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Originally Posted by blankall
That's true for a lot of people. The lack of housing supply is definitely forcing more people onto the streets though. Once you are experiencing homelessness it's a lot easier to fall into a downward spiral of drug use and mental health issues.
Being able to afford rent and having a place to go is also typically a first step towards creating stability.
I agree that treatment is an issue, but so is the lack of housing supply.
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Yes. It's pretty clear in a place like Vancouver how many people are just one crisis or emergency away from being pretty screwed, and expensive housing could quickly lead to a downward spiral involving homelessness.
I also tend to think another big contributing factor is how isolating and atomized culture is in North America (maybe especially WASPy culture?). The emphasis upon independence, the extent to which people leave home and move away from family with expectations of standing on their own two feet, and the extent to which self-worth and societal value is so tied to social as well as economic independence means a lot of people end up without strong support systems from tight family/community networks to prop them up when times get tough or they enter into crisis.