> Thank you for confirming that you cited a chart listing 75% of unsheltered people and called it "close to 100%".

I already said that the study is from pre-COVID time, and puts the lower bound due to its conservative methodology.

And yes, I consider it proving my point, even that conservative estimate shows that for the vast majority of unsheltered homeless the problem is not in housing availability. It's mental health and/or drug abuse.

> A more relevant figure from the study is figure 2: 51% of unsheltered people (and 6% of sheltered) say that substance abuse is a cause of their homelessness. Also see figure 3 for other relevant causes.

Self-reporting, again. It's also kinda beside the point. Right _now_ the unsheltered homelessness is a drug problem however it began earlier.

Unless you just want to wait until all the addicts just die of overdoses?

> There are many attempted claims in this thread that people "don't want help", and none of that is supported.

I cited another study. There is also the experience in Seattle or SF. I guess you live somewhere in a town where the worst substance abuse is someone getting a bit too much booze?

Portland tried to decriminalize drugs and add voluntary treatment options. Their drug treatment hotline apparently helped 17 to enter treatment. Not percent, people.

> On top of that, see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48057738 for a more nuanced point about lagging indicators: the right interventions happen much earlier in that downward spiral.

Yes. We need absolutely relentless pressure. If you're caught doing drugs, you need to have only two choices: treatment or jail. You can then get into housing, but with random mandatory drug screening. Constant, unyielding pressure with 100% certainty of consequences.

For people who are NOT on drugs, I fully support emergency housing assistance, job training, and/or help with getting disability status.

> That is nowhere near the same as a claim that homelessness, in general, is a problem of drug addiction, or that the Venn diagram is a circle. That claim is actively harmful towards efforts to build systems that actually help people.

No. They are people who are actually not blinded by the ideology and CAN SEE THE FUCKING PROBLEM in the first place.

> False. Stop assuming that people who come to different conclusions than you have have not done thorough research.

Sorry. But not buying it.