New Study Debunks Homeless Migration Theory

Despite a commonly repeated assumption that unhoused people flock to warm West Coast cities and exacerbate the housing and homelessness crisis there, research from UC San Francisco contradicts these claims, reports Jerusalem Demsas in The Atlantic.

The survey, “the largest representative survey of homeless people in more than 25 years,” found that only 10 percent of respondents became homeless outside of California, and many of them had prior ties to the state that prompted them to return.

Demsas points out that the theory doesn’t stand up to scrutiny: “Moving is expensive. People who lose their housing rarely have the means to transport themselves, their families, their pets, and their belongings across the country.”

The most frequently reported reason for loss of housing was reduction of income due to unemployment or a decrease in work hours. Economic reasons were followed by two social ones: conflict among residents, and concerns about imposing on roommates or family members. These social reasons would, in a more affordable environment, lead simply to a change of address, not homelessness.

Ultimately, Demsas points out, regardless of the services available to unhoused people, “the crisis of homelessness is a crisis of homes.” California and other states with expensive housing have to build their way out of the crisis.