This is a dishonest narrative propped up with misunderstood statistics. He claims that saying "30% of homeless people" are addicts contradicts the claim that "8

This is a dishonest narrative propped up with misunderstood statistics. He claims that saying "30% of homeless people" are addicts contradicts the claim that "80% of unsheltered" - but he's been arguing about how to get rid of homeless people for long enough to know that unsheltered is a subset of the homeless, and generally the group with the most issues (which is why they are sleeping outside and not even in a car). Oddly enough, he fails to include any of the research we do have about the connection between cost of housing and rate of homelessness. When rents go up, homelessness goes up. http://fortune.com/2018/12/14/rent-homelessness-housing-income-zillow-research/ http://fortune.com/2018/12/14/rent-homelessness-housing-inco... When affordable housing disappears, evictions go up and homelessness goes up. http://komonews.com/news/local/washington-homelessness-result-of-evictions-rent-spikes-uw-study-finds http://komonews.com/news/local/washington-homelessness-resul... One recent positive change was a state law increasing the time a tenant has to pay rent late from 3 days to 14 days. There are many programs that will help pay a one-time late rent, but none of them are instant. Lots of tenants will accept a landlord saying that if you're not out in three days you'll be evicted and spend that time scrambling to leave instead of scrambling to pay, so that they have a chance at renting again in the future - and there's a ton of evidence that preventing the initial step into homelessness is by far the cheapest and most successful way to prevent longterm issues. https://seattle.curbed.com/2019/4/26/18518477/eviction-reform-washington-state-renter-rights https://seattle.curbed.com/2019/4/26/18518477/eviction-refor... Of course, Rufo and people who quote him admiringly tend not to support interventions like this at the point of entering homelessness, since they are committed to the idea that not having a place to live is not a cause of homelessness (which, to be clear, INCLUDES those who are staying with friends or using their social safety net).