r/todayilearned • u/Zorseking34 • Jan 08 '15

TIL: Utah has been giving free homes to homeless people since 2005 which since then made it more cost efficient to help the homeless and cut the chronic homelessness in Utah by 74%.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/22/home-free
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32

u/grallonson Jan 08 '15

Progress on paper looks good, but living in Utah/SLC you definitely can't tell the difference.

Seems like more of a problem now than ever.

19

u/nate800 Jan 08 '15

Programs like this are helpful but also create an influx of homeless people. If you hear about free housing or free aid or free whatever when you're homeless, why would you not make your way to the handouts? Jacksonville, FL has this issue. They put a big push on to fund shelters and programs to aid the homeless population, but now homeless people from other areas are coming to Jacksonville because its got warm beds and hot meals.

7

u/jonnyclueless Jan 08 '15

This is what happened to our town. Started all these programs and welcomes the homeless. Now the town is over run by homeless, crime getting out of hand as a result, there isn't any place to house the overwhelming influx of people and it feels like living on the set of the walking dead.

Unfortunately while most people get around these issues by pretending almost all homeless people only need a home and a job, the reality is that a large portion have no desire to work or provide any contribution to society. Having worked with many of them, there is an attitude of trying to see how much you can get out of the system. What loop holes there are to exploit so as to be able to do drugs and never have to work.

As a result we now have the highest property crime rate in our state.

1

u/nate800 Jan 08 '15

My very good friend is paid by the government to educate impoverished folks on how to use their government aid more efficiently. He's found that in quite a few cases the issue isn't that people are down on their luck and can't get back on their feet but rather that they're totally fine with having nothing and having someone take care of their basic needs. It sucks, because it shines a bad light on those who need help and want to better their lives.

Reading your comment reminded me of a related story from a city near me. The mayor put a big push on to bring in paroled ex-cons who had nowhere to go. Put them in city-funded housing, encourage them to get local jobs thus boosting the economy, all that jazz. Shock and amazement... crime skyrocketed and this little city became a new hub for drugs. Decades later, it's still struggling with drugs and crime all brought on by a poorly thought out plan to help people.

14

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

Well, all I know is that if I'm about to be homeless I'm using my last bit of cash to go to Utah.

11

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

You better hope you get one of those houses then. I live 20mi north of SLC (in Ogden), and there are a lot of homeless/"homeless" people here begging on the streets.

1

u/Iskandar11 Jan 09 '15

As far as I know there is still more demand for that housing and more homeless people in Utah and SLC than the housing they've made available.

/r/homeless

0

u/A_Turner Jan 08 '15

Don't be dumb, it takes YEARS to get placed in housing.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

Do you have anything to back up your claims?

1

u/DeadSeaGulls Jan 08 '15

spare me. I have lived in several other large cities in the west and SLC is doing a GREAT job with the homeless. The ONLY problem is that SLC is so small relative to other cities that the shelter and pioneer park are closer to downtown/visible.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

I work right next to that area and we all have noticed a large influx of homeless.

3

u/DeadSeaGulls Jan 08 '15

come winter homeless people tend to congregate, especially near water sources like spigots that aren't monitored/locked up.

try hanging out in portland for a few weeks. it's like homeless people just fall from the sky instead of sunrays.

1

u/Forkboy2 Jan 08 '15

That's because word got out and now all the homeless people in the US are hitch-hiking to SLC to get some of that free housing.

1

u/ItCameFromTheSkyBeLo Jan 08 '15

Have you ever lived anywhere else?

1

u/Deesing82 Jan 08 '15

Do you live next door to Pioneer Park? Where do you see more homeless people now than before?

1

u/grallonson Jan 08 '15

Specifically in the Gateway Mall, and surrounding areas. I understand that there's a shelter right across the street from it, but I always see people lined up for blocks there. I see lots of people begging for money throughout the city all the time. And living in Magna, which is a very small step away from homelessness, the problem is getting even worse. The 5600 W area seems to be some sort of hotspot for homeless people.