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Housing doesn't fix the problem of homelessness. You can give someone a free house and if they're not capable of the basics of self care, due to mental health,
by surge 3y ago
Housing doesn't fix the problem of homelessness. You can give someone a free house and if they're not capable of the basics of self care, due to mental health, drug usage, etc. Then the houses get destroyed/misused, becomes a problem for neighbors, etc. There's been a plethora of housing projects, charities, programs, etc. I supported my local one then realized it was making the problem worse. These programs don't talk about the failures, just the few success stories, because they need funding, and they think its worth it if you can save a few, but its not like there aren't other effects of giving someone a house whose not going to use it to make their lives objectively better.
People have this naive notion that the solution is there and just no one has tried it. For every success story there's 9 other failures or worse unintended consequences and the waste of resources that come with it.
The only thing that seems to "work" is temporary housing for those in a drug treatment program, but even that has its high degree of failures or relapses, but at least then its not giving housing to those who aren't frankly interested in getting out of their current situation. Think about it, they've chosen the addiction, even if the consequences were job loss, addiction, etc. In other cases, its a mental illness, often exacerbated by addiction.
There are people who are "homeless" because of reasons outside their control and these programs work for them, but the majority of the homeless problem is not the people who are victim of circumstances and abuse. I support these programs because they save the 1 in 10 or whatever, until it becomes a draw for those that aren't looking for help to get out of the situation they're in and they conglomerate or stick around when bussed in.
The bussing is annoying cause my city often ends up with them, and it overwhelms the resources we have to deal with it for a city our size, but we do the same in turn.
- matkoniecz 3y ago> Housing doesn't fix the problem of homelessness It reduces border. It is much harder to become stereotypical homeless if rental prices are lower. If you outlaw housing space for poorer people, then they are at much higher risk of becoming hopelessly homeless.
- surge 3y agoIt also doesn't help adding close to 3 million people in a year to the domestic population (not through births or official visa process), during a time of rising construction costs, and not expecting that to cause an affordability and availability crisis on the lower ends of the market. It's not a problem for wine/microbrew drinking political commentators who aren't competing for finite low skill employment opportunities and lower cost housing, but their feigned altruism has an obvious second order effect for working class.