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Comment by segmondy | Hacker News Reader

They don't need a fucking house. They had a fucking house before they became homeless so it wasn't the lack of house that was the problem or cause of homelessness. There are other underlying costs that needs to be addressed.

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Help cleaning up to stay sober. This is number one for most homeless. Drugs took them down their path of fall. Fyi Seattle made safe places for junkies to shoot up instead of putting the money in to clean them up. Their wide spread drug use is the city's own doing.

A steady job.

And a home.

Maybe someone to talk to for help on mental health.

That cures around 90% of the total homeless issue. But yea, they still need a fucking house.

There's a lot of homeless people who can't work as-is; the disabled, unsocialized and mentally ill need support and minor accommodations to try to work and to keep it. Some have substance-abuse issues, but not all. There maybe hygiene issues, but at least in the US, the so-called social workers rarely do a very good job in mentoring or preparing people for transitioning to indoor dwelling lifestyle.

Then there are disabled, elderly, poor people.. they need to not be harangued, forced into work or treated like criminals.

There are few, cool sane homeless people who are just poor but don't have the money or support to mythologically-"pull themselves up from their.." children's story "...bootstraps."

Disclaimer: I chose vehicle dwelling because I'm a cheapskate.

What underlying costs?

In the US I see a lot of household costs that are going up above and beyond inflation especially in California:

* Transportation (No good public transit or usable bike infrastructure so stuck with Cars)

  * Registration Fees

  * Toll costs

  * Gas Taxes

* Power - Electricity costs are going up, especially in CA

* Water/Sewer - Getting more expensive, especially in CA

* Trash - Waste Management is taking over and gouging prices like crazy

* Housing prices near workplaces are skyrocketing requiring ultra-commutes increasing transportation costs

I was pretty much priced out of California... That place is going downhill fast affordability wise. Unless you have a VERY well paying job it's barely livable.

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