Homeless population by state 2022 (real estate, rental, house)
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Please re-read. I sorted it by the first column which is the homeless population per 10,000 residents. Vermont is second at 43.1 residents per 10,000. The third column is the percentage unsheltered.
Here's the values yoinked from the appendix. Vermont is 98.4% sheltered, 1.6% unsheltered. The totals were reversed.
I am not quibbling with the overall rate, but Vermont has a robust social safety net (like most east coast states) with very few sleeping on the street.
And, here's a map I put together showing the proportion of unsheltered homeless by state, in 5% increments (darker means more unsheltered).
As you can see looking at this, the vast majority of homeless people in states in the Northeast like New York and Massachusetts are in shelters. In contrast, the majority of homeless people in states on the West Coast and parts of the Deep South live on the streets.
There are a number of different elements here.
1. All things considered, few homeless people will willingly sleep on the streets in areas with cold winters.
2. There are huge differences in the amount of money spent on the homeless in states with high sheltered populations and those with a low sheltered population (even "blue" states like California spend only a fraction of what NYC does).
3. The 9th Circuit (which covers much of the western U.S.) has ruled that homeless encampments cannot be taken down. As this has not been appealed to the Supreme Court as of yet, this is something that only holds in the western U.S. Cities and states elsewhere in the country are pretty much free to break up street encampments.
Getting people inside in shelters is better than camping on the streets, but the goal should be permanent housing. And this requires building a lot more affordable housing, which bumps up against restrictive zoning and NIMBYs.
Not sure why the south has a high rate of unsheltered homeless. Sure, could be climate related. But could also be a lack of funding.
On the West Coast it's mostly due to failing to expand shelter space, and an ideology that homelessness should be visible. There's an entire industry built around homeless services, and the more visible the problem the more taxpayers are willing to spend, which then flows to those working in the industry. This recently bubbled over in San Francisco, with comments from the mayor as they continue to grapple with the issue (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...18387283.php):
Quote:
“They will film our city workers. They will try to tell our workers what they can and cannot do,” she said. “These activists are the same people who hand out tents to keep people on the street instead of working to bring them indoors, as we are trying to do. And they are the same people instructing and encouraging people to refuse shelter — to remain on the street instead of going indoors.”
The 9th Circuit just clarified some points around Martin v. Boise that'll make it easier for cities to apply pressure in cases where the homeless refuse shelter.
And, here's a map I put together showing the proportion of unsheltered homeless by state, in 5% increments (darker means more unsheltered).
Very interesting; thanks for putting that together. Definitely aligns a lot more with conventional wisdom and regional approaches to homelessness (much more proactive/aggressive with sheltering in East and Midwest, and more laissez-faire in the South and West).
Climate and individual willingness of homeless individuals to take part in sheltering certainly does play a role.
Getting people inside in shelters is better than camping on the streets, but the goal should be permanent housing. And this requires building a lot more affordable housing, which bumps up against restrictive zoning and NIMBYs.
Not sure why the south has a high rate of unsheltered homeless. Sure, could be climate related. But could also be a lack of funding.
On the West Coast it's mostly due to failing to expand shelter space, and an ideology that homelessness should be visible. There's an entire industry built around homeless services, and the more visible the problem the more taxpayers are willing to spend, which then flows to those working in the industry. This recently bubbled over in San Francisco, with comments from the mayor as they continue to grapple with the issue (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...18387283.php):
The 9th Circuit just clarified some points around Martin v. Boise that'll make it easier for cities to apply pressure in cases where the homeless refuse shelter.
Building more affordable housing will do nothing for homelessness until to address the root cause of mental illness and substance abuse addiction.
And, here's a map I put together showing the proportion of unsheltered homeless by state, in 5% increments (darker means more unsheltered).
As you can see looking at this, the vast majority of homeless people in states in the Northeast like New York and Massachusetts are in shelters. In contrast, the majority of homeless people in states on the West Coast and parts of the Deep South live on the streets.
There are a number of different elements here.
1. All things considered, few homeless people will willingly sleep on the streets in areas with cold winters.
2. There are huge differences in the amount of money spent on the homeless in states with high sheltered populations and those with a low sheltered population (even "blue" states like California spend only a fraction of what NYC does).
3. The 9th Circuit (which covers much of the western U.S.) has ruled that homeless encampments cannot be taken down. As this has not been appealed to the Supreme Court as of yet, this is something that only holds in the western U.S. Cities and states elsewhere in the country are pretty much free to break up street encampments.
Thank you for the map and improving the thread. This makes the discussion more substanative, and I completely agree with you.
Surely the fact that you can survive outdoors basically all year in the south and not so much in the north has something to do with how many are sheltered or not. Many homeless don't avail themselves of shelters simply because they don't wish to follow their rules and instead choose to camp.
Building more affordable housing will do nothing for homelessness until to address the root cause of mental illness and substance abuse addiction.
Nothing? Of course it'll do something. A lot of homeless are on the edge based on pure economics, particularly those just hitting the streets. Of course even these people often fall into drugs and crime as a result.
Homelessness is a complex issue with a lot of factors, and duggies/insane are a big part.
We can say one thing with great certainty: Any simple answer is wrong.
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