On a single night in 2020, over half a million people in the U.S. were experiencing homelessness, marking the fourth consecutive year the numbers have increased per the 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, experts project this number to rise sharply over the coming years — but why exactly is it happening, and what can be done about it?
These are the questions John Oliver asks in his latest Last Week Tonight segment, exploring the various reasons people become homeless, the reasons they remain homeless, and the “not-in-my-back-yard”-attitude that sees locals pushing back against schemes that could potentially benefit unhoused people.
“If you’re wondering why homelessness continues to get worse in this country, one reason is there are a lot of people, even liberals, who believe that homelessness is a personal failing, poverty can be avoided, and their own good fortune makes them not only better than the unhoused, but more worthy of comfort,” Oliver explains.
“I do not want to over-simply the logistics involved here. It will take a massive commitment in infrastructure, funding and resources. But the very first step here is a collective change of perceptions. Basically we need to stop being dicks, and assuming that the unhoused are a collection of drug addict criminals who’ve chosen this life for themselves, instead of people suffering the inevitable consequences of gutted social programs and a nationwide divestment from affordable housing.”
