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Last week I was visiting Seattle, and of course homelessness popped up--from being confronted with it head on, to having conversations about it with a date, or calling my brother in Singapore and hearing how his daughter doesn't like LA, SF, or Seattle because of the issue :/ 🧵 1/15

So I decided to look at some stats and graphs because that's just who I am. Here's what I've learned. 🧵 2/15

Homelessness basically boils down to housing availability/affordability issues and problems accessing proper/pertinent medical care and social services. 🧵 3/15

However, it does not affect people or places equally. For example, New York is highest in the US in terms of gross and per capita rates. But, most people, especially in winter, are temporarily housed or sheltered. For NYC, it's basically 95%. For LA, that is significantly lower at 35%. 🧵 4/15

In fact, 7 or 8 of the top 10 unsheltered populations are in California alone. All are above 50% unsheltered. The other 2 are Portland and Seattle. The West coast dominates unsheltered homelessness. Climate and culture undoubtedly are major factors. 🧵 5/15

So that's geography. But what about demography? Sadly, and unsurprisingly, minority and marginalized populations have a tougher time. In particular, Pacific Islanders, LGBTIQ+, and those with disabilities face disproportionate hardships. 🧵 6/15

Homelessness dramatically lowers life expectancy, too. It basically lops off 25 years. For perspective, that was the life expectancy around 1900. 🧵 7/15

Seattle's mayoral race last year prominently featured homelessness and sweeps as a policy measure. Incumbent Bruce Harrell ultimately lost out. 🧵 8/15

Here are complaints over the last few years as well as data on homelessness in King County. The unsheltered population has nearly tripled in the last decade, though a methodology change helped inflate numbers some. Seattle is 2nd behind LA in terms of total unsheltered population. 🧵 9/15

So. Clearly there's a problem. But what to do? It's a sticky, tough, tangled situation. There's mental health, economics, housing and zoning, societal values and meaning, politics, substance abuse, generational genocide and trauma, and many other topics all wrapped into this mess. 🧵 10/15

There are a few examples of success stories, though. Japan and Finland are routinely mentioned. Japan culturally is so unique, and they also may be hiding cafe hoppers, so there's probably not a lot to easily emulate there. 🧵 11/15

Finland, on the other hand, tried something radical. Give homeless people homes. Full stop. And it's mostly worked. Down ~80% in 40 years. 🧵 12/15

Both Finland and the VA found that providing housing ended up being cheaper than shelling out for emergency services and the like. It's a win, win, win. Folks are more empowered, costs and crimes are reduced, and there seems to be less conflict at large. 🧵 14/15