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Despite a national spike in homelessness, some US regions are finding solutions (www.brookings.edu)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
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[–] 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

I used to think the same thing but this video with Mark Laita from SWU changed my mind. Basically all of those things are available to the residents of Skid Row but it hasn’t made an appreciable difference in the problems there.

This is a complex problem that probably does require complex solutions.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    That was very interesting, I appreciated his opinion, thanks. While there's certainly a lot of reasons why someone would fall into unhealthy life patterns that often lead to homelessness, homelessness itself is strongly tied to the cost of rent. As for drug use, many homeless people start using drugs after they become homeless.

    For [homeless] who did use drugs in the last six months, 40% of people started using — more than 3 times a week —after becoming homeless. ...
    research finds that individuals frequently use methamphetamine to help them stay awake at night to protect themselves and their property from assault and theft.
    https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-10-04/homelessness-drugs-addiction-encampments-substance-abuse-unhoused-police

    It seems the stress of homelessness has a way of causing mental problems and drug addiction even in those who started out healthy.

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