California has spent billions to fight homelessness. The problem has gotten worse

[basballguy]

Gonna take a page out of GMDino's book and link the whole story

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/us/california-homeless-spending/index.html

Quote:Los Angeles
CNN
—
California has spent a stunning $17.5 billion trying to combat homelessness over just four years. But, in the same time frame, from 2018 to 2022, the state’s homeless population actually grew. Half of all Americans living outside on the streets, federal data shows, live in California.

Across the country, homelessness is on the rise. But California is adding more homeless people every year than any other state. More than 170,000 unhoused people now live here.

“The problem would be so much worse, absent these interventions,” Jason Elliott, senior adviser on homelessness to Gov. Gavin Newsom, told CNN. “And that’s not what people want to hear. I get it, we get it.”

But with $17.5 billion, the state could, theoretically, have just paid the rent for every unhoused person in California for those four years, even at the state’s high home costs.

“That is reductive … Perhaps that would work for me, because I don’t have significant behavioral health challenges.” said Elliott. “If two thirds of people on the streets right now are experiencing mental health symptoms, we can’t just pay their rent.”

A new study found most homeless people in California last had a home in California, dispelling the myth that people come to the state specifically for homeless help.

The admittedly reductive math would leave nearly $4 billion for services like mental health treatment. But even if California did want to pay rent for every homeless person, there just isn’t enough affordable housing to go around.

“We need 2.5 million more units in California,” said Elliott. “This is a problem that is decades and decades in the making because of policy choices that we’ve made. We are not blameless. And when I say we, I mean Republicans and Democrats alike.”

A total of $20.6 billion has been allocated through 2024 to combat homelessness. Nearly $4 billion went to local governments to spend on anti-homelessness initiatives. $3.7 billion went to a program called Project Homekey, which also funds local governments, but specifically to buy properties like motels and commercial buildings to turn into permanent, affordable housing. So far 13,500 units have been finished. “It’s not enough,” said Elliott. “But reversing the slide is the first step to creating an increase.”

Jason Elliott acknowledges the widespread frustration with the pace of change while insisting the investment California has made is money well spent.

Cristina Smith recently moved into one of the new affordable units in Los Angeles. After five years without a home she had, like many, given up hope. “I thought it was fake,” she told CNN affiliate KCBS. “Until they gave me the keys and then I was like this is real. You don’t believe it after a while.”

A further $2 billion from the huge pot went toward tax credits for developers to build affordable housing, which has seen 481 new units completed so far, with thousands more anticipated. Another $2 billion went to kick-start affordable housing projects, stalled by funding shortfalls. And nearly $2 billion was spent on emergency rental assistance.

California has, in recent years, suffered devastating wildfire seasons and, of course, the Covid pandemic. Both put extra pressure on housing.

“It’s frustrating, it’s frustrating … It’s frustrating for us,” said Elliott. “At the end of the day if we want to truly solve homelessness in America. We need to build more housing.”

Dr. Margot Kushel, who worked with Elliott to formulate a pandemic plan for the state’s homeless population, just published a hefty report, the results of a survey of nearly 3,200 unhoused people across California she hails as “the largest representative study of homelessness since the mid-1990s.” Kushel, who is director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, was commissioned by the state to find out who is homeless in California and why, in the hope her data might help fine-tune the state’s response to what Newsom has called “a disgrace.”

Politicians, and many voters, want solutions. Newsom devoted his entire State of the State speech in 2020 to the issue. In a recent poll, 84% of Californians said they think homelessness is a “very serious problem.” In Los Angeles, the issue dominated last year’s mayoral race with the winner, Karen Bass, declaring a state of emergency on homelessness on her very first day in office.


Kushel’s report dispelled some myths. Number one, that many people on the street don’t want a home. Not true, says Kushel. “Participants overwhelmingly wanted permanent housing,” she concludes in the report.

Number two, that many people on the streets of California are not from California. There’s a widely held belief that many people become homeless elsewhere, and come to California for the weather and the more liberal approach to homelessness. And therefore, California does not owe them anything. Not true, says Kushel.

“Nine out of 10 people lost their stable housing here. These are Californians,” she said. “We have to create the housing for all Californians.”


Los Angeles is offering the homeless motel rooms ... but with some tricky conditions

Myth number 3: that mental illness is the driving force behind homelessness. Yes, 66% of respondents did report, “symptoms of mental health conditions currently,” which is the statistic quoted by Elliott, the governor’s adviser, to argue a solution is more complicated than just writing rent checks. But Kushel questioned if mental health problems led to homelessness, or the other way round.

“Most of that, half of people, had severe depression or severe anxiety – not surprising if you were experiencing homelessness,” she said.

Still, tackling mental health issues among the unhoused is a major plank in the Newsom administration’s effort. “We’re taking a new approach,” he said last spring when unveiling his mental health plan, “Rather than reforming in the margins a system that is foundationally and fundamentally broken.”

Part of the new approach is, controversially, to effectively force some people into mental health help – allowing relatives, social services or medical personnel to refer people to be considered for a court-ordered treatment program.

“Just tackling the mental health side can’t solve the problem,” says Kushel. “Not when the median rent is $2,200 for a two-bedroom apartment.”


Which brings us back to the need for 2.5 million more homes. The state does have a plan to build them all by 2030. But here in California, like elsewhere, housing and zoning decisions are down to local governments.

“We’ve got communities in this state that are refusing to build low-income housing,” Elliott, the governor’s adviser, told CNN. “Because they say it’s all just rapists and child molesters. So that’s, that’s, that’s the dynamic that we’re facing, right?”

The state is suing a number of wealthier cities for thwarting the construction of affordable housing within their borders.

There aren’t enough affordable houses in California, therefore rents are too high.

“The primary problem for homelessness is economics,” said Kushel. “People just don’t have the money … to pay the rent.”

So, how much money would people need to make up the shortfall and stay in their homes? “One of the surprising things was how optimistic people were that relatively small amounts of money would have prevented their homelessness,” Kushel said of the people surveyed. “For a lot of them, that $300 or $500 a month would do the trick.”

The Newsom administration is spending more to combat homelessness than this state ever has before. Prior to 2018 there was no coherent statewide plan or funding structure. But, they say, the state needs help. “The federal government needs to get in the game and do what it used to do, which is provide housing as a guarantee,” said Elliott. He says for every four Americans in need of a housing voucher, there is just one voucher available.

“Food stamps are a guarantee. Health care is a guarantee. Public education is a guarantee,” he said. “Housing? 25% chance. Spin the wheel.”

Asked how state officials have reacted to her report and recommendations, Kushel replied, “I think they’re on board. I hope, I think they’re relatively on board. I don’t agree with everything, but I think they’re trying.” Asked what she doesn’t agree with, Kushel demurred, “Oh, gosh, I don’t know. I mean, as you can hear, I really want to have a single-minded focus on getting people into permanent housing and I think that is the root of how we end homelessness.” She did agree some politicians might be more focused on the window dressing of getting people off the street, into shelters or motels, rather than actually into permanent housing.

“I couldn’t disagree more with that characterization,” said Elliott. “We’re facing a tidal wave and we’re doing the best we can – to mix metaphors a little bit – to paddle out from that and to try to tread water and do as best we can while we try to make the fundamental change necessary both in California and at the national level to truly address homelessness.”

In Los Angeles, the epicenter of the homelessness crisis in the Golden State, Mayor Bass launched a program called Inside Safe, to clear street encampments. At a roundtable with reporters recently, she was keen to trumpet the success of moving more than 1,300 people off the streets into motels but refused to even estimate how many of those people have been moved into permanent housing. The 2023-2024 city budget includes $250 million for Inside Safe. From the total, $110 million will be used to pay for temporary motels. $21 million will be used for permanent housing.

I know one woman in Los Angeles who was moved from a tent into a motel room nearly 200 days ago under Inside Safe. She is still there and says there is still not even a plan to move her into a permanent home. She says she’s frustrated and losing hope.

There is no silver bullet.

“They’re trying really hard to keep people alive,” said Kushel. “And they’re kind of stuck in this vicious cycle of not having the housing to send people to.”

My thoughts are

• Newsome's homeless plan has been an utter failure from the start.  
• Democrats are again ignorant in thinking they can just throw money at the problem and it'll get fixed.  Hell the article author even says that's the strategy.  At least now they're starting to admit it.  
• I like how this author lists mental illness in the myth section but then says "oh ya this is actually true"
  

Hopefully they figure it out.....I doubt it though.

[NATI BENGALS]

I think the bible says something about helping the needy.

Something like "don't even try, it's not worth it." - God

[Arturo Bandini]

(07-12-2023, 02:09 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: I think the bible says something about helping the needy.

Something like "don't even try, it's not worth it." - God

More like 'you pay taxes already and those lazy people should find a job ! ' nothing is free !!

BTW, for people here obsessed with the word of God :

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

[*pally*]

So what’s the solution?

It’s easy to criticize something but I haven’t seen any alternatives being offered by Republicans.

[Luvnit2]

(07-12-2023, 07:25 AM)pally Wrote: So what’s the solution?

It’s easy to criticize something but I haven’t seen any alternatives being offered by Republicans.

1. Secure the border to stop illegal drugs from coming in easily. The homeless drug population is exploding and the drugs are coming from Honduras and other places like Mexico because Biden has made it easy to enter the country illegally. This is number one on GOP list, secure the border.
2. Enforce the law, don't ignore it.
3. Put laws in place to not allow the homeless to set up camp. Republican are in Huntington Beach California does not allow the homeless to set up camps by beaches or by businesses. They do not have a homeless problem.

The biggest issue causing homelessness is substance abuse, more drugs than alcohol. In SF, cops watch as people purchase and use drugs on the streets. The easier you make it for anyone to use drugs illegally, the bigger the problem will become.

[GMDino]

(07-12-2023, 09:15 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: 1. Secure the border to stop illegal drugs from coming in easily. The homeless drug population is exploding and the drugs are coming from Honduras and other places like Mexico because Biden has made it easy to enter the country illegally. This is number one on GOP list, secure the border.
2. Enforce the law, don't ignore it.
3. Put laws in place to not allow the homeless to set up camp. Republican are in Huntington Beach California does not allow the homeless to set up camps by beaches or by businesses. They do not have a homeless problem.

The biggest issue causing homelessness is substance abuse, more drugs than alcohol. In SF, cops watch as people purchase and use drugs on the streets. The easier you make it for anyone to use drugs illegally, the bigger the problem will become.

1) American makes more meth than any other country probably.  the amount of drugs captured at the border is higher now under Biden and the democrats because they are doing their job and providing more funding (that's money) to the border.

2) See one.

3) "We don't allow yellow shirts!"  "See? No yellow shirts here!...Look at all the yellow shirts in the surrounding towns!"

Kick them all out and you won't have any.  Where do they go?  

How "christian" of them.

[SunsetBengal]

(07-12-2023, 09:30 AM)GMDino Wrote: 1) American makes more meth than any other country probably.  the amount of drugs captured at the border is higher now under Biden and the democrats because they are doing their job and providing more funding (that's money) to the border.

2) See one.

3) "We don't allow yellow shirts!"  "See? No yellow shirts here!...Look at all the yellow shirts in the surrounding towns!"

Kick them all out and you won't have any.  Where do they go?  

How "christian" of them.

I see you criticizing his attempt at a solution, just as he criticizes Newsome's attempts at reducing the homelessness in California.  What would you suggest that they do to reduce this huge and costly problem?

[GMDino]

(07-12-2023, 09:44 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I see you criticizing his attempt at a solution, just as he criticizes Newsome's attempts at reducing the homelessness in California.  What would you suggest that they do to reduce this huge and costly problem?

Yes, I did correct him about his "solutions".

Since you asked I think we need to work more with, and invest in, social programs.  We need to know why they are homeless and address each one vs a blanket program.

Homeless vets?  We have the VA system to help too.

Mental issues? We need to go back to helping them and not just throwing them back on the streets.  This might involve looking at how our insurance works in this country.

Runaways?  Provide safehouses.  Provide counseling.  Help with job placement so they can work and not get taken advantage of on the streets.

There is more obviously and they all involve "throwing money" at the problem versus just saying "we don't allow homeless people in our town so we don't have any."  At least IMHO.

I see you criticizing by attempt to criticize he attempts at a solution.  Luvnit's "attempts" to solve the homelessness problem were about 1) immigrants bringing in drugs 2) laws? which laws? 3) Just make them move somewhere else.

What do you suggest?

[Belsnickel]

(07-12-2023, 09:44 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I see you criticizing his attempt at a solution, just as he criticizes Newsome's attempts at reducing the homelessness in California.  What would you suggest that they do to reduce this huge and costly problem?

Well, they need to work on making housing more affordable. These cities are preventing the construction of affordable housing which is one of the biggest issues in California. We've talked about this on here before how it isn't a left/right issue but rather one of the haves pushing their governments to prevent the have-nots from becoming haves because that would lower their property values.

There are other issues, like VA issues, mental health issues, and yes, drugs, but you could eradicate mental health illness and drugs from the landscape and you would still have unaffordable housing. In addition, the drugs issue among the homeless isn't a matter of drugs being the cause of homelessness. That is a small percentage. The issue is that the unhoused population will turn to alcohol and drugs because of the desperation they are experiencing. We see it with the opioid epidemic in Appalachia. Individuals falling into addiction because of a loss of any sense of value.

Food, water, shelter. Those are the basic human needs and three things that someone without a stable living condition are lacking. We have to meet those needs before we can work on the other stuff because they will be too concerned with those basic needs until they are met.

[SunsetBengal]

(07-12-2023, 09:55 AM)GMDino Wrote: Yes, I did correct him about his "solutions".

Since you asked I think we need to work more with, and invest in, social programs.  We need to know why they are homeless and address each one vs a blanket program.

Homeless vets?  We have the VA system to help too.

Mental issues? We need to go back to helping them and not just throwing them back on the streets.  This might involve looking at how our insurance works in this country.

Runaways?  Provide safehouses.  Provide counseling.  Help with job placement so they can work and not get taken advantage of on the streets.

There is more obviously and they all involve "throwing money" at the problem versus just saying "we don't allow homeless people in our town so we don't have any."  At least IMHO.

I see you criticizing by attempt to criticize he attempts at a solution.  Luvnit's "attempts" to solve the homelessness problem were about 1) immigrants bringing in drugs 2) laws? which laws? 3) Just make them move somewhere else.

What do you suggest?

I agree that it is a broad and multi faceted undertaking in order to determine the cause of homelessness on an individual basis.  By tackling the issues of the addiction and mental illnesses that afflict a great percentage of those in the homeless community.  Seeing how neither one of those populations can be forcibly admitted into mental health or addiction treatment facilities without being committed by a judge, even the task of evaluating those groups is a monumental obstacle to undertake.

[SunsetBengal]

(07-12-2023, 10:17 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Well, they need to work on making housing more affordable. These cities are preventing the construction of affordable housing which is one of the biggest issues in California. We've talked about this on here before how it isn't a left/right issue but rather one of the haves pushing their governments to prevent the have-nots from becoming haves because that would lower their property values.

There are other issues, like VA issues, mental health issues, and yes, drugs, but you could eradicate mental health illness and drugs from the landscape and you would still have unaffordable housing. In addition, the drugs issue among the homeless isn't a matter of drugs being the cause of homelessness. That is a small percentage. The issue is that the unhoused population will turn to alcohol and drugs because of the desperation they are experiencing. We see it with the opioid epidemic in Appalachia. Individuals falling into addiction because of a loss of any sense of value.

Food, water, shelter. Those are the basic human needs and three things that someone without a stable living condition are lacking. We have to meet those needs before we can work on the other stuff because they will be too concerned with those basic needs until they are met.

I've seen examples of cities attempting house some homeless in places like old motels.  The problem with that is that those people are still left to their own devices, and are not seeking help or attempting to matriculate back into productive society.  Often those housing centers often turn into bastions of drug abuse, violence and human trafficking.

All warehousing them does is get them out of immediate sight on Main St., and the cost to house them individually and put them through whatever treatment and corrective measures in order to qualify them to be productive people again, is just astounding.  Perhaps some of the mega wealthy hollywood elites should put their money where their mouths are and fund an experimental endeavor to recover say 100,000 of those people back into "normal" life?

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-12-2023, 10:17 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Well, they need to work on making housing more affordable. These cities are preventing the construction of affordable housing which is one of the biggest issues in California. We've talked about this on here before how it isn't a left/right issue but rather one of the haves pushing their governments to prevent the have-nots from becoming haves because that would lower their property values.

There are other issues, like VA issues, mental health issues, and yes, drugs, but you could eradicate mental health illness and drugs from the landscape and you would still have unaffordable housing. In addition, the drugs issue among the homeless isn't a matter of drugs being the cause of homelessness. That is a small percentage. The issue is that the unhoused population will turn to alcohol and drugs because of the desperation they are experiencing. We see it with the opioid epidemic in Appalachia. Individuals falling into addiction because of a loss of any sense of value.

Food, water, shelter. Those are the basic human needs and three things that someone without a stable living condition are lacking. We have to meet those needs before we can work on the other stuff because they will be too concerned with those basic needs until they are met.

Our homeless issue is not caused by a lack of housing.  This is a red herring and it's being used in nefarious ways by the Dems here to force low income housing in suburban neighborhoods.  Never in the rich neighborhoods that the politicians live in though.

The vast majority of homeless people fall into two camps; the mentally ill and drug addicts who have burned every bridge in their lives and have nowhere to live.  Neither of these groups are homeless because of a lack of affordable housing.  You want to tackle the first, make mental health commitments easier to make and maintain.  You want to tackle the second, get serious about strangling the fentanyl trade and provide in patient drug treatment free of charge.

The third largest, albeit much smaller than the main two, group are runaways from abusive homes.  The girls usually end up being trafficked and eventually end up in the drug addict homeless group.  The boys, although they can be trafficked as well, usually proceed straight to the addict group.  This group can be helped by programs to address their trauma and provide housing.  The last, and smallest by far, are people down on their luck who are temporarily homeless.  

So affordable housing only addresses the smallest group of the homeless population, I'd say around 2%.  In typical CA fashion the government has made this a "systemic racism" issue and are going after single family zoning areas.  They also throw heaps of money at it without addressing the main causes.  You can build all the "affordable housing" you want but until you address the mental health issues and drug addiction the vast majority of homeless people, >90%, will remain homeless.

[Belsnickel]

(07-12-2023, 10:48 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I've seen examples of cities attempting house some homeless in places like old motels.  The problem with that is that those people are still left to their own devices, and are not seeking help or attempting to matriculate back into productive society.  Often those housing centers often turn into bastions of drug abuse, violence and human trafficking.

All warehousing them does is get them out of immediate sight on Main St., and the cost to house them individually and put them through whatever treatment and corrective measures in order to qualify them to be productive people again, is just astounding.  Perhaps some of the mega wealthy hollywood elites should put their money where their mouths are and fund an experimental endeavor to recover say 100,000 of those people back into "normal" life?

I'm definitely not advocating just warehousing them. My point is more that we need to recognize that these basic needs first and then work on the rest. I have read many a white-paper on this issue that have some really good ideas but they cost more than our government is willing to put into it so they never see the light of day.

As for that last part, I agree. But how often am I on here talking about how the real divide in this country is between the wealthy and everyone else? The division in this country isn't about race, political ideology, religion, any of that. Those are just distractions to keep us from turning our ire towards the rich assholes doing everything they can to keep us down.

[Millhouse]

(07-12-2023, 11:09 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Our homeless issue is not caused by a lack of housing.  This is a red herring and it's being used in nefarious ways by the Dems here to force low income housing in suburban neighborhoods.  Never in the rich neighborhoods that the politicians live in though.

The vast majority of homeless people fall into two camps; the mentally ill and drug addicts who have burned every bridge in their lives and have nowhere to live.  Neither of these groups are homeless because of a lack of affordable housing.  You want to tackle the first, make mental health commitments easier to make and maintain.  You want to tackle the second, get serious about strangling the fentanyl trade and provide in patient drug treatment free of charge.

The third largest, albeit much smaller than the main two, group are runaways from abusive homes.  The girls usually end up being trafficked and eventually end up in the drug addict homeless group.  The boys, although they can be trafficked as well, usually proceed straight to the addict group.  This group can be helped by programs to address their trauma and provide housing.  The last, and smallest by far, are people down on their luck who are temporarily homeless.  

So affordable housing only addresses the smallest group of the homeless population, I'd say around 2%.  In typical CA fashion the government has made this a "systemic racism" issue and are going after single family zoning areas.  They also throw heaps of money at it without addressing the main causes.  You can build all the "affordable housing" you want but until you address the mental health issues and drug addiction the vast majority of homeless people, >90%, will remain homeless.

I am going out on a limb here to suggest that perhaps the ones in charge of tackling the homelessness problem probably don't want it to go away anytime soon so they can keep getting paid fat paychecks for tackling it. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-12-2023, 01:08 PM)Millhouse Wrote: I am going out on a limb here to suggest that perhaps the ones in charge of tackling the homelessness problem probably don't want it to go away anytime soon so they can keep getting paid fat paychecks for tackling it. 

There's likely something to that, but if it is the grift is going to have to stop soon.  People are really getting fed up.  I was downtown on Monday visiting a friend who was in town on business.  The streets literally smelled or urine.  I lived in LA for close to twenty years and never experienced that being so pervasive.  I can't imagine living there now.

[*pally*]

(07-12-2023, 09:15 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: 1. Secure the border to stop illegal drugs from coming in easily. The homeless drug population is exploding and the drugs are coming from Honduras and other places like Mexico because Biden has made it easy to enter the country illegally. This is number one on GOP list, secure the border.
2. Enforce the law, don't ignore it.
3. Put laws in place to not allow the homeless to set up camp. Republican are in Huntington Beach California does not allow the homeless to set up camps by beaches or by businesses. They do not have a homeless problem.

The biggest issue causing homelessness is substance abuse, more drugs than alcohol. In SF, cops watch as people purchase and use drugs on the streets. The easier you make it for anyone to use drugs illegally, the bigger the problem will become.

You have a lot of suggestions...none of which actually solve the homeless situation.

1) most shipments of drugs come to this country on shipping containers hidden among otherwise legal shipments.  They are trucked, shipped, or flown in not moved across the border by individuals.  American citizens are more likely to be carrying drugs across the borders than immigrants as Americans don't get stopped as often.  And of course American dollars fuel the drug trade to begin with. To solve the drug problem you have to start at the other end....treatment and prevention.  As long as there are addicts, there will be a drug trade to supply them.  Knock down one drug kingpin another will take their place.  Stop the flow of one type of drug, they will find another.  You have to eliminate the customers and the only way to do that is to treat them.

2) absolutely, I'm not sure how that fixes homelessness though unless you think that putting petty criminals in already overcrowded and unsafe jails solves their lack of a home problem

3) So you want the homeless to hide so you don't have to see them...where do you suggest that someone without a place to live go when we don't have enough shelters.

The #1 cause of homelessness is not drug or alcohol abuse as you stated but unaffordable or unavailable housing.  It means building new low cost housing,,  It means helping people with the issues that led to homelessness...job loss, illness, lack of child support, natural disaster, etc.  Far too many Americans are 1 paycheck away from financial disaster.  Too many people finally get the first step towards stability but then the govt yanks the rug out by eliminating social support too soon.  

It is not a singular issue nor is it one solution that solves all.  It is going to require a multi-prong attack.  But it all starts with improving our supply of affordable housing.

June's inflation rate was 3%.  70% of that rate was driven by increases in housing costs

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

I'd be interested to know who ended up with the $17.5b after the last four years... and who do those people/companies know that are in the government.

Smells a bit like the $500m that built 6 homes in Haiti.

[basballguy]

(07-12-2023, 01:29 PM)pally Wrote: The #1 cause of homelessness is not drug or alcohol abuse as you stated but unaffordable or unavailable housing.  It means building new low cost housing,,  It means helping people with the issues that led to homelessness...job loss, illness, lack of child support, natural disaster, etc.  Far too many Americans are 1 paycheck away from financial disaster.  Too many people finally get the first step towards stability but then the govt yanks the rug out by eliminating social support too soon.  

It is not a singular issue nor is it one solution that solves all.  It is going to require a multi-prong attack.  But it all starts with improving our supply of affordable housing.

June's inflation rate was 3%.  70% of that rate was driven by increases in housing costs

Of course people wouldn't be homeless if they could afford the housing lol...people blow their money on drugs and then can't pay rent?  Oh they're homeless because of rent costs!

The point of posting the article was to reflect how California has made negative progress in their campaign against homelessness because they refuse to treat the actual symptoms.  Improve the existing entitlements, don't just keep passing new bills thinking brand new spending is what we need.  Offer help and treatment, not safer ways to be dangerous.  

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-12-2023, 01:47 PM)basballguy Wrote: Of course people wouldn't be homeless if they could afford the housing lol...people blow their money on drugs and then can't pay rent?  Oh they're homeless because of rent costs!

The point of posting the article was to reflect how California has made negative progress in their campaign against homelessness because they refuse to treat the actual symptoms.  Improve the existing entitlements, don't just keep passing new bills thinking brand new spending is what we need.  Offer help and treatment, not safer ways to be dangerous.  

Anyone who's dealt with the homeless population knows that this is not an affordable housing issue.  It's not even close.  I'll post a link to a story that some will think actually works against this point.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-11/new-book-links-homelessness-city-prosperity

You'll notice that of the top eight, four are in CA, with only one not being on the west coast.  The article notes that the average per capita homeless rate is 2.5.  You'll then notice that the big drivers skewing these numbers upwards are the top four.  All of the top four are deep blue, heavily liberal areas with tons of free programs for the homeless.  This article uses these top four, which all have high housing costs, and uses them to posit that affordable housing is the culprit.  This is a shoddy analysis.  The top two counties have good weather, coupled with lots of free services.  Portland and Seattle don't have the nice weather, but, if even possible, have even more free services.  Consequently, these four counties will attract homeless people from across the nation.

In fact, many municipalities literally put homeless people on buses to these areas.  The homeless people are only too happy to go, for the reasons stated above.  I can't tell you how many homeless people I've dealt with that are not native to CA, and were homeless before they came here.  You'll notice FL appears on this list twice, both well under the per capita average.  Florida has nice weather as well, and Miami-Dade is an expensive county to live in.  So why not similar numbers to LA and Santa Clara?  Because FL does not incentivize homelessness and is an increasingly red state.

All of the above adds up to a heavily skewed data set that, in this case, is used to make it look like a affordable housing issue.  It is not.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

To follow up on my previous post, here is a list of cost of living by US city for 2023.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/region_rankings.jsp?title=2023&region=019

Please note that Miami is actually eight places higher on this list than Los Angeles, the homeless capital of the US by a huge margin. So why does Miami have a such a lower homeless population? See above.

Again, anyone telling you this is an affordable housing issue is either ignorant or lying.