Why California Has A Terrible And Very Visible Homeless Crisis

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California has a uniquely visible homeless crisis, but the whole country is actually suffering from homelessness as well. In this video, we break down exactly why California (and the west coast at large) appear to have so many more homeless people and camps than the rest of the country. Get ready to for a deep dive into the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments homeless data!
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Photo/video credits:
Brandi Alexandra
Brett Sayles
Cityxcape
Kindel Media
Meysam Soheili
Naomi August
Nathan Dumlao
Rodnae Productions
Ron Lach
Pixabay
Stephen Andrews
Tima Miroschnichenko

[@weenisw]

I’m waiting for the algorithm to help you out because you deserve more views for these quality videos

[@GeographyByGeoff]

Thanks! I'm fairly new so I don't expect any favors from KZbin, but I'm happy some are enjoying my videos. More coming soon!

[@jamiedavies4545]

@@GeographyByGeoff Its Jamie Davies I live in England country I want to get a independent apartment over in America is that possible please @GeographyByGeoff my mate and friend?????????

[@nickfromm5315]

he's at nearly half a million subscribers now ;,)

[@user-tm1kb3fq4m]

@@GeographyByGeoff Can you make a video about Worcester, Massachusetts?

[@Skipbo000]

Here's what the data doesn't doesn't tell you: the number of people CHOOSING to live what they call a truly free, nomadic life. There were two homeless people camping at the end of my street. I had a small loft apartment above my garage that I would let them live in for free until they found a job. They said, "no thanks." Living as a nomad is a choice. Home ownership even renting has responsiblities that nomads have no interest in. The question cities in America are having to answer is: Is Sleeping on the street legal? NYC has said no it's not legal. You sleep here you go to jail or I can take you a shelter, that's why you no longer see homeless people on the streets of NYC. LA has not been able to pass similar laws. Homelessness has nothing to do with the number of new houses built in a year. In my city there are thousands of houses sitting empty. Look at Detroit. Same thing.

[@isaacng123456789]

I think weather is also a factor. CA Government is not as urgent to house homeless because California weather is mild all year round. It never really get unbearably hot in the summer, and it never really get unbearable cold in the winter. If New York did the same, there would be dead bodies on the street during the winter. If Texas did the same, there would be dead bodies on the street during the summer and winter.

[@vasquez123045607890]

As a person who grew up and left LA for the midwest because of rising housing costs and the lack of affordable housing, this video hit different. Thanks for backing your video with facts and great data. Please keep it up! If you have a patreon of some sort as well, would definitely support that!

[@TheRustyLM]

3:58 viewer from portland here. that tiny shack shelter is shut since feb2023 now.

[@diezel5267]

I think one thing that people don't really mention when speaking of homelessness in California is the weather. I imagine that people from all over the country travel to California because the weather if favorable. Cities like Chicago don't experience high rates of homelessness because of their weather. Florida is humid and unfavorable. People likely don't migrate to Texas from other states, and its probably more the case that the homeless in Texas are from Texas. People of course migrate to NYC for opportunities, but NYC is also better equipped at dealing with the homeless due to its larger supply of building inventory. It seems that California essentially is dealt with handling the nation's homelessness problem. Without help from the Federal Government, why should California bear the costs of housing everyone else's homeless residents? This is likely their thinking and the reasons why homelessness is so visible in California.

[@mysticaltyger2009]

It's not primarily a money problem. It's a red tape problem and a corruption problem. California has refused to build enough housing for most of the last 40 years. And cities like San Francisco spend $50,000 per homeless person on homeless "services". But they don't do anything to remove the red tape in building new housing (for homeless people or anyone else). In Los Angeles, they say it costs $500,000 to build ONE new unit of housing for the homeless. This is a SCAM. Serving the homeless has become its own kind of industry. If the problem is actually solved, lots of people lose money.

[@philipvandyke5980]

2 things, Calif. is a mild climate and reason people gravitate to it being homeless. The other is homelessness is everywhere as cost go up and jobs go away. Look to Cina and people , Laying flat

[@mysticaltyger2009]

California's issues with homelessness predates the Great Recession. Due to overly strict zoning laws, California wasn't building enough housing decades before the Great Recession happened. That's why home prices and rents there have been so high for so long.

[@a_ec]

thank u for a more nuanced look at the homeless crisis than most seem to oftentimes lately. cheers man.

[@TheInfoCan]

If we're giving out houses for free, does every one get one? Or is this a wealth transfer proposition?

[@luiszepeda2692]

Wow. A very unbiased look at the homelessness problem here in California, what a refreshing change. I'm so used to watching extremely biased videos about California turning into a dumpster fire and how it's all going to hell because of politics in this state and what not. This was a good, informative video. You got my like and sub.

[@craignelson2041]

There is one component to housing costs..........demand. It is just too crowded. I know California quite well. I lived in San Diego from 1998-2011 while I was active duty. I've been all over the state. Would I live there again? Yes........if I had a couple million dollars. I miss San Diego a lot. If people demand to live in California, but can't afford it, then don't move there or move away to more affordable states like Texas or "less desirable" midwest states if you have a choice. I get that some people don't have a choice to move from California like military, homeless, people with disabilities, people on fixed incomes, and the list goes on. However that is a relatively small group. A root cause of the demand problem are the ultra wealthy who insist on basing their companies like tech and the film industries in California. They can afford to pay their workforce well into 6 figures to allow them to buy homes with median prices in the $800K - $1.5M range depending on area. People with regular middle class jobs like fire, police, teachers, etc. cannot afford that, let alone the lower middle class and poor. Sure they can live in California in very tiny apartments or properties...........or with 6 roommates, but not a regular home with 3 bedroooms, 2 bathrooms, 1400 sq foot, or perhaps with a garage like you can in most of the country for a whole lot less in the range of $250K - $500K depending on which state. Just do a Zillow map search of homes and rents in the coastal L.A, San Diego, and SF Bay areas and tell me if that any of that is affordable to the majority of US residents who do not live there. If I were a tech CEO, I would look elsewhere instead of the San Francisco Bay or Silicon Valley area to base my operations. California's big cities ultimately need a population reduction of 10-20% to help stabilize or perhaps reduce home prices, reduce homelessness, reduce cost of living, reduce water consumption, reduce crime, etc. How could that happen? Find ways to relocate and migrate people to other cities or states with better quality of life, lower costs of living, etc. There's lots of info in the past 1-3 years to suggest that more people are moving out that moving into California.

[@mtalich]

Guaranteed minimum housing, what a concept.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Surely the yellow bars on the graph should say "sheltered homeless". Otherwise your point about NY vs CA would be exactly the other way around.

[@jb31842]

Came here to say this

[@MrKKmusic]

These are excellent productions - many thanks!

[@GeographyByGeoff]

Thank you! 🤠

[@FELiPES101]

You lost me when you all of a sudden thought that the wars did nothing and that the money could have gone to homelessness. Ask yourself why these people are becoming homeless. Did they make poor career choices? Did they fail to educate themselves in school? Were there drug issues they involved themselves in? Did they make the necessary sacrifices to live where they became homeless? Of course there are many that had no choice which is terrible, but I don't think these people are hopeless in getting a job in a less expensive part of the country. That should be the focus of a government program. It goes back to "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Giving someone a home does not mean they have the mindset or knowledge to sustain themselves for the rest of their lives.

[@cazwalt9013]

Of course the us gained nothing from its stupid wars look at Iraq now and 20 years of war in Afghanistan that faded away in under a month

[@TheKickshaws]

Exactly. My MIL is an example of someone who’s homeless but “sheltered.” She has constantly been careless and often making bad decisions throughout her adult life, refusing to learn any self-reliance skills, leading to her being evicted from and SUED by her apartment complex because she didn’t pay her rent. My husband and I GAVE her shelter by letting her stay in our home for months but she made no effort to get a job and get out on her own. We finally had to kick her out and she’s doing SOMEWHAT better on her own without the “freebie” housing we gave her. Also, my husband is a cop and frequently deals with homeless in the city he works in, and very few of them want any real help when he offers it. There are definitely some homeless people who are down on there luck and are desperately trying to get out of their situations, but experience has shown me that a LOT of homeless don’t want to make any effort to get out of their situations.

[@egret4393]

Nice vids. Hope the growth continues

[@yesid17]

liked and dropping a comment for the algorithm gods-your videos are great!

[@user-zx8de8op9l]

Well done

[@TingKing66]

With a lot of Homeless comes drug abuse, you can't go to work when your stoned out of your gord.

[@Risteard156]

The problem is no more jobs rent is out of control to high look at the supermarket prices also getting worse each year 😢

[@Fireneedsair]

Good content!

[@SouthCountyDreaming]

The Housing First policy breaks down when you are dealing w a problem the size of California’s. Also, the state has interpreted Housing First to mean no required treatment for medical or psychological issues. Look at the difficulty in keeping their sites decent. It’s a huge issue.

[@mysticaltyger2009]

Exactly. If you don't mandate and enforce drug rehab and mental health treatment, forget it.

[@AL-lh2ht]

2 thousend views? What the hell? This video should have way more views. Mabye its a branding issue or something with geography but seriously you are going to explode in views and subscribers sooner then later.

[@iamyouarei9497]

"Giving people a home" will never solve the issue. You can give someone a home but who's going to do maintenance, and pay for maintenance? Utilities? Taxes? California couldn't build tiny little homes I could DIY for 20k each without costs soaring to hundreds of thousands per unit.

[@MrKFess]

Bruh did you not pay attention to the video?

[@RkR2001]

There is also Nil assistance from the Tech Billionaires and Celebrities for the Homeless

[@seandiaz99]

Sorry to say here in CA most of the homeless suffer from drug abuse and mental issues- how do we help that problem without infringing on individuals rights. Also the Finland solution of housing first looks the most promising however try telling a California tax payer to pay for someone's housing when most people are living paycheck to paycheck. Good unbiased content. Keep them coming

[@theidioticbgilson1466]

homelessness caused by drug abuse is mostly constant amongst states, the largest factor by far is the copiously high house prices

[@MrKFess]

uhhhh tax the rich? Don't tax the people living paycheck to paycheck...

[@maryanncrody4867]

Prices ate too high we need rent control

[@drde4010]

Great video you should be running for office in California. You seem to inform people better than they do.

[@stephrands5859]

We agree on the issue, but wildly disagree on the solution. And your opinion on the war in the middle east. Do you support the current funding to Ukraine?

[@maryanncrody4867]

Greedy landlord keep supplies low so they can gouge us

[@justinfacteau2328]

7:45 quite the opposite need to reinvest in the USA not spending on dumb overseas escapades !

[@timf2279]

This video is one reason why I don't subscribe.

[@maryanncrody4867]

We love to feel better about ourselves by making fun of homeless

[@sebastienholmes548]

This could be easily dealt with if government eased zoning laws.

[@scasey1960]

It’s drug addicts first.

[@jerrymiller9039]

You get what you pay for, if you pay people more for bad bad behavior and bad decisions then you get more of that.

[@theidioticbgilson1466]

no, it's because of the house prices. providing help for homeless people has a negative correlation with the amount of homelessness

[@theidioticbgilson1466]

no, it's because of the house prices. providing help for homeless people has a negative correlation with the amount of homelessness

[@jerrymiller9039]

@@theidioticbgilson1466 when you pay people to be homeless, you get more homeless people

[@keeganbrown9967]

Sorry but the solution isn't going to be fixed at a federal level. It's a local level issue that the federal need to stay out of.

[@user-xi4nz3be1x]

The federal government can give billions to failing banks but not to its actual citizens? 🙄

[@helpAmerica1]

you have plenty of housing the problem is simple americans keep on moving out leaving everyone as a dump......stop doing that grow up.

[@soralb6368]

You forgot the reason why housing is much less expensive in Texas than in California. It is because of easy zoning laws and smaller bureaucracy.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Disliked due to the political stuff and moralizing about wars. I'm not saying war is good, but you can address homelessness while also fighting foreign wars. Housing is not a federal government issue; the conduct of war is.

[@TheProfessional15]

NO DUMB WAR 👎🚫🤮🇺🇲

[@TheProfessional15]

And i dislike your comment 👎

[@crusader2112]

Mirza Ahmed What wars are you referring to specifically? Sorry, I forgot to specify. Peace ✌🏻

[@TheProfessional15]

@@crusader2112 To all the wars in the world, especifically the Ukrainian and Korean wars

[@crusader2112]

@@TheProfessional15 Okay thanks.

[@nathanieliden9923]

We need to reclassify the population currently called homeless as jobless. Changes are being rapidly made to language anyways let's make this happen.

[@theidioticbgilson1466]

a majority of homeless people in california have jobs. also of those that are unemployed most are transitorially so meaning that they will be employed within 6 months