With thousands of people sleeping on the streets each night, a question continues to echo: Why aren’t we converting abandoned motels into safe, affordable housing? The fix seems straightforward—secure the property, board up broken windows, add basic surveillance, and offer rooms for as little as $50 a month. But the real problem isn’t logistics—it’s systemic resistance.
Programs like Housing First have proven time and again to be effective. In fact, they’ve been shown to drastically reduce emergency room visits—saving up to $60,000 annually per person in mental health-related costs alone. Yet despite the data, these initiatives rarely get the funding or political backing they need.
Seattle’s Dying Homeless documentary shines a painful light on the crisis. It reveals how people struggling with addiction and mental illness are often arrested a dozen times each year. The cost? Around $200,000 annually per person when factoring in police, courts, and jail time. Compare that to $30,000 for a year of Housing First services. The math is simple. The morality, even more so.
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So why the hesitation?
Enter NIMBYism—”Not In My Backyard.” Some community members oppose supportive housing in their neighborhoods. Meanwhile, developers see dollar signs in every vacant lot, preferring to build luxury condos instead of low-income units. And while this goes on, hedge fund profits stay safe, while everyday seniors are taxed on Social Security.
The system isn’t broken—it’s working exactly as designed. Until we prioritize people over profit and start demanding better, the homelessness crisis will only deepen.
What do you think needs to happen to make real change?
#HousingFirst #StopTheCycle #PeopleOverProfit
