Why do people become homeless?
Despair has got to be a factor. Loss of hope, giving up.

Why do people lose hope?
I think our society is messed up. We are raised on fairytales. First it starts with Disney, then it migrates to all the happy-endings in film. We are filled with endless advertising about the dream-life awaiting us, and reality shows fill our imaginations.

We will all drive a luxury vehicle, live in a McMansion. We will never go grey, or bald. Our teeth will never rot. Our sex lives will be great, and we will spend as much time on vacation as doing work, which isn't actually "work", but a passion or "play" that we love.

The solution is setting expectations right: stoicism.

We need to raise our children on the notion that life is unfair, that life is toil. Don't expect too much.

I suspect that if we could go back in time, a certain significant percentage of homeless people would not be homeless if they had been raised with different expectations of life.

So, then, how to address THAT after the fact?

Stoicism.
Before they give up.

Your analysis really lets the Sacklers and our inadequate mental healthcare system off the hook.

I think your analysis applies more to unhappiness, depression and over prescription of antidepressants…..but most of those people hold down jobs and pay rent.

I don't believe many of the people of whom you speak are passed out on the sidewalk on Fentanyl, getting Narcan-ed a few times a month, sh@itting in the street, talking and yelling at imaginary people, bashing heads in with rocks at encampments and taking early morning strolls across lanes on the freeway or on active railroad tracks.

bearister said:

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Your analysis really lets the Sacklers and our inadequate mental healthcare system off the hook.

I think your analysis applies more to unhappiness, depression and over prescription of antidepressants…..but most of those people hold down jobs and pay rent.

I don't believe many of the people of whom you speak are passed out on the sidewalk on Fentanyl, getting Narcan-ed a few times a month, sh@itting in the street, talking and yelling at imaginary people, bashing heads in with rocks at encampments and taking early morning strolls across lanes on the freeway or on active railroad tracks.

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I appreciate the post!

I'll agree that there are many types of mental illness, many times of drug use, many levels of despair and causes of all the above.

I think you and I both highlighted 2 such groups.

I'm no expert in this arena. One who is could probably toss us some vast literature on it all. All of it tragic and lamentable.

The group I was referring to are those who even start or try. Though that's a vast list of reasons.

The reason all the money spent on the homeless problem never ends up solving homelessness is because the money ends up in a non-profit run by a former California Democrat state senator who uses the money to fraudulently purchase a building for $16 million over its actual fair-market value.

NEW: Feds just announced former CA Democratic state senator's non-profit is linked to an alleged $27m scheme using homeless housing funds.
Former state Senator Kevin Murray is the CEO of "Weingart" -- which the Feds say used $27 million in homeless dollars to purchase a…

— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) October 16, 2025

More info at this link

the ultimate Homeless themed video, from 2010 that, no shoot, won am emmy in the short flick category, by Joss Whedon (before he got his butt rightfully kicked out of hollywood) and starring a much younger Felicia Day (before she got married, umm, just long enough to have a kid)..


and i forget the rest

Lies and lacking so much context via misinformation.

When people working 40+ hours a week are sleeping /living in vehicles there is a systemic problem

going4roses said:

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Lies and lacking so much context via misinformation.

When people working 40+ hours a week are sleeping /living in vehicles there is a systemic problem

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Drugs, alcohol, gambling, too many kids for minimum wage job

Dissolving family structures and single motherhood is a major factor. That is why you see more homeless in the US than in many third world countries with much higher poverty rates.

going4roses said:

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Lies and lacking so much context via misinformation.

When people working 40+ hours a week are sleeping /living in vehicles there is a systemic problem

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40 years of trickle down economics means anywhere wealth is generated (CA, NY, etc.) the wealthy will be able to bid up and buy real estate. We need to tax wealth, enforce anti-trust, and raise minimum wages to level the playing field and bring asset prices back into reach. When AI comes for the jobs it needs to be regulated, taxed, and / or nationalized unless we want to live in a feudal society, which is where we are headed.

Not my problem as I'll be buying up more real estate to rent out next year. I'm content for my kids and I to be low-level "Capital Lords" in the burgeoning feudal society. The people have to figure it out and the deck is already stacked very much against them.

Hmm and who leads in fatherless households? Go check the data first I'm pretty sure you will be surprised

Love how you looked over greed and selfishness.
Capitalism is built on the wealth stealing from the poor hence the inception of Amerikkkan capitalism = chattel slavery ( hundreds of years of stolen free labor) still the debt remains plus accrued interest.
Interesting the same group of people that lived with and continues to deal with wrongdoings about also have manage the list in this image/list

going4roses said:

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Hmm and who leads in fatherless households? Go check the data first I'm pretty sure you will be surprised

Love how you looked over greed and selfishness.
Capitalism is built on the wealth stealing from the poor hence the inception of Amerikkkan capitalism = chattel slavery ( hundreds of years of stolen free labor) still the debt remains plus accrued interest.
Interesting the same group of people that lived with and continues to deal with wrongdoings about also have manage the list in this image/list

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Black households have the highest rate of single-parent households in the United States. In 2023, 47% of Black mothers were single mothers, compared to 25% Hispanic, 14% of white mothers and 8% of Asian mothers. Similarly, 49.7% of Black children lived with one parent in 2023, a significantly higher rate than for other racial groups.

Overall, 23% of children in the US are in single parent households, which is the highest rate in the world.

going4roses said:

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Hmm and who leads in fatherless households? Go check the data first I'm pretty sure you will be surprised

Love how you looked over greed and selfishness.
Capitalism is built on the wealth stealing from the poor hence the inception of Amerikkkan capitalism = chattel slavery ( hundreds of years of stolen free labor) still the debt remains plus accrued interest.
Interesting the same group of people that lived with and continues to deal with wrongdoings about also have manage the list in this image/list

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Who are, in your opinion, the top 3 or 5 Black community leaders today?

Cal88 said:

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going4roses said:

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Hmm and who leads in fatherless households? Go check the data first I'm pretty sure you will be surprised

Love how you looked over greed and selfishness.
Capitalism is built on the wealth stealing from the poor hence the inception of Amerikkkan capitalism = chattel slavery ( hundreds of years of stolen free labor) still the debt remains plus accrued interest.
Interesting the same group of people that lived with and continues to deal with wrongdoings about also have manage the list in this image/list

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Who are, in your opinion, the top 3 or 5 Black community leaders today?

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Ones that have not sold out or capitulated to the status quo / the system (will die for systemic/tangible changes to the indigenous Black community) … none because the CIA/FBI murdered them all

Do they have names?

I think he's referring to MLK and Malcolm X.

Aunburdened said:

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The reason all the money spent on the homeless problem never ends up solving homelessness is because the money ends up in a non-profit run by a former California Democrat state senator who uses the money to fraudulently purchase a building for $16 million over its actual fair-market value.

NEW: Feds just announced former CA Democratic state senator's non-profit is linked to an alleged $27m scheme using homeless housing funds.
Former state Senator Kevin Murray is the CEO of "Weingart" -- which the Feds say used $27 million in homeless dollars to purchase a…

— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) October 16, 2025

More info at this link

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California under Newsom spent $24 billion on homelessness and the homeless population increased?

Cal88 said:

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I think he's referring to MLK and Malcolm X.

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https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOpZ6mbkfAu/?igsh=aHA3Nmtyemg3aGx3

Don't Forget Fred Hampton and Megar Evers and a few others

PAC-10-BEAR said:

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California under Newsom spent $24 billion on homelessness and the homeless population increased?

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Largely because there is no accountability at the Cities where they distribute State funds to non-profits.
Just take a look at San Jose.

San Jose has over 6,300 homeless residents.
One of the highest in the nation.

The City spent $302 million on the homeless from 2022 - 2023.

$120 million came from the State to fund homeless support services from 2022 - 2023.

The State audited San Jose's use of homeless funds:

"When we attempted to evaluate the use of the city's interim housing beds, we found that San Jose does not regularly monitor this information," the audit report reads. "Consequently, it lacks complete and accurate information to assess whether the usage of its existing interim housing units and beds is efficient and whether more beds and units are needed."

Another major gap identified by the audit is that the city doesn't consistently measure the effectiveness of its support service providers, with poorly defined performance metrics. It also found that most of the city service providers have not yet received a performance report, despite costing the city millions of dollars in contracts.


State finds San Jose lacks accountability with homeless spending - San Jos Spotlight

San Jose lags on state homeless audit recommendations - San Jos Spotlight

The non profits definitely profit off homelessness to a point I wonder how many want their jobs ( paychecks) to be fazed out because there isn't a need.
Some of those funds could/ should have been used on Subsidized- PSH permanent supportive housing. To actually house people.

If you don't have drug problem and work 40-60 hours a week you should not be living in a vehicle ever is the other part of the equation.

Threat of homelessness will manifest itself in the form of mental illness and or drug addiction

There are efficient ways to reduce homelessness and care for the working poor and chronically homeless, by for instance changing local and state regulations for RV owners, or providing support for them: reduced vehicle registration fees, allow access to lower cost or free parking spaces with basic services (showers, toilets), subsidized daycare for working single mothers etc.

Many working poor are a couple of parking tickets away of losing their shelter. It costs a whole lot less to keep them living in their RVs than to take care of them once they lose their last line of defense from being homeless.