But mental illness, substance abuse, and criminal activity of many kinds are a lot more difficult to deal with, and to a large degree they are the drivers of homelessness today.

Therefore, I don’t see how the solution called “housing first” could even have looked good on paper. Maybe it appealed because it didn’t cast blame; the problem and the solution would reside outside the messy realm of personal responsibility or personal flaws. And a “housing first” approach does make one aspect of the problem less visible by getting at least many of the homeless off the streets, and makes the city look less like the slums of Calcutta.

Only problem is, that’s probably all it does.

[We need to figure out transitional solutions for those made homeless via economic problems. We need residential care for the mentally ill and addicts, hopefully temporary but with options for involuntary commitment. We shouldn’t be providing advantages to the latter at the expense of the former. — Ed]