017/dec/20/bussed-out-america-moves-homeless-people-country-study https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2017/dec/...
rsync 8y ago
You have misunderstood my comment. I am saying that to whatever degree someone is already homeless, they may be less willing to stay somewhere with life threatening weather than somewhere without it. I agree with you that these people are mentally ill. "right, because so much of the homeless population just needs to try harder" I never said that, or anything that implied that.
eanzenberg 8y ago
Its not about the weather but about the liberalism found in CA coastal cities (Santa Cruz has the highest homelessness per resident). This means more willingness to give to panhandlers which invites more to the area.
eindiran 8y ago
Very few people are "fine" being homeless anywhere and I don't think this is what OP was trying to say. But if you're choosing between being homeless in Chicago and being homeless in LA or San Francisco, one of the options is much more attractive. There's a reason that newspapers in San Francisco don't have to report the number of people who froze to death each winter, which absolutely happens each year in Chicago.
segmondy 8y ago
I spoke to a homeless guy I often saw around many years ago as we were approaching winter in Michigan. I asked how he fares during the winter. He laughs and tells me that they mostly migrate South or West. That's right! They head to Florida or California. I still tipped him and sure enough I didn't see him winter time but he was back around June.
briandear 8y ago
So why does San Francisco have more homeless than Houston?
- hcknwscommenter 8y ago
  because Houston is intolerably hot and the mosquitoes will eat you alive.

tmpz22 8y ago

How would you explain homelessness in countries with much better access to mental health services? Homelessness is a combination of issues like mental health services, housing prices, social safety nets, and much, much more. The real question scares people to even think about: what is the real price of ending the homeless epidemic and are we as a society actually willing to pay it? What if housing prices had to cut in half and taxes had to double? What if funding had to increase by 50x? What if 1:5 families had to accept a homeless person into their spare bedroom?

toasterlovin 8y ago
> Homelessness is a combination of issues like mental health services, housing prices, social safety nets, and much, much more. The elephant in the room is drug use. Nobody wants to admit it, but most of the problems that the non-homeless experience with the homeless are related to drug use and mental health issues.

LanceH 8y ago

Then, apparently, nice weather causes mental health issues.

maxxxxx 8y ago

If I were homeless I definitely would move to CA or Florida to avoid the winter.

conanbatt 8y ago

I think it is an important concept to understand that the state of california cant reasonably fix this. If san francisco opened a state mental hospital for its homeless population, then all california counties would send people to them. And if california did, then all states would. Mental health does need some sort of federal solution.

xienze 8y ago
> If san francisco opened a state mental hospital for its homeless population, then all california counties would send people to them Well, why not take that first step? I see the "we need more mental hospitals" solution trotted out over and over again but it seems that these cities spend a fortune doing everything for the homeless _but_ tackle mental health. Is your concern really that creating mental hospitals would attract too many homeless, moreso than the current policy of providing free drug paraphernalia, safe places to do drugs, lax drug law enforcement, lax attitudes towards panhandling, shelter, good weather, etc.?
- conanbatt 8y ago
  That the cost of a single mental patient can rack up tens of thousands of dollars a month. Multiply by 10k homeless, you get a fiscal hole, and then you might end up with more nominal homeless on the streets because they are sent to the facilty that cant take them.

kornish 8y ago

I think that's an uncharitable interpretation. The tradeoff isn't between homelessness and not-homelessness, it's between being homeless in Denver and being homeless in SF. There are cities which literally put their homeless on a bus to the Bay Area [0]. [0]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2017/dec/20/bussed-out-america-moves-homeless-people-country-study https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2017/dec/...

rsync 8y ago

You have misunderstood my comment. I am saying that to whatever degree someone is already homeless, they may be less willing to stay somewhere with life threatening weather than somewhere without it. I agree with you that these people are mentally ill. "right, because so much of the homeless population just needs to try harder" I never said that, or anything that implied that.

eanzenberg 8y ago

Its not about the weather but about the liberalism found in CA coastal cities (Santa Cruz has the highest homelessness per resident). This means more willingness to give to panhandlers which invites more to the area.

eindiran 8y ago

Very few people are "fine" being homeless anywhere and I don't think this is what OP was trying to say. But if you're choosing between being homeless in Chicago and being homeless in LA or San Francisco, one of the options is much more attractive. There's a reason that newspapers in San Francisco don't have to report the number of people who froze to death each winter, which absolutely happens each year in Chicago.

segmondy 8y ago

I spoke to a homeless guy I often saw around many years ago as we were approaching winter in Michigan. I asked how he fares during the winter. He laughs and tells me that they mostly migrate South or West. That's right! They head to Florida or California. I still tipped him and sure enough I didn't see him winter time but he was back around June.

briandear 8y ago

So why does San Francisco have more homeless than Houston?

hcknwscommenter 8y ago
because Houston is intolerably hot and the mosquitoes will eat you alive.