It is easy to forget the poor. When you have enough of your own problems, or when other world problems loom large, the problem of the homeless and destitute tend to fall out of focus. So it’s understandable that people’a attention goes elsewhere. I’d like to bring your attention back to it for a moment with this post with links to stories on it. Thanks for taking the time to do so.
- One of the great tragedies of the post-COVID era was that we decided the people that we could house were no longer worthy once we learned how to deal with the virus: Migrants and End of Covid Restrictions Fuel Jump in Homelessness.
- Meanwhile in London, Councils move hundreds of homeless families out of London with 24-hour ultimatums.
- You no doubt have seen stories like this, but here’s another reminder that homeless people aren’t likely born that way: Lorenzo Berardinetti: from MPP to homeless shelter. Relatedly, a story from the New York Times: Why More Older New Yorkers Are Ending Up in Homeless Shelters. Affordable housing is a big part of the reason for that.
- There are ways to make housing for the homeless. For example, in Atlanta: How shipping containers in Atlanta became tiny homes for the homeless. Also good Montreal to build 60 modular housing units for people experiencing homelessness.
- Maybe we need compact cheap tiny home like this here. Not so much in dense urban areas, but for areas with much less density, it could be useful.
- Why the ‘Housing First’ approach has struggled to fulfill its promise of ending homelessness. It is indeed a struggle.
- It’s a struggle because no doubt this is happening everywhere, not just Ontario: A ‘staggering’ 80,000 people and more were homeless in Ontario last year, new report finds. More on that, here.
- It doresult of this is that you get encampments, I believe. However governments are cracking down on encampments everywhere. For example, Gov. Gavin Newsom urges California cities and counties to ban homeless
- encampments. You can’t ban homeless people, though. You need to help them. For example, Manitoba government moves dozens of people from encampments into housing.
- And not just help them with housing. Help them with their health. For example: How St. Michael’s Hospital is trying to break the cycle of readmissions for homeless patients.
- And get them food. Even with shelter and healthcare, the long-term effects of going hungry are significant. Relatedly, this story: Turning to Cube Steak, and Back to Childhood – The New York Times
- One last thing the homeless need is bullshit like this from San Jose: a California city is training AI to spot homeless encampments.
- It also doesn’t help that we have companies like Uber “delivering” poverty wage jobs: I went undercover as an Uber Eats courier and made just $1.74 per hour online. Here’s what I learned about the troubling cost of convenience.
Smart People I Know 