The one country in the developed world where homelessness is falling is Finland, because they decided they actually wanted deal with the problem. They did it in the most surprising way possible, by (duh!) giving homeless people homes:
Tatu Ainesmaa turns 32 this summer, and for the first time in more than a decade he has a home he can truly say is his: an airy two-room apartment in a small, recently renovated block in a leafy suburb of Helsinki, with a view over birch trees....
Downstairs in the two-storey block is a bright communal living and dining area, a spotless kitchen, a gym room and a sauna (in Finland, saunas are basically obligatory). Upstairs is where the 21 tenants, men and women, most under 30, live.
It is important that they are tenants: each has a contract, pays rent and (if they need to) applies for housing benefit.
The Finns approached the problem by coming up with the idea now known as Housing First — the idea that you don't have to sort out your problems, such as drug or mental health issues, first in order to enjoy the reward of a roof over your head. Instead, the idea was that a roof over your head is what makes it possible to stabilize your life, deal with your issues, and get your life back on track.
The "staircase model" — forcing the homeless person to use shelters and other temporary accommodation until they get their problems under control — was how the Finns used to deal with homelessness, just like other developed countries do around the world, and it was just as much a failure there as it's been everywhere else.
So Finland decided to try something else.
With state, municipal and NGO backing, flats were bought, new blocks built and old shelters converted into permanent, comfortable homes...
Since its launch in 2008, the number of long-term homeless people in Finland has fallen by more than 35%....
But Housing First is not just about housing. “Services have been crucial,” says Helsinki’s mayor, Jan Vapaavuori, who was housing minister when the original scheme was launched. “Many long-term homeless people have addictions, mental health issues, medical conditions that need ongoing care. The support has to be there.”
At Rukkila, seven staff support 21 tenants. Assistant manager Saara Haapa says the work ranges from practical help navigating bureaucracy and getting education, training and work placements to activities including games, visits and learning – or re-learning – basic life skills such as cleaning and cooking.
That must have been ridiculously expensive. I can hear you scoff. But in fact, the Housing First model has actually been saving money.
[A] recent study showed the savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system totalled as much as €15,000 a year for every homeless person in properly supported housing.
Of course, it's only possible because Finland is a social democratic country. In Helsinki, the government owns much of the land within the city limits, already owns a large number of social housing units, and maintains strict zoning laws to prevent social segregation.
Obviously, not a model most Americans would find attractive, or even comprehensible.
Clearly, Americans prefer this.
And leaders in the US who do want to actually deal with the problem struggle to get to even the first step:
The stunning increase in homelessness announced in Los Angeles this week — up 16% over last year citywide — was an almost incomprehensible conundrum given the nation's booming economy and the hundreds of millions of dollars that city, county and state officials have directed toward the problem.
But the homelessness crisis gripping Los Angeles is one that has been many years in the making with no easy fix. It is a problem driven by an array of complex factors, including rising rents, a staggering shortage of affordable housing units, resistance to new shelters and housing developments in suburban neighborhoods, and, above all, the lack of a cohesive safety net for thousands of people struggling with mental health problems, addiction and, in some cases, recent exits from the criminal justice system that have left them with no other options beyond living on the streets....
At a public forum in Venice on LA's west side last October, Garcetti faced shouting protests and catcalls over the course of four hours as he tried to convince residents to support opening a shelter in a vacant lot as part of his "Bridge Home" project. The neighborhood's residents cited concerns about crime, disruption, trash and needles that are already a problem in their streets.
This week faced with the grim numbers, the LA mayor vowed to carry on.
I guess it's just a matter of proving the truth of the old quote: "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing — after they've tried everything else."