4 ms·

> The only real solution is large scale construction of mixed use housing - some social, some affordable, some private. It's a LOT more than making affordable

> The only real solution is large scale construction of mixed use housing - some social, some affordable, some private. It's a LOT more than making affordable housing available. Most homeless where I am have severe mental health problems, drug addictions, or both. Some are also homeless in large part because of criminal records. Many many difficult social problems to fix before it's just a matter of affordability.

jganetsk 3y ago
This is a common misconception. Actually the primary fix is indeed to make affordable housing available. https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/everything-you-think-you-know-about https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/everything-you-think-you-know-...
- TexanFeller 3y ago
  My best friend from high school is homeless right now despite my efforts to help him. My best friend from grade school was homeless in my town for a few years(I wasn't aware at first to help). My wife was a social worker. I've had many interactions, albeit brief, with homeless in my city. I'm not exactly ignorant and I'm not sure the fellow from your article isn't an activist with an agenda. I'm also skeptical of the data gathered on the problem. It's probably not very good because in most cities they can't even get an accurate census/count of homeless.
  - jganetsk 3y ago
    Noah Smith is no activist. He was a professor of finance and a journalist for the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and other reputable outlets. He now writes a very successful Substack.
    - TexanFeller 3y ago
      The linked article says it is "A guest post by Aaron Carr."
  - p_j_w 3y ago
    It seems awfully convenient that you get to dismiss all of the evidence that goes against what you'd like to believe with a simple wave of your hand.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - somedude895 3y ago
    In today's climate in media and academia I'll take extensive personal experience and common sense over "data" and "studies" every time when it comes to societal and political issues. And they have nobody else but themselves to blame.
emodendroket 3y ago
That’s just not borne out by any evidence. It’s likely you don’t interact (or don’t knowingly interact) with a large portion of homeless people who aren’t drawing attention to themselves.
- Tiktaalik 3y ago
  Yeah the low drama homeless people that would be easiest to help don't make the headlines. They're quietly struggling, working some minimum wage job while living in a camper somewhere. And yet the high drama people that make the headlines are used as an argument to not build affordable homes at all. The hard to house with an array of overlapping severe challenges will always be hard to house, but we can't let that small minority be any sort of barrier to helping the broader amount of people that are easier to help that are nonetheless struggling to find anywhere they can afford to live.
screye 3y ago
> Most homeless where I am have severe mental health problems, drug addictions, or both If drug addicts don't have to pay rent, then they do drug addict stuff within the premises of their house. It doesn't solve the mental health crisis, but it does solve tents in public areas. Secondly, it controls for for gateway drug scenarios. Eventually, a large percent chronically homeless & mentally ill people turn into addicts. But, if they have a roof over they shoulders, they aren't pushed into that life as hard as if they were living in a tent.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  A lot of drug addict stuff in their house is not safe for the house. A lot cooking meth RV and tent fires show us that.
  - screye 3y ago
    A house is a house, if you want to burn it down, burn it down. We can't give houses to 100 meth heads who're about to kill themselves, because 1 of them might actually kill themselves via immolation is a hard argument to defend. Yeah, that's 99 alive meth heads off the street.
    - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
      It isn’t their house we are worried about, but the neighbors who live next to them. Are you volunteering?

jganetsk 3y ago

This is a common misconception. Actually the primary fix is indeed to make affordable housing available. https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/everything-you-think-you-know-about https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/everything-you-think-you-know-...

TexanFeller 3y ago
My best friend from high school is homeless right now despite my efforts to help him. My best friend from grade school was homeless in my town for a few years(I wasn't aware at first to help). My wife was a social worker. I've had many interactions, albeit brief, with homeless in my city. I'm not exactly ignorant and I'm not sure the fellow from your article isn't an activist with an agenda. I'm also skeptical of the data gathered on the problem. It's probably not very good because in most cities they can't even get an accurate census/count of homeless.
- jganetsk 3y ago
  Noah Smith is no activist. He was a professor of finance and a journalist for the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and other reputable outlets. He now writes a very successful Substack.
  - TexanFeller 3y ago
    The linked article says it is "A guest post by Aaron Carr."
- p_j_w 3y ago
  It seems awfully convenient that you get to dismiss all of the evidence that goes against what you'd like to believe with a simple wave of your hand.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- somedude895 3y ago
  In today's climate in media and academia I'll take extensive personal experience and common sense over "data" and "studies" every time when it comes to societal and political issues. And they have nobody else but themselves to blame.

emodendroket 3y ago

That’s just not borne out by any evidence. It’s likely you don’t interact (or don’t knowingly interact) with a large portion of homeless people who aren’t drawing attention to themselves.

Tiktaalik 3y ago
Yeah the low drama homeless people that would be easiest to help don't make the headlines. They're quietly struggling, working some minimum wage job while living in a camper somewhere. And yet the high drama people that make the headlines are used as an argument to not build affordable homes at all. The hard to house with an array of overlapping severe challenges will always be hard to house, but we can't let that small minority be any sort of barrier to helping the broader amount of people that are easier to help that are nonetheless struggling to find anywhere they can afford to live.

screye 3y ago

> Most homeless where I am have severe mental health problems, drug addictions, or both If drug addicts don't have to pay rent, then they do drug addict stuff within the premises of their house. It doesn't solve the mental health crisis, but it does solve tents in public areas. Secondly, it controls for for gateway drug scenarios. Eventually, a large percent chronically homeless & mentally ill people turn into addicts. But, if they have a roof over they shoulders, they aren't pushed into that life as hard as if they were living in a tent.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
A lot of drug addict stuff in their house is not safe for the house. A lot cooking meth RV and tent fires show us that.
- screye 3y ago
  A house is a house, if you want to burn it down, burn it down. We can't give houses to 100 meth heads who're about to kill themselves, because 1 of them might actually kill themselves via immolation is a hard argument to defend. Yeah, that's 99 alive meth heads off the street.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    It isn’t their house we are worried about, but the neighbors who live next to them. Are you volunteering?