It has been estimated that one homeless individual can cost a community upwards of $40,000 a year. None of us wants to see any individual or family suffer the physical and emotional distress of having nowhere to turn, yet homelessness in this country is a growing problem.
A common misconception is the belief that the incidence of homelessness nationally and locally is the result of the government’s failure to fund social service programs adequately. In truth, spending on homelessness in this country is unprecedented.
No amount of water poured into a broken glass will fill that glass. Similarly, assistance that is given to a homeless person – without addressing the underlying causes of homelessness – doesn’t fix the person or the problem. Either the resources become depleted and the person falls back into homelessness, or the person relies on society permanently to keep them afloat. Homelessness will escalate as long as this practice continues.
When the number of productive citizens within a society falls below a certain level history shows us that the society will fail to thrive. For the sake of the individual and the community as a whole, it is crucial that we work together to help people become independent and productive members of society.