The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

In Dallas, police issued 11,000 “sleeping in public” citations between 2011 and 2015.
Police also stopped people for loitering, panhandling, and for sleeping in public spaces
in the city — even though the city lacks sufficient shelter beds.
In late 2017 in Portland, Oregon, the Columbia Sportswear CEO called for more policing
of the homeless population after moving his company headquarters downtown. In
response, the head of the Business for a Better Portland urged the city to adopt “holistic
and collaborative solutions” to systemically address the underlying causes of
homelessness. Activists also fired back by protesting the city’s “no-sit” laws in front of
Columbia Sportswear’s downtown store, forcing the company to close for the day.
3.
Criminalizing
homelessness
does nothing
to address its
root causes.
The causes of
homelessness
vary, but
experts largely
agree that both
structural and
individual
factors play a
role. Structural
factors include
poverty,
inadequate
affordable
housing, inadequate access to meaningful public assistance, decreased availability of
mental health care, and discrimination.
In Detroit, for example, advocates report that an increasing number of families
experience homelessness because the city lacks affordable housing and has a high rate
of evictions. About 3,000 children experience homelessness each year in Detroit.
Similarly, in San Diego, skyrocketing rents, low vacancy rates, and a severe shortage of
affordable housing have placed the city at a “tipping point.” Over the past year, there
has been a 14 percent increase in people living on the streets in San Diego. This
situation is likely to grow worse, as California has cut $200 million from the city’s
affordable housing programs over the past six years.
There are also personal factors that can cause homelessness, including traumatic
events, family crises, and the onset of mental or physical problems.
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