New York City spent $3.2 billion on homelessness programs in 2019
Top 4 US cities with the most unsheltered homeless: San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Santa Rosa, CA, Seattle, WA
Traditional Construction: Overpriced, Inferior Quality & Blown Schedules
Primary over-budget causes for traditional construction:
Unclear scope of work + extras
Lack of effective communication
Employee absenteeism
Changes to scope/project
Unforeseen site conditions
Poor workmanship
Schedule delays
Primary schedule delay causes for traditional construction:
On-site labor challenges
Budget inaccuracies
Delayed approvals/inspections
Sub-contractor conflicts
Lack of effective communication
Poor weather
Pollution
In the USA, annually, over 569 million tons of construction debris from roads, bridges, buildings, demolition, etc. is dumped
On average, trash costs: $30/ton to recycle | $50/ton to sent to landfill | $65 to $75/ton to incinerate
Leading US cities for recycling: San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Portland, OR
Leading countries for recycling rates: Switzerland, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Norway
Summary: How Did This Mess Get Created?
Failed Strategies:
City & Urban Planning
Architectural Design
Political Policy
Watch this video....
Current U.S. Government Strategy on the National Homeless Crisis
From the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness:
1. Housing
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Housing provides a foundation from which a person or family can access the services and supports they need to achieve stability, begin the recovery process, and pursue personal goals.
2. Integrate Health Care
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To treat and manage chronic health and behavioral health conditions that often affect their ability to stay housed and achieve their personal goals, people experiencing homelessness must have access to comprehensive health care.
3. Build Career Pathways
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One of the most effective ways to support individuals as they move out of homelessness and into permanent housing is increasing access to meaningful and sustainable job training and employment.
4. Foster Education Connections
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For children and youth experiencing homelessness, schools can be a lifeline. They provide safety, stability, and a connection to community that can help mitigate the impact of homelessness.
5. Strengthen Crisis Response Systems
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An effective crisis response involves coordinating and reorienting programs and services to a Housing First approach, and emphasizes rapidly connecting individuals and families to permanent housing, while mitigating the traumatic effects of homelessness.
6. Reduce Criminal Justice Involvement
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Our national data shows that the number of Americans caught in a revolving door between the streets, shelters, and jails may reach the tens of thousands.
7. Build Partnerships
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Recognizing that the solutions to homelessness cut across federal, state, and local jurisdictions, we need to build a robust interagency, cross-sector approach to preventing and ending homelessness.
8. Prevent Homelessness
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To end homelessness in America, we must strengthen our ability to prevent it in the first place. To do that, we must take a multi-sector approach that focuses on housing needs, housing stability, and risks of homelessness across many different public systems.