Why do you think people end up on the streets? This morning I was researching common myths people seems to have about homeless people because this seems to be such a hot topic in our course throughout the entire semester. I came along an article in the LA Times written by Adam Murray on December 31, 2015. Although this was written a few months ago the content seems to still be very true today. He discusses the four myths people have specifically about the homeless people in Los Angeles. The first myth described is the idea that these people want to live on the streets. Yes, there are people who do not want to take charity from others or do not want to live in shelters, but he describes that is different from wanting to stay on the streets. The second myth people make about homeless people in LA is that they want to come and be homeless in LA due to our nice weather. Although this is a reasoning many people homeless or not come to California it is not likely that once homeless these people made the trek out to California, most likely they already lived here prior to becoming homeless. The third myth is that most homeless people are mentally ill. As we have discussed in our class this is a reasoning for people becoming homeless, but not the only reason. The final myth he discusses and my personal favorite myth is that it is too expensive to get all of these people out of homelessness. In one of my previous blog posts I discussed how housing first is actually much cheaper in the long run than the expenses that arise with so many people living on the streets.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1231-murray-myths-about-la-homelessness-20160101-story.html