The Shockingly Simple, Surprisingly Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness | Mother Jones

The Shockingly Simple, Surprisingly Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness | Mother Jones: If places as different—economically, demographically, politically—as Salt Lake City and Santa Clara County can make Housing First work, is there any place that can't? To be sure, the return on investment will vary, depending on how you count the various benefits of fewer people living in the streets, clogging emergency rooms, and crowding jails. But the overall equation is clear: "Ironically, ending homelessness is actually cheaper than continuing to treat the problem. This would not only benefit the people who are homeless; it would be healing for the rest of us to live in a more compassionate and just nation," Tsemberis says. "It's not a matter of whether we know how to fix the problem. Homelessness is not a disease like cancer or Alzheimer's where we don't yet have a cure. We have the cure for homelessness—it's housing. What we lack is political will."