Thread by @mikebonin

There is loud and growing criticism of homeless housing from people saying homelessness is about addiction and mental health, not housing. We absolutely need more mental health & drug rehab services -- and we can't address these issues among the unhoused without housing. (1/13)

Homelessness is caused by myriad factors, both systemic and personal. Whether the cause is eviction, job loss, domestic violence, a health issue, or an addiction, a necessary part of the solution is housing. (2/13)

We need significantly more resources to handle our mental health crisis and our drug crisis, especially meth, heroin and fentanyl. People are spiraling into personal Hell in front of our eyes, and mental health, rehab and recovery resources are way too scarce. (3/13)

People suffering from addiction or mental health issues shouldn’t be arrested and jailed, but leaving them to suffer and die on the streets is unacceptable. We need dramatically more NON-carceral programs to help people. Part of the solution, for the unhoused, is housing. (4/13)

There is a popular myth that housing advocates are proposing housing *instead* of services. On the contrary, supportive housing is housing *with* those services. (5/13)

By providing housing, we help people move off the streets. By providing services, we help people overcome issues that led them to the streets, or emerged as a consequence of being on the streets. (6/13)

When advocates say the solution is “Housing First,” they are not saying “Housing Only.” They are saying “house someone and then help them deal with addiction, mental health or other issues.” It is actually “Housing Plus.” (7/13)

With rehab or mental services without housing, we are not going to solve the homelessness crisis. If a homeless addict gets clean and sober, they are still homeless. If someone on the streets gets a handle on their mental health issues, they are still homeless. (8/13)

High barrier housing -- requiring an unhoused person to get clean and address any mental health issues before they are housed -- leaves people on the streets. They remain homeless, and in an environment where it is harder to get sober and more challenging to get well. (9/13)

As someone who has struggled with addiction and with mental health issues, I can tell you it is a helluva lot easier to get healthy and well with a roof over your head than it is living on the streets. (10/13)

The trauma of homelessness leads people to bad places, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Substance abuse and mental health issues are often the *consequence* of homelessness, not the cause of homelessness. (11/13)

Faced with the harsh realities of life on the streets, many people self-medicate -- and that often pushes people into the torments of addiction. If someone with a latent mental health issue becomes homeless, the trauma of living homeless will exacerbate the issue. (12/13)

No matter what led someone to the streets, what traumas they experiences on the streets, or what keeps them on the streets, without housing, they remain unhoused. We need many things to solve homelessness - but we can't solve homelessness without housing. (13/13)