This blog is written by senior AP Government and Honors Economics students at Aragon High School
I've been following this situation for a very long time, and my stance still remains the same as it always has: BUILD MORE HOUSING IN THE BIG CITIES, AND IMPOSE RENT CONTROL. I cannot stress this enough. Big single family houses are expensive. They're not affordable for most people. More apartments need to be built in the big cities to accommodate, yet zoning restrictions prevent this! It's utterly ridiculous. Metropolitan areas are for jobs and easy access to workers, and suburbs are for the upper middle class that can afford it; it's not fitting to try to keep most of the big city as single family homes. Even in the suburbs apartments are being built left and right; homeowners here shouldn't have to suffer the extra traffic to jobs in urban areas because the big cities refuse to build multi family housing. And rent control works, by the way. I'm going to link an article below expressing this. If you don't believe it already, this article should put forth some fairly strong points.https://shelterforce.org/2018/03/28/rent-control-works/
Obviously this situation is extremely unfortunate for those that are homeless, and people deserve to have affordable living, so they aren’t forced to live in shelters or on the streets, but there are thousands of people that are homeless so I don’t see any solutions that can be viably implemented within the next few years to help them. Those that are on the streets now are largely stuck there because there is no immediate action that can be taken. Sure the local, state, or federal government can dump money in the opening new shelters for the homeless or building new affordable housing, but those options are either minimal in their effect or several years off in the future. I think the most immediate (although it is very temporary) “solution” would be to encourage greater public support and outreach to the homeless through volunteering at shelters or donating to shelters to aid in the shelters’ efforts to help the homeless.
1. Obviously, this situation is extremely unfortunate. People are trapped in cycles of ebt, forcing them out to the streets; some do't get adequate assistance for PTSD, and the only place where they don't see Charlie is on the streets. The list goes on and on. Obviously something must be done, but if there were a truly clean-cut solution (like the one Philip suggests), the problem would be solved already.2. Rent control is one solution, or perhaps busing, giving people a livable sum and a one-way bus ticket to somewhere with lower prices. Often, people down on their luck are able to crawl back due to a change in locale; San Francisco, where you're paying $3000 a month for effectively a closet, is not the best place to live if you have nothing, and rent control alone doesn't change that. Give people the training needed to do something better and they will accomplish much more.3. Ditto.
I do believe that policymakers should move this issue up on their political agenda, but I also understand why it seems that no actions have been taken about the homelessness crisis in the Bay Area. Yes, large housing facilities can be built to get families and people out of the streets, but giving these people shelter is not as simple of a solution as it may seem. Public housing in San Francisco, known as the projects, is still considered a dangerous area. Just because people are out of the streets it does not mean that the streets are a safer place. The issue is also so hard to resolve because the government cannot help people who do not want to help themselves, and this is very unfortunate for people who want a better life for themselves and are willing to work for it. One solution that could potentially work is to provide assistance with contingencies. While many choose not to work because they are given free housing and a well-fare check, there are people who use government assistance to get back up on their feet. I believe we need a system that can help differentiate between those types of people. I believe that finding housing for the homeless population is very important and it must be done in a way that keeps them safe, along with the community around them.
I believe there is no silver bullet for homelessness, and that we should instead address its diverse causes. In the Bay Area, job loss, substance abuse, and mental illness are among the most common reasons. To tackle the detriments of job loss, we could regulate wages and provide more affordable housing, which could involve rent control and smart infrastructure in urban areas. To target substance abuse, prisons should focus more on rehabilitation rather than incarceration of certain drug criminals. Furthermore, homeless shelters could aim for providing more mental health services. Outside these causes, perhaps schools could educate K-12 students more on personal finance and homelessness awareness. Overall, with such a complex issue, I believe that we should target its root causes simultaneously.https://www.spur.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/Figure%206_0.png
I do believe that this is a problem that needs to be addressed because it is a difficult situation with having people out on the streets with no homes, while also having groups of millionaires and billionaires in the area. In terms of the federal and state government, I think that creating more jobs could get more and more people off of living on the streets because most of these people were affected by the decreased funding of federal programs. On the other hand, it would be hard to create more jobs. Another idea may be decreasing the cost of rent in the city because currently, the cost of living in San Francisco is really expensive. That way some people could possibly afford to live in houses/apartments rather than the streets. To decrease the amount of people on the streets, the federal government could increase spending on social programs to provide for the homeless.
I agree with everyone else in that it is saddening to know that homelessness has grown massively over the years and that this issue should be something that concerns more people. There are ways in which our society has attempted to deal with the homelessness in the form of homeless shelters and such, but seeing as the amount of homeless people present all over the country is increasing rather than decreasing, many of these tactics don’t seem to be very effective. I’m unsure that there is an immediate solution to this issue but I definitely think that looking for effective ways to resolve this problem and address it more is something that our society can start doing. In regards to the government, I think they can work on providing more job opportunities for the homeless or something that's enough to get them financially stable.
As mentioned above, I agree that this issue is of growing concern considering the significantly growing number cases of homeless not just in California, but across the US. As homelessness continues to persist, the tension between the have and have nots will only continue to grow and eventually, the bubble will burst. Once it does, it is very plausible that clashes will break out but if we are able to put in measures to solve this issue then we may be able to prevent such clashes.
I truly believe that the government is in place in order to help people. I think it's deeply troubling that in California, a state that is relatively Progressive, individuals aren't given the tools that they need. In San Francisco as well as other major cities the homeless population is rising, and many choose to ignore the fact. I do believe that there needs to be more focused on the institution rather than the individual in order for conditions to improve.
I believe that the issue of homelessness, especially in San Francisco, needs to be addressed immediately. The number of them in the streets is constantly increasing, without the city of San Francisco or government doing anything to solve the issue. Sure, they may be building shelters for them and providing food for some; but that doesn't solve the issue - in fact in some ways, it makes the problem worse. Further, the state and federal governments should do their best to address this issue as much as possible, rather than skipping over or failing to address the pressing situation. They should work harder to provide aid to these individuals in terms of employment, and address their needs in terms of health/mental health. Ultimately, in order to minimize or completely eliminate the number of people in the streets, I in turn think that the government should be doing more to provide these people with jobs and provide shelter for them until they are back on their feet to support themselves financially.
The homelessness situation is becoming such a large issue now that the government needs to start taking more action to address this problem. I think the city government should start making more housing, but not like the expensive luxury apartments, but more studios and cheap living spaces because a big reason there is so much homelessness is because the rent prices are increasing to insane prices. Cheaper housing wouldn’t necessarily solve the current problem, but it would prevent more people from being homeless in the future.
Although no immediate results will be seen in implementing new protocols or laws to help the homeless, immediate action can still be taken to lessen the situation that the homeless are in now. In effect, I think the government should implement more programs that help the homeless find stable jobs or work that can aid in the gradual growth of the individual. Furthermore, I think more funds, volunteer work, and resources should be given to homeless shelters to provide a better living situation for the homeless while they work to sustain a decent living situation for themselves.
I think the government should increase their aid to the homeless and focus on more long term programs rather than the very temporary aid I have seen more of. People need more help than a place to sleep for one night and good for one day. They need jobs and help finding a place to live stably so they can maintain their job. The mental assisted living facilities and other rehabilitation institutions that had closed should be reopened to help with the drug issues. And to prevent homelessness in the first place, wages as well as housing prices could be more regulated so people don’t have to be thrown out onto the streets.
Similar to the sentiments expressed by others, I believe that this is quite the unfortunate reality of the area that we live in. It is quite a shame to see how there are thriving businesses and companies in the Bay Area, right alongside the immense amount of homeless people that reside in the same location. This is obviously a huge issue that really has no immediate fix, the only foreseeable options require a lot of time and change by many people to even make any progress on this problem. While there have been some pushes to create more housing solutions for these people, such as homeless shelters, the shelters can only house so many people, making them a very temporary fix to an ongoing predicament.
To truly address this problem, we must address its root causes. Addiction, unemployment, and rising housing prices are all at the center of this issue, and must be addressed in order to make any solution effective. Homelessness is never anyone's first choice, and at least providing a place of shelter for people to reside will at least attempt to address one of the biggest issues for people living on the street: safety. It is incredibly dangerous to be homeless, not just because you are exposed to the elements, but because it is very easy for others to take advantage of those who are homeless, and is usually instigated by those who appear a supporter at first. Rape, sexual assault, abuse, and violence are all perpetuated at much higher rates in homeless populations, and providing temporary public housing for those attempting to life themselves out of their current situation will help decrease these rates. In order to mobilize this kind of project, however, big government needs to step in and provide funding (if not at the federal level, at least at the state or local level). This solution is not as pragmatic as others, however, as welfare can be a divided, partisan issue that can be hard to achieve funding for. A more realistic solution that can also benefit everyone living in San Francisco is to impose rent control, limiting the amount landlords can charge their tenants. Rent has become so high, there have become a distressing level of successful businesses that have had to abandon or move their practice to find more reasonable prices. This is more for local levels to address, as the federal government cannot possibly address the needs and problems within multiple major cities regarding rent. A more pragmatic and micro-level solution is subsidizing local businesses that provide free services or goods (like haircuts and clothing) so that homeless people can present their best selves at job interviews or when trying to find employment.
I've been following this situation for a very long time, and my stance still remains the same as it always has: BUILD MORE HOUSING IN THE BIG CITIES, AND IMPOSE RENT CONTROL. I cannot stress this enough. Big single family houses are expensive. They're not affordable for most people. More apartments need to be built in the big cities to accommodate, yet zoning restrictions prevent this! It's utterly ridiculous. Metropolitan areas are for jobs and easy access to workers, and suburbs are for the upper middle class that can afford it; it's not fitting to try to keep most of the big city as single family homes. Even in the suburbs apartments are being built left and right; homeowners here shouldn't have to suffer the extra traffic to jobs in urban areas because the big cities refuse to build multi family housing. And rent control works, by the way. I'm going to link an article below expressing this. If you don't believe it already, this article should put forth some fairly strong points.
ReplyDeletehttps://shelterforce.org/2018/03/28/rent-control-works/
Obviously this situation is extremely unfortunate for those that are homeless, and people deserve to have affordable living, so they aren’t forced to live in shelters or on the streets, but there are thousands of people that are homeless so I don’t see any solutions that can be viably implemented within the next few years to help them. Those that are on the streets now are largely stuck there because there is no immediate action that can be taken. Sure the local, state, or federal government can dump money in the opening new shelters for the homeless or building new affordable housing, but those options are either minimal in their effect or several years off in the future. I think the most immediate (although it is very temporary) “solution” would be to encourage greater public support and outreach to the homeless through volunteering at shelters or donating to shelters to aid in the shelters’ efforts to help the homeless.
ReplyDelete1. Obviously, this situation is extremely unfortunate. People are trapped in cycles of ebt, forcing them out to the streets; some do't get adequate assistance for PTSD, and the only place where they don't see Charlie is on the streets. The list goes on and on. Obviously something must be done, but if there were a truly clean-cut solution (like the one Philip suggests), the problem would be solved already.
ReplyDelete2. Rent control is one solution, or perhaps busing, giving people a livable sum and a one-way bus ticket to somewhere with lower prices. Often, people down on their luck are able to crawl back due to a change in locale; San Francisco, where you're paying $3000 a month for effectively a closet, is not the best place to live if you have nothing, and rent control alone doesn't change that. Give people the training needed to do something better and they will accomplish much more.
3. Ditto.
I do believe that policymakers should move this issue up on their political agenda, but I also understand why it seems that no actions have been taken about the homelessness crisis in the Bay Area. Yes, large housing facilities can be built to get families and people out of the streets, but giving these people shelter is not as simple of a solution as it may seem. Public housing in San Francisco, known as the projects, is still considered a dangerous area. Just because people are out of the streets it does not mean that the streets are a safer place. The issue is also so hard to resolve because the government cannot help people who do not want to help themselves, and this is very unfortunate for people who want a better life for themselves and are willing to work for it. One solution that could potentially work is to provide assistance with contingencies. While many choose not to work because they are given free housing and a well-fare check, there are people who use government assistance to get back up on their feet. I believe we need a system that can help differentiate between those types of people. I believe that finding housing for the homeless population is very important and it must be done in a way that keeps them safe, along with the community around them.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is no silver bullet for homelessness, and that we should instead address its diverse causes. In the Bay Area, job loss, substance abuse, and mental illness are among the most common reasons. To tackle the detriments of job loss, we could regulate wages and provide more affordable housing, which could involve rent control and smart infrastructure in urban areas. To target substance abuse, prisons should focus more on rehabilitation rather than incarceration of certain drug criminals. Furthermore, homeless shelters could aim for providing more mental health services. Outside these causes, perhaps schools could educate K-12 students more on personal finance and homelessness awareness. Overall, with such a complex issue, I believe that we should target its root causes simultaneously.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.spur.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/Figure%206_0.png
I do believe that this is a problem that needs to be addressed because it is a difficult situation with having people out on the streets with no homes, while also having groups of millionaires and billionaires in the area. In terms of the federal and state government, I think that creating more jobs could get more and more people off of living on the streets because most of these people were affected by the decreased funding of federal programs. On the other hand, it would be hard to create more jobs. Another idea may be decreasing the cost of rent in the city because currently, the cost of living in San Francisco is really expensive. That way some people could possibly afford to live in houses/apartments rather than the streets. To decrease the amount of people on the streets, the federal government could increase spending on social programs to provide for the homeless.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else in that it is saddening to know that homelessness has grown massively over the years and that this issue should be something that concerns more people. There are ways in which our society has attempted to deal with the homelessness in the form of homeless shelters and such, but seeing as the amount of homeless people present all over the country is increasing rather than decreasing, many of these tactics don’t seem to be very effective. I’m unsure that there is an immediate solution to this issue but I definitely think that looking for effective ways to resolve this problem and address it more is something that our society can start doing. In regards to the government, I think they can work on providing more job opportunities for the homeless or something that's enough to get them financially stable.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned above, I agree that this issue is of growing concern considering the significantly growing number cases of homeless not just in California, but across the US. As homelessness continues to persist, the tension between the have and have nots will only continue to grow and eventually, the bubble will burst. Once it does, it is very plausible that clashes will break out but if we are able to put in measures to solve this issue then we may be able to prevent such clashes.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that the government is in place in order to help people. I think it's deeply troubling that in California, a state that is relatively Progressive, individuals aren't given the tools that they need. In San Francisco as well as other major cities the homeless population is rising, and many choose to ignore the fact. I do believe that there needs to be more focused on the institution rather than the individual in order for conditions to improve.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the issue of homelessness, especially in San Francisco, needs to be addressed immediately. The number of them in the streets is constantly increasing, without the city of San Francisco or government doing anything to solve the issue. Sure, they may be building shelters for them and providing food for some; but that doesn't solve the issue - in fact in some ways, it makes the problem worse. Further, the state and federal governments should do their best to address this issue as much as possible, rather than skipping over or failing to address the pressing situation. They should work harder to provide aid to these individuals in terms of employment, and address their needs in terms of health/mental health. Ultimately, in order to minimize or completely eliminate the number of people in the streets, I in turn think that the government should be doing more to provide these people with jobs and provide shelter for them until they are back on their feet to support themselves financially.
ReplyDeleteThe homelessness situation is becoming such a large issue now that the government needs to start taking more action to address this problem. I think the city government should start making more housing, but not like the expensive luxury apartments, but more studios and cheap living spaces because a big reason there is so much homelessness is because the rent prices are increasing to insane prices. Cheaper housing wouldn’t necessarily solve the current problem, but it would prevent more people from being homeless in the future.
ReplyDeleteAlthough no immediate results will be seen in implementing new protocols or laws to help the homeless, immediate action can still be taken to lessen the situation that the homeless are in now. In effect, I think the government should implement more programs that help the homeless find stable jobs or work that can aid in the gradual growth of the individual. Furthermore, I think more funds, volunteer work, and resources should be given to homeless shelters to provide a better living situation for the homeless while they work to sustain a decent living situation for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think the government should increase their aid to the homeless and focus on more long term programs rather than the very temporary aid I have seen more of. People need more help than a place to sleep for one night and good for one day. They need jobs and help finding a place to live stably so they can maintain their job. The mental assisted living facilities and other rehabilitation institutions that had closed should be reopened to help with the drug issues. And to prevent homelessness in the first place, wages as well as housing prices could be more regulated so people don’t have to be thrown out onto the streets.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to the sentiments expressed by others, I believe that this is quite the unfortunate reality of the area that we live in. It is quite a shame to see how there are thriving businesses and companies in the Bay Area, right alongside the immense amount of homeless people that reside in the same location. This is obviously a huge issue that really has no immediate fix, the only foreseeable options require a lot of time and change by many people to even make any progress on this problem. While there have been some pushes to create more housing solutions for these people, such as homeless shelters, the shelters can only house so many people, making them a very temporary fix to an ongoing predicament.
ReplyDeleteTo truly address this problem, we must address its root causes. Addiction, unemployment, and rising housing prices are all at the center of this issue, and must be addressed in order to make any solution effective. Homelessness is never anyone's first choice, and at least providing a place of shelter for people to reside will at least attempt to address one of the biggest issues for people living on the street: safety. It is incredibly dangerous to be homeless, not just because you are exposed to the elements, but because it is very easy for others to take advantage of those who are homeless, and is usually instigated by those who appear a supporter at first. Rape, sexual assault, abuse, and violence are all perpetuated at much higher rates in homeless populations, and providing temporary public housing for those attempting to life themselves out of their current situation will help decrease these rates. In order to mobilize this kind of project, however, big government needs to step in and provide funding (if not at the federal level, at least at the state or local level). This solution is not as pragmatic as others, however, as welfare can be a divided, partisan issue that can be hard to achieve funding for. A more realistic solution that can also benefit everyone living in San Francisco is to impose rent control, limiting the amount landlords can charge their tenants. Rent has become so high, there have become a distressing level of successful businesses that have had to abandon or move their practice to find more reasonable prices. This is more for local levels to address, as the federal government cannot possibly address the needs and problems within multiple major cities regarding rent. A more pragmatic and micro-level solution is subsidizing local businesses that provide free services or goods (like haircuts and clothing) so that homeless people can present their best selves at job interviews or when trying to find employment.
ReplyDelete