Homelessness in the United States

Homelessness is a complicated issue in the United States. Although it occurs all over the US, there are a number of factors that make it especially prevalent in certain cities and states. One factor is Weather. Southern states with milder climates like Texas, Florida, and California have some of the highest homeless populations simply because the homeless population doesn’t have to worry about freezing to death. Northwestern states like Montana and North Dakota have some of the lowest homelessness rates because of basically unlivable winters. Another factor is policy. Cities with large homeless populations are forced to create policy that deal with homelessness in one way or another. Every city has a different tactic to tackle the issue. Some places have effective policies while some do not. The difficulty with homelessness is that the goal is to get people off the streets in a way that they are able to stay off the streets. Existing homeless shelters are also often overcrowded and have their own problems that go with living in them. Houston is a city that effectively moved 25,000 into housing over the last 10 years, cutting the amount of homelessness down by 63%. They also brought down the housing wait time for homeless veterans from around 760 day to 32. They put dedicated time and money to decades worth of research and built a system that focuses on getting people housed BEFORE forcing them to wean themselves off drugs, get a job, join a religious group, or complete a 12-step program. This may seem counter-intuitive, but actually makes sense once you think about it. If you are forced to meet some sort of conditions before being housed, it can be a lot harder to focus on meeting those conditions. For example, how do you get a job if you can’t shower, keep clean clothes, or leave your child home alone while you’re at a job interview? By housing people first, they allow them to take care of their underlying issues second, keeping them off the street.