4 ms·

Homeless is an outcome, not a thing that looks the same from every angle. It’s a feature not a bug and the steps that lead to it need to be addressed for a mean

by vr46 6y ago

Homeless is an outcome, not a thing that looks the same from every angle. It’s a feature not a bug and the steps that lead to it need to be addressed for a meaningful fix. Money and commitment needs a plan and a clue. The idea that you can just add more physical buildings and hey presto is bunk. I have spent two decades of my life volunteering to help and I too started thinking about buildings and homes, but that isn’t the real problem.

raverbashing 6y ago
Correct, it is a multifaceted problem. It's an affordability issue, but it is also a mental health issue (pre-homelessness) and/or drug usage issue for a lot of people. And here's the tricky part, if one city puts more money on the problem, the problem will only get bigger, because it will attract homeless people from other cities (though I can't blame them). This is not an issue that's solvable only from the criminality/police side but not exclusively from the social side neither.
- heavyset_go 6y ago
  > Correct, it is a multifaceted problem. It's an affordability issue, but it is also a mental health issue (pre-homelessness) and/or drug usage issue for a lot of people. The vast majority of homeless people are homeless for financial reasons, like the loss of income or the lack of affordable housing. The fastest growing demographic of homeless people are entire families, because of financial reasons.
- hypewatch 6y ago
  This is not true and a toxic stereotype. Most homeless people are homeless for financial reasons. Income inequality is the biggest driver of homelessness. Therefore the most effective solutions are economic and perhaps anti-trust.
  - raverbashing 6y ago
    I guess I stand corrected https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_... Though affordability issues seem to be the main issue today (especially) in CA and also that some statistics consider homeless people that are living with family or acquaintances by necessity.
  - bifrost 6y ago
    SF has recently proven OP's postulation as fact. Even the extremely "progresive" mayor pointed it out. SF's homelessness is not about any of the things you've noted.
    - hypewatch 6y ago
      Hey, I’m sorry. I disagree with you and looks like you disagree with a couple other folks on this thread, but I don’t think this conversation is going to help anyone. I’m going to avoid these political / non-technical threads on HN going forward.
      - bifrost 6y ago
        I'm happy to discuss facts but I agree that HN is probably the wrong place for politics and non-technical discussion. IMO The community doesn't like politics and honestly I think thats one of the reason HN is such a great place.

by vr46 6y ago

raverbashing 6y ago

Correct, it is a multifaceted problem. It's an affordability issue, but it is also a mental health issue (pre-homelessness) and/or drug usage issue for a lot of people. And here's the tricky part, if one city puts more money on the problem, the problem will only get bigger, because it will attract homeless people from other cities (though I can't blame them). This is not an issue that's solvable only from the criminality/police side but not exclusively from the social side neither.

heavyset_go 6y ago
> Correct, it is a multifaceted problem. It's an affordability issue, but it is also a mental health issue (pre-homelessness) and/or drug usage issue for a lot of people. The vast majority of homeless people are homeless for financial reasons, like the loss of income or the lack of affordable housing. The fastest growing demographic of homeless people are entire families, because of financial reasons.
hypewatch 6y ago
This is not true and a toxic stereotype. Most homeless people are homeless for financial reasons. Income inequality is the biggest driver of homelessness. Therefore the most effective solutions are economic and perhaps anti-trust.
- raverbashing 6y ago
  I guess I stand corrected https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_... Though affordability issues seem to be the main issue today (especially) in CA and also that some statistics consider homeless people that are living with family or acquaintances by necessity.
- bifrost 6y ago
  SF has recently proven OP's postulation as fact. Even the extremely "progresive" mayor pointed it out. SF's homelessness is not about any of the things you've noted.
  - hypewatch 6y ago
    Hey, I’m sorry. I disagree with you and looks like you disagree with a couple other folks on this thread, but I don’t think this conversation is going to help anyone. I’m going to avoid these political / non-technical threads on HN going forward.
    - bifrost 6y ago
      I'm happy to discuss facts but I agree that HN is probably the wrong place for politics and non-technical discussion. IMO The community doesn't like politics and honestly I think thats one of the reason HN is such a great place.