Can't get over how incredibly clean and bum-free Dallas is

[craigs]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

i prefer hobo.

Hoboes are the new unicorns.

Originally Posted by edale

Exactly. That's why it's a total myth that you can spend your way out of the problem. From a Southern California perspective, you don't have to look to Texas to see this is true. Ever wonder why Beverly Hills, Burbank, and Glendale have very few homeless, but LA is exploding with them? The former cities enforce their laws and make it difficult for the homeless to be public nuissances while LA largely turns a blind eye and lets them do whatever they want. I'm not advocating for totally cutting services for the homeless-- they have to have somewhere to go, and they need resources to be rehabilitated to functioning members of society. But doling out services and resources while expecting nothing in return (like adhering to a basic social contract) and failing to enforce laws is a recipe to become a homeless hotbed. That's the recipe that SF and LA have used so far, and we see how that's working.

For many years, SF and LA were hamstrung by a Ninth Circuit ruling that required all counties and cities in the West to have enough beds for every homeless person in their jurisdiction before local authorities were allowed to clear out even one encampment. Fortunately, that requirement was overruled by the Supreme Court about six months ago. Western counties and cities are now free to break up encampments, but it will take more time to see big changes.

Regarding the smaller cities--it's all about law enforcement. I have heard a Los Angeles County sheriff working in Santa Clarita flat-out admit that they detain the homeless and order them to leave town. LAPD doesn't have the resources--or the green light--to do that.

Originally Posted by mhays

The truth is in the middle.

Skepticism is always the best starting point.

Surveys and polls always have some bias because there's no way for the sample to be truly representative. There's also nuance in what questions are asked, how questions are asked, and how questions and answers are interpreted.

Some of this is captured by margin of error and some isn't.

That said, I agree that a rigorous, honest effort on a topic people will generally answer honestly will typically be in the neighborhood of the truth.

A friend and former forumer works for the city of San Francisco, and he has often noted that local homeless advocacy organizations and agencies are convinced they will get more funding by identifying their charges as unfortunate locals. He says the homeless are coached to say they are from the city, and the orgs and agencies themselves will count as a city resident someone who had a local place to sleep for as little as a week. I cannot verify this information, but he's been telling me that for about 20 years.