Rising Homelessness in the US Linked to Migrant Influx and Economic Pressures

[Cameroni]

33 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

The new arrivals, for the most part, will probably be absorbed into existing immigrant communities around the country and will soon be doing jobs that native Americans either can't or won't do. I doubt that many will end up being long-term homeless on the streets of New York or other cities. The ordeal of getting into the US through the Darien Gap and/or a trek through Mexico has already served as a filter to deter the unmotivated or unable. 

 

If we want to be indignant about the use of taxpayer money, I think a better case could be made to curtail agricultural subsidies and price supports that simply go into the coffers of Big Ag. Likewise uneconomical ethanol production for use in motor vehicles that couldn't exist without government mandates. These welfare schemes for large corporations and millionaire farmers make the amounts spent on housing immigrants look like chump change. The immigration issue is really small potatoes, but it is useful to Republicans to get xenophobes riled up.

 

The fact is, without immigration the US faces a severe labor shortage going forward. The only way to address this shortage is to accept people from countries that produce economic migrants. That rules out places like Norway, despite Trump's wishes.

 

An interesting read from the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/business/immigrants-haitian-jobs-meatpacking-eb174d69?st=peMSxB&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

 

 

You can argue forever how tax dollars should be spent, but in the end billions of dollars are allocated every year to alleviate housing issues in the US.

 

Literally billions of dollars in social welfare are available.

 

If there are homeless then those in charge of distributing the aid are not doing a good enough job to make that aid arrive where it is needed.

 

 

[mdr224]

12 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

No. Another nonsense post from a clown member, who never puts more than 3 seconds into any of his knee jerk replies. 

Not my fault if you arent smart enough to understand the nuance in my posts

[Evil Penevil]

On 9/23/2024 at 9:27 PM, Chomper Higgot said:

I’ve provided a link to a credible explanation of why so many are homeless

 

A lack of affordable housing and tax-payer-funded rent subsidies is part of the explanation, but it is hardly the full story.  The linked site failed to mention the role played by mental illness and sustance abuse as causes of homelessness.  Quite simply, there are several hundred thousand people in the U.S. who are too crazy to live on their own, even if the government is paying the rent. 

 

Studies have found 25% of the people living on the street suffer from severe mental ilness and nearly 50% have some type of mental problem.

https://mentalillnesspolicy.org/consequences/homeless-mentally-ill.html   

 

One study in Los Angeles found "about 76% of individuals living outside on the streets reported being, or were observed to be, affected by mental illness, substance abuse, poor health or a physical disability."  https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-07/homeless-population-mental-illness-disability

 

More affordable housing is NOT a panacea for the homeless crisis.  One expert puts it this way:

“So people may get into housing, but they’re still traumatized, they may still be addicted, they may still be suffering for mental illness,” she says. “And so they’ll likely fall out of housing. They’re not prepared to live independently. Plus, they may be living in an apartment complex with other people who have very serious problems, and it turns out to be a very unpleasant place to live. So they’ll leave, as the streets are better.”

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/07/09/solving-the-homeless-problem-in-san-francisco/

 

Many homeless people need to live in an institutional setting.  The severely mentally ill need to be placed in mental hospitals with high walls and locked gates.  Those who abuse hard drugs should be jailed.  People with less serious mental or substance abuse problems need group or transitional homes; assisted living facilities  and shelters.  

 

That's the real cause of people living on the street.  The U.S. doesn't have a sufficient support system for those unable to live independently.

[Cameroni]

1 hour ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

A lack of affordable housing and tax-payer-funded rent subsidies is part of the explanation, but it is hardly the full story.  The linked site failed to mention the role played by mental illness and sustance abuse as causes of homelessness.  Quite simply, there are several hundred thousand people in the U.S. who are too crazy to live on their own, even if the government is paying the rent. 

 

Studies have found 25% of the people living on the street suffer from severe mental ilness and nearly 50% have some type of mental problem.

https://mentalillnesspolicy.org/consequences/homeless-mentally-ill.html   

 

One study in Los Angeles found "about 76% of individuals living outside on the streets reported being, or were observed to be, affected by mental illness, substance abuse, poor health or a physical disability."  https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-07/homeless-population-mental-illness-disability

 

More affordable housing is NOT a panacea for the homeless crisis.  One expert puts it this way:

“So people may get into housing, but they’re still traumatized, they may still be addicted, they may still be suffering for mental illness,” she says. “And so they’ll likely fall out of housing. They’re not prepared to live independently. Plus, they may be living in an apartment complex with other people who have very serious problems, and it turns out to be a very unpleasant place to live. So they’ll leave, as the streets are better.”

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/07/09/solving-the-homeless-problem-in-san-francisco/

 

Many homeless people need to live in an institutional setting.  The severely mentally ill need to be placed in mental hospitals with high walls and locked gates.  Those who abuse hard drugs should be jailed.  People with less serious mental or substance abuse problems need group or transitional homes; assisted living facilities  and shelters.  

 

That's the real cause of people living on the street.  The U.S. doesn't have a sufficient support system for those unable to live independently.

 

I do not buy that for a second, the homeless are not all mentally ill. They just fell on hard times, called poverty. That can, and does happen to anyone.

 

 

[Evil Penevil]

1 hour ago, Cameroni said:

 

I do not buy that for a second, the homeless are not all mentally ill. They just fell on hard times, called poverty. That can, and does happen to anyone.

 

 

 

Not ALL homeless are mentally ill, but a significant number are.  Many drug addicts also live on the streets.  Take a look at the homeless in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, Skid Row in Los Angeles, Brownsville in the Bronx or the Kensington area of Philadelphia and tell me it's only people who have fallen on hard economic times.

 

You have to distinguish between the acute homeless and the chronic homeless.  Acute homeless are people who lost their housing due to bad luck-  an economic shock such as unemployment or massive debt or a catastrophe like a fire or flood.  Some previously had  low-cost living arrangements that ended suddenly.  They can be helped by affordable housing and often don't spend long on the street before finding some sort of steady housing.  The chronic homeless are those who have spent lengthy periods on the streets and its become a lifestyle for them.  They often can't get housing because of mental illness or substance abuse.

 

Take a look at this video of the chronic homeless in Philadelphia.

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

5 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

A lack of affordable housing and tax-payer-funded rent subsidies is part of the explanation, but it is hardly the full story.  The linked site failed to mention the role played by mental illness and sustance abuse as causes of homelessness.  Quite simply, there are several hundred thousand people in the U.S. who are too crazy to live on their own, even if the government is paying the rent. 

 

Studies have found 25% of the people living on the street suffer from severe mental ilness and nearly 50% have some type of mental problem.

https://mentalillnesspolicy.org/consequences/homeless-mentally-ill.html   

 

One study in Los Angeles found "about 76% of individuals living outside on the streets reported being, or were observed to be, affected by mental illness, substance abuse, poor health or a physical disability."  https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-07/homeless-population-mental-illness-disability

 

More affordable housing is NOT a panacea for the homeless crisis.  One expert puts it this way:

“So people may get into housing, but they’re still traumatized, they may still be addicted, they may still be suffering for mental illness,” she says. “And so they’ll likely fall out of housing. They’re not prepared to live independently. Plus, they may be living in an apartment complex with other people who have very serious problems, and it turns out to be a very unpleasant place to live. So they’ll leave, as the streets are better.”

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/07/09/solving-the-homeless-problem-in-san-francisco/

 

Many homeless people need to live in an institutional setting.  The severely mentally ill need to be placed in mental hospitals with high walls and locked gates.  Those who abuse hard drugs should be jailed.  People with less serious mental or substance abuse problems need group or transitional homes; assisted living facilities  and shelters.  

 

That's the real cause of people living on the street.  The U.S. doesn't have a sufficient support system for those unable to live independently.

Excellent post. As I said earlier, the reasons people are homeless are as varied as there are homeless people. Mental illness, substance abuse, educational development issues all pay a significant role, as you argue with evidence a majority role.

 

I don’t agree that prison is any use at all in dealing with drug the drug addicted, and may play a part in further expatiating homelessness through the impact of drug related criminal record on employment opportunities.

 

But yes all the issues you mention are part of the reason for homelessness.

[Chomper Higgot]

4 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

I do not buy that for a second, the homeless are not all mentally ill. They just fell on hard times, called poverty. That can, and does happen to anyone.

 

 

He did not say it is.

 

It is certainly not simply people falling on hard times.

 

 

[EVENKEEL]

In Calif I've seen a new class of homeless with decent cars parked next to their tents. With rent being so high, homelessness is just one paycheck away.