© Jewel Samad/AFPThe new Central Union Mission shelter in Washington, DC
Counting the homeless is, of course, a critical element to making appropriate homelessness policy. But good policy also requires greater awareness of a discovery that research continuously confirms — it's cheaper to fix homelessness by giving homeless people homes to live in than to let the homeless live on the streets and try to deal with the subsequent problems.
The most recent report along these lines was a May Central Florida Commission on Homelessness study indicating that the region spends $31,000 a year per homeless person on "the salaries of law-enforcement officers to arrest and transport homeless individuals — largely for nonviolent offenses such as trespassing, public intoxication or sleeping in parks — as well as the cost of jail stays, emergency-room visits and hospitalization for medical and psychiatric issues."
By contrast, getting each homeless person a house and a caseworker to supervise their needs would cost about $10,000 per person.
Comment: There is a distinct difference between cultures and city governments that are truly empathic and thus willing to work toward solving the problems that create homelessness and those who are psychopathic and would rather avoid responsibility by keeping those less fortunate out of sight and out of mind. People need to understand that these problems can be solved if there is a concerted effort and a willingness to do so.