I'm not defending the practice, but it's disingenuous to suggest that it solves nothing. Ostensibly it's a means by which the city can determine which programs

I'm not defending the practice, but it's disingenuous to suggest that it solves nothing. Ostensibly it's a means by which the city can determine which programs are most effective at getting the homeless population off the streets which I think is a laudable goal. As illustrated by the article, there's no shortage of money, but that money doesn't seem to be effective in addressing an issue that residents of the city are very concerned about.