LogFAQs > #931701454

At the risk of being misinterpreted, I'd say the first step is to bypass housing regulation and set up shelter akin to a modern military camp. The reason for that being that individuals who are struggling due to an unforeseen financial difficulty need a place to shelter and a spot they can call their own. Those folks will likely clear themselves out of the place once they get their affairs in order. $100 million apartment complexes that take years to construct and have a slow turnover rate won't help either, the problem is too immediate and the numbers of homeless exceed standard housing construction rates.

Those with substance abuse issues or in need of mental health services are trickier. The former the country currently recognizes a need to address 'thanks to' the opioid epidemic. The services to offer folks like that are already known. It's just important to note that treatment needs to be the goal, and not a 'war' approach as you see some counties doing with things like anti-camping laws. The latter folks though... The US gutted its mental health infrastructure decades ago. While the mental hospitals back then certainly had issues, throwing that burden into jails and the streets wasn't a realistic solution. It just kicked the can down the road a bit; something politicians love to do.

As with most other program proposals, this won't get 100% of people, but even getting 2/3's off the streets will mean millions of people return to 'normal' lives.

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"I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me." -Cao Cao