DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Let’s talk Homelessness solutions.

In 2025, homelessness in the U.S. increased compared to previous years, with the number of people experiencing homelessness reaching a record high. This increase is evident in both sheltered and unsheltered populations, and the rise is particularly noticeable when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Key points about the increase:
Record high:
The number of people experiencing homelessness in 2025 is the highest since HUD began tracking data in 2007, according to the North American Community Hub.
Year-over-year increase:
The 2025 count shows a significant increase compared to 2024, with some areas experiencing a double-digit percentage rise.
Factors contributing to the increase:
Rising housing costs, insufficient social safety nets, and the aftermath of the pandemic are major contributing factors to the rise in homelessness.
Impact on specific populations:
While some subpopulations, like homeless youth and veterans, saw decreases in 2025, others, such as those experiencing "chronic homelessness" and families, saw increases.
Regional variations:
The increase in homelessness is not uniform across the country, with some states and cities experiencing more significant surges than others.
Undercounts:
It's important to note that point-in-time counts, which are used to track homelessness, are often considered undercounts, meaning the true number of people experiencing homelessness could be higher.

Guess nobody wants to talk about possible solutions lol. Much like the entire USA. The political leaders of our country will just continue to allow the homeless to roam our streets like zombies. Pathetic.

Nobody has an answer. Poor always with us. Church attendance down. Take care of number one. It is a huge "hidein" problem and no organization wants to address it. Food banks at churches are always going empty. I don't have an answer.

Drive around Cleveland and what you will see is one abandoned building after another. You'll see large swaths of vacant land... Homes falling down in ruin.

I'm sure its like that in other cities as well.

SO what if, with the help of the Federal Government, we take over these buildings and land and rebuild or build new buildings that would house the homeless? It's gonna cost like crazy.. Then you gotta staff them which is another nut you got to cover.

But would that solve the problem? Honestly, I doubt it completely eradicates the problem. But it might take care of the bulk of it.

That's just a thought from a lubricated mind....:) But at least it's an attempt to find a solution.

What ever happened to the poor farm? I remember growing up hearing. Keep going like this and you’ll end up on the poor farm.

I believe getting the homeless out of urban areas and into modern facilities that tackle health and welfare mental and addiction issues is a good start.

Those that just find themselves on the street because the can’t afford rent obviously need financial help and a roof to get back on their feet. Some of these people have jobs but can’t afford to get off the street.

And then we have those people that just like living on the street freeloading vandalizing store fronts and basically trashing up others property. They don't want help. This is the hardest group to deal with.

They did exist I guess.. Long long ago. They were taxpayer funded facilities.. Both in the country and urban areas. Also referred to as The Poor House!

My only guess as to what happened to them is someone had what they thought was a better idea.. Meaning being on the public dole like with welfare as such...

I guess this kinda proves what is Old is new again.....

Anyway, like I said, it was just a thought.

Say no to drugs!

I think the following would help a lot.

1. Stop spending money on other countries.
2. Stop spending money on foreign wars.
3. Reduce military spending.
4. Spend saved money on mental health reform. This is one of the most needed things. I am disgusted by the cost of mental health care in the US, even with insurance it's embarrassing.
5. Spend saved money on taking care of veterans.
6. Strict guidelines on welfare system. Can't milk the system.
7. Don't just spend money wildly. It must be focused, or else you'll end up spending like the so called "war on poverty" which is BS and the definition of bad government. Just throwing money at a problem does not fix the problem. I think it's about HOW you're trying to fix the problem and who you're working with.
8. Societal morals must return. One must be proud to earn a wage and ashamed to receive help from the government\welfare.
9. Balance the budget. Pass a law where if the president doesn't balance the budget then he\she is not allowed to run for a second term. This will hopefully cause a surplus and bring a good economy.
10. Ban all lobbying.
11. Limit membership in congress to 5 years.

Do all of that and I think you'd have sky high surpluses but they don't care. I am also very curious about the history of military spending since 1900. It seems like the amount of money we spend on the military yearly is like we're in a perpetual war when we're actually not. I find this absurd.

The reality is if there was a definitive answer we would have probably already done that.

As you said there are a certain number of people who do it by choice. I am not going to speculate on what percentage that might be or what causes that. It could be any number of reasons.

Another reality is the problem will never be totally solved. It just won't.

Education is part of the problem. I think we tend to steer everybody towards a college prep education where IMO everybody isn't suited towards college. I think by 8th grade you have a pretty good idea if a person is a serious student or not. After that is when kids zone out so to speak. Don't require those kids to take French or advanced math and science. Steer them towards trades and on job training programs. They will still have more math and science, but it will be applied math and science which will be picked up more easily if the kid is interested. Make it math associated with the skill being taught.

This will help both those who lag behind, so to speak, and the smarter kids who are sometimes held back as teachers have to spend more and more time trying to get a certain number of students in the class to meet some quota number.

Until then, I suppose just set up more tent cities with basic services available, I am not saying it has to be tents. Just using the term. Most people don't like to feel worthless so don't just make it free. Have some sort of community service programs associated to provide some sense of worth and self esteem in addition to providing some community good. What those services might be can be debated.

Another reality is there probably isn't much you can do with those locked in that cycle. The key is trying to keep more and more kids from falling in to that cycle.

Cute,, And the first step is to dismantle the Department of Education.

I don't think you are wrong about education. I just think we have a class of people that don't want an educated population. And I think that group are now running the country.

WE could learn a lot about education from Japan.

lol yeah reduce spending by passing the largest spending bill ever. Are you for real? Trump style policies help create homelessness. Like dismantling the department of Education. Under trump homelessness has grown exponentially this year. Inflation still up up up. Grocery prices up up up. Rent up up up. Tariffs making inflation worse. Prices up up up. There are people a paycheck away from becoming homeless.

And all we hear from Goper’s is nothing can be done about homelessness while they’re all backing Trump policies that help create more homeless. Pffft. Goper’s…And they won’t even try to address it. It’s pathetic. No plan = a failure to act. IMO if we’d solve homelessness we’d also solve a multitude of other issues along with it. But we won’t, because Americans in general are lazy asses.

I’d vote for this