Comment by systemvoltage | Hacker News Reader

Comment by systemvoltage | Hacker News Reader

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The data does not support GP's assertion:

70% from San Francisco

22% from rest of California

8% from out of state

Also, the data disagrees with the general sentiment of "Mental Health" issues amongst Homeless people. Only 5% were homeless because of mental health problems. Most of them, almost a quarter are homeless because they lost their job.

Basically, many things in this report goes against the general opinion of people of the Bay Area. Misinformed public leads to misinformed decision making and policies.

Responding to GP:

> I don't think the mess in San Francisco is entirely due to local policies. I think the nation as a whole needs substantially more affordable housing.

This is wrong. It is precisely due to the policies of SF city. The sooner people realize and accept the faults of San Francisco city's governance, the better it will be for the city. Same lessons can be applied to Portland (used to be ranked 3rd in the nation according to Oregonian, now it is ranked a whopping 66th out of 80), Seattle, and Los Angeles.

To OP - thank you for the link, it's illuminating.

> Also, the data disagrees with the general sentiment of "Mental Health" issues amongst Homeless people. Only 5% were homeless because of mental health problems. Most of them, almost a quarter are homeless because they lost their job.

The same study also quotes (p. 28): "Seventy-four percent (74%) of respondents reported living with one or more health conditions, compared to 68% in 2017. These conditions included chronic physical illnesses, physical disabilities, chronic substance use, and severe mental health conditions. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of respondents reported their condition limited their ability to hold a job, live in stable housing, or take care of themselves, compared to 53% in 2017."

This points to the fact that regular, long-term medical care is the singular issue in the homeless. I had no idea that things were that bad. 15% have a traumatic brain injury? Holy hell.

Losing one's job is not mutually exclusive with drug addiction and mental illness.

That's absolutely correct. San Francisco should be a city lined with gold given the wealth and income base. Given its fortunate context it should be more like Singapore and a lot less like a slightly nicer Los Angeles.

And makes GP assertion even less likely when counted at per-family-with-children.

47% is from within SF the rest is from elsewhere

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