I really enjoyed this week of talking about different cities, and learning of a couple theories out there of what actual steps to take to solve the homelessness issue. It was no surprise to me that Los Angeles was making more progress than San Antonio because of certain ideological issues that are affecting policy. San Antonio’s choice to isolate the homeless, blame their situation on personal failings, and rely on private action showed in their results as Los Angeles is experiencing more success in long-term solutions.

Dan McGuire’s skype call was also really informative. Homeless Solutions in New Jersey is privately owned, and I think that it was good for me to hear about a private organization making real sustainable differences, because based on the reading and discussing we have been doing in class I have found myself leaning in favor of government providing these services. Privatizing this issue seems to go hand-in-hand with doing things like blaming peoples situation on personal flaws and damaging stigmas. It seems like that would be a good idea because of the way it would impact national narrative, but it’s always a good reminder that private institutions can do plenty good.

Hearing about how state funds have shrunk dramatically was definitely disheartening. I believe that across the board there was a 75% drop. Fixing this problem will obviously take a lot of resources and it seems like we are moving in the wrong direction.