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The primary root cause of homelessness is a lack of affordable housing. Meanwhile, everyone argues over what a complex and nuanced problem it is. Or just says

The primary root cause of homelessness is a lack of affordable housing. Meanwhile, everyone argues over what a complex and nuanced problem it is. Or just says that homeless people are a bunch of junkies and crazies who simply cannot be helped.

tdba 4y ago
Unfortunately it is genuinely a complex problem. It is true that in general adding more housing lowers prices, but in detail the exact opposite is often true. For one, adding housing can lead to more demand for services (eg schools) which in turn makes a location more desirable which makes more people come which makes housing prices go up. The densest cities in the USA are also some of the most expensive for housing. On the other hand, decreasing demand (eg people leaving) doesn't always fix socioeconomic problems either - sometimes, once people start leaving, more people leave until you end up with an empty husk of a city eg Detroit at one point. People need services and people also want to be around other people like them. This causes feedback loops, making the nexus of problems related to housing truly and inescapably complex.
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  I've actually studied housing issues. Good housing and a thriving community with the right mix of services in the right place is complicated. Housing that would be an improvement over homelessness is not that complicated. We just have underbuilt in the US for decades, is the short version.
lockhouse 4y ago
If you've ever spent time around the homeless you'll realize pretty quickly that mental health plays a big role in homelessness. It's not the whole picture by any means, but you can't hand wave it away either.
- DoreenMichele 4y ago
  I actually can hand wave it away. I spent nearly six years homeless, I've had a college class on Homelessness and Public Policy and I've written about homelessness for years. Being homeless and socially cut off is hard on your mental health. It's not always obvious which direction cause and effect runs. Plenty of people have serious mental health issues and manage to largely hide it if they can remain housed, on any pertinent medication, etc. There is no direct cause and effect relationship between mental health and homelessness or drug use and homelessness. Instead, studies show that increased rates of homelessness are more than 90 percent accounted for by rising rents in an area.

tdba 4y ago

Unfortunately it is genuinely a complex problem. It is true that in general adding more housing lowers prices, but in detail the exact opposite is often true. For one, adding housing can lead to more demand for services (eg schools) which in turn makes a location more desirable which makes more people come which makes housing prices go up. The densest cities in the USA are also some of the most expensive for housing. On the other hand, decreasing demand (eg people leaving) doesn't always fix socioeconomic problems either - sometimes, once people start leaving, more people leave until you end up with an empty husk of a city eg Detroit at one point. People need services and people also want to be around other people like them. This causes feedback loops, making the nexus of problems related to housing truly and inescapably complex.

DoreenMichele 4y ago
I've actually studied housing issues. Good housing and a thriving community with the right mix of services in the right place is complicated. Housing that would be an improvement over homelessness is not that complicated. We just have underbuilt in the US for decades, is the short version.

lockhouse 4y ago

If you've ever spent time around the homeless you'll realize pretty quickly that mental health plays a big role in homelessness. It's not the whole picture by any means, but you can't hand wave it away either.

DoreenMichele 4y ago
I actually can hand wave it away. I spent nearly six years homeless, I've had a college class on Homelessness and Public Policy and I've written about homelessness for years. Being homeless and socially cut off is hard on your mental health. It's not always obvious which direction cause and effect runs. Plenty of people have serious mental health issues and manage to largely hide it if they can remain housed, on any pertinent medication, etc. There is no direct cause and effect relationship between mental health and homelessness or drug use and homelessness. Instead, studies show that increased rates of homelessness are more than 90 percent accounted for by rising rents in an area.