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If homelessness was a housing problem, housing the homeless would help. The real problem is mental issues and addiction to drugs. When society realizes that and
by yostrovs 7y ago
If homelessness was a housing problem, housing the homeless would help. The real problem is mental issues and addiction to drugs. When society realizes that and addresses those issues somehow other than offering shelter, homelessness would be mostly resolved.
- zoul 7y agoHaving a house helps a lot, we already have data on that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_First http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_First
- StanislavPetrov 7y agoThat's just false. Mental issues and drugs certainly are responsible for a decent portion of the homeless, but the lack of affordable housing is a massive issue for millions of people across the country, many of whom become homeless because they cannot find an affordable place to live. The mentally ill homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk and causing a disturbance is the most visible, but for everyone of them there is someone who is sleeping in their car or on a friend's couch or in a tent. And for every person that is homeless now there are a dozen other people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck, one illness, car accident or other unforeseen expense away from being homeless. The fact is that homelessness is as much an economic problem - one that is becoming worse every year - as it is a problem of mental health and drug addiction. Our social safety net has failed for the poorest Americans and the situation continues to worsen as we whittle away at what remains of that net and more and more Americans slide deeper into poverty.