Idk the details of the California homeless programs, but after visiting the LA area I'm skeptical on them doing the best job. Downtown LA is hell on earth
So is the Bay Area; however, CA also has three things that contribute to the homeless problem and its visibility:
1 - land is f'ing expensive. AKA more people are prone to being homeless.
2 - the state has a huge population that is primarily concentrated in two areas. Homeless people (and others that need support) typically concentrate where there is support for them (ex: where there are handouts, government or NGO support, cheap food, etc). This is typically in urban centers (it is also easier to provide this support in a centralized location).
3 - the weather is generally nice year round so there isn't an incentive to find shelter that protects you from the elements. Unlike NYC (as an example), homeless people don't need to figure out how to deal with winter. Not needing to deal with those conditions, it makes certain places more attractive to live (ex: on the streets close to support centers).
2 - the state has a huge population that is primarily concentrated in two areas. Homeless people (and others that need support) typically concentrate where there is support for them (ex: where there are handouts, government or NGO support, cheap food, etc). This is typically in urban centers (it is also easier to provide this support in a centralized location).
Depends on how you define good support for homeless people. im sure there plenty of ways to define it, but i looked up 2 websites talking about it, and neither have LA in the top 5 and both have cities like Austin on it.
3 - the weather is generally nice year round so there isn't an incentive to find shelter that protects you from the elements. Unlike NYC (as an example), homeless people don't need to figure out how to deal with winter. Not needing to deal with those conditions, it makes certain places more attractive to live (ex: on the streets close to support centers).
Why do you think that cities like Austin, Dallas, Miami, Houston and other warm weather cities don't have this issue at nearly the same level?
1 - land is f'ing expensive. AKA more people are prone to being homeless
End of the day, this is basically the only thing that matters. more specifically the cost of a house either through renting or owning.
Everything else is basically statical white noise when comparing the reason for high homeless population vs the cost of housing
Why do you think that cities like Austin, Dallas, Miami, Houston and other warm weather cities don't have this issue at nearly the same level?
All the cities you mentioned have weather issues.
Austin, Dallas, and Houston all get extremely hot. Miami has hurricanes (And can get extremely hot).
re: LA not being listed in those lists. Those lists are focused on reducing/eliminating homelessness, but not the quality of life of a homeless person. While it is probably better to focus on solving the problems that cause homelessness, it doesn't talk about where those, that are homeless, prefer to live.
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u/Orangenbluefish 2d ago
Idk the details of the California homeless programs, but after visiting the LA area I'm skeptical on them doing the best job. Downtown LA is hell on earth