Arresting that guy will help solve the vagrant problem. It won't solve the homelessness problem, and that's definitely a hugely important point. Most people who become the vagrant type of homeless have serious underlying mental illness or got seriously deep into drugs though, and they're in a state where they are not going to voluntarily accept help. A guy down on his luck is unlikely to turn into this disruptive stereotype even if he does unfortunately end up on the street longer term, while there are vagrants who came from wealthy families and are on the street entirely by "choice" (which I put in quotes because they are seriously ill).
I heard a talk recently from a couple social workers that run programs for addressing homelessness in New York. There are 100 or so homeless people that are well known to services in NYC because they have repeatedly refused offers for help, and these people have stayed on the streets for years while an entire homeless populations' worth of people has been successfully helped back onto their feet (of course with a never-ending flow that keeps the overall population at high numbers). Occasionally one of the vagrants ends up in the news for attacking someone, but short of that they will be left on the streets, which is really a lose/lose.
> a never-ending flow that keeps the overall population at high numbers
I think of high housing prices as a "homelessness producing machine" that can generate more people without homes faster than the government or non-profits can help people out.
Lower housing prices mean lower flows, which makes it easier to get a handle on things, like the Texas article discusses.
Right, that group of 100 is a burden on society and are likely not able to consent to their current situation, to treatment, or to basically anything besides eventually getting run over. I'm sorry if it's mean, but we have a duty to the millions that walk through their shit, needles, and piss every day.
The group we should have more compassion for is the working class who's fucked by our housing policy. Those Boomers retiring with big housing payouts are living on the suffering of the single mother staying at her friends house, of the guy living in an RV so he can afford insulin, etc.
I heard a talk recently from a couple social workers that run programs for addressing homelessness in New York. There are 100 or so homeless people that are well known to services in NYC because they have repeatedly refused offers for help, and these people have stayed on the streets for years while an entire homeless populations' worth of people has been successfully helped back onto their feet (of course with a never-ending flow that keeps the overall population at high numbers). Occasionally one of the vagrants ends up in the news for attacking someone, but short of that they will be left on the streets, which is really a lose/lose.