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There are large swaths of rust belt cities with vacant housing. What about a National program to refurb that housing and rehouse the homeless Basically, turn s

There are large swaths of rust belt cities with vacant housing. What about a National program to refurb that housing and rehouse the homeless Basically, turn struggling cities into the business of rehabilitation — federal investment into local housing, rent paying tenants, medicine, treatment, etc. Trying to build affordable housing in places like San Francisco doesn’t make sense. https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/which-city-has-most-vacant-homes https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/which-city-has-most-vac...

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
The homeless tend to gather in richer cities with economic opportunities for those just struggling or just lots of social programs for those who are completely lost. They aren't going to poor places where housing is cheap because they can't make it there. There is a youtuber that did a drive through the deep south recently (https://www.youtube.com/@NickJohnson https://www.youtube.com/@NickJohnson). Poor places in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Housing isn't a problem in these places (well, for some definition of housing), but survival is still hard. You can't just move to places where housing is available and cheap, they are looking for more than that.
- corinroyal 3y ago
  Homeless people tend to be homeless where the are from. They do not tend to move to places where being homeless is easier. If they could move, to somewhere better, they wouldn't be homeless.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    They could move to places where property is cheaper, at least the functional ones could (non functional would still be homeless), but it wouldn’t help much given the lack of economic opportunities and social help.
giraffe_lady 3y ago
Homeless people also have families and friends and community ties. They are as unwilling to break those bonds as you would be. Possibly more because often their survival literally depends on them.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago

The homeless tend to gather in richer cities with economic opportunities for those just struggling or just lots of social programs for those who are completely lost. They aren't going to poor places where housing is cheap because they can't make it there. There is a youtuber that did a drive through the deep south recently (https://www.youtube.com/@NickJohnson https://www.youtube.com/@NickJohnson). Poor places in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Housing isn't a problem in these places (well, for some definition of housing), but survival is still hard. You can't just move to places where housing is available and cheap, they are looking for more than that.

corinroyal 3y ago
Homeless people tend to be homeless where the are from. They do not tend to move to places where being homeless is easier. If they could move, to somewhere better, they wouldn't be homeless.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  They could move to places where property is cheaper, at least the functional ones could (non functional would still be homeless), but it wouldn’t help much given the lack of economic opportunities and social help.

giraffe_lady 3y ago

Homeless people also have families and friends and community ties. They are as unwilling to break those bonds as you would be. Possibly more because often their survival literally depends on them.