Elk Grove Paying Homeless People to Clean Up After Themselves, and It’s Working

If you’re doing fentanyl or smoking meth under a freeway overpass, it’s highly unlikely you could have afforded an apartment at any price. The problem isn’t being solved because people are trying to blame the wrong cause. Despite all the money we throw at the problem, the homeless and drug addicted live in a much worse situation than any any comparable developed country. California is clearly making the problem worse, not better:

>How did things get so bad in California? The state has long prided itself on being humanistic and innovative. It is home to some of the world’s largest public health philanthropies, best hospitals, and most progressive policies on mental health and drug addiction. The Democrats have a supermajority. What went wrong?

>According to Bales and other experts, California made homelessness worse by making perfect housing the enemy of good housing, by liberalizing drug laws, and by opposing mandatory treatment for mental illness and drug addiction

> Other states have done a better job despite spending less money. “This isn’t rocket science,” said John Snook, who runs the Treatment Advocacy Center, which advises states on mental health and homelessness policy around the country. “Arizona is a red state that doesn’t spend a ton on its services but is the best scenario in every aspect. World-class coordination with law enforcement. Strong oversight. They don’t let people fall apart and then return to jail in 30 days like California does.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2019/09/12...

California is making asinine policies that increase the problem.