OPINION: Compulsory Arrest Could Help Homeless Addicts

ONLY TO GET INDOORS –

April 15, 2023 – Los Angeles’ recently initiated “Mansion Tax,” for instance, specifically raises funds to combat homelessness.

But those funds cannot be used for immediate solutions like emergency shelters or the treatment programs needed to help folks who are both homeless and addicted to drugs. And as I can personally attest, there are many, many such folks.

So the money must be spent on longer-term efforts, such as the homeless apartment units known as permanent supportive housing (PSHs). Advocates are keen on PSHs, pointing to Houston, for instance, which reduced its homeless population by 60% between 2012 and 2021 by more than doubling the number of PSHs.

But San Francisco has increased PSH availability by 40% – and all the city has seen in return is a simultaneous 20% rise in its homeless population. In fact, San Francisco has 50% more units than Houston even though Greater Houston has nine times more people. Los Angeles can report similarly depressing statistics – rising homeless housing and a parallel spike in homeless numbers.