> Colorado/Montanta/etc are just too damn cold in the winter for homeless to survive, so they migrate to other warmer places
It's this level of ignorance that is part of the problem.
Just because someone is rendered homeless doesn't mean that they uproot and move away from their friends and family and job and life. If you're conjuring up images of vagabonds and junkies at the end of their tether, you really need to learn more.
No, not really. It is hard to move and costs money and this is a major deterrent to moving. Not to mention that moving takes away your last connections to any sort of social network you've built up: They might not be able to get you housing, but an occasional warm meal or moral support helps too.
You are also assuming that homelessness means living in a tent on a street and that is only a single facet. Some folks bounce around between couches, for example. The government might not consider you homeless while doing this, even if you know you'll be on the street in days. (A friend of mine stayed in a shelter to get housing because of this rule, in Indiana). Lots of folks stay in shelters on cold nights as well. Many sleep in cars. Homelessness is simply less severe/deadly in warm climates.
And don't forget that Colorado/Montana/etc also have summers, which means that folks can (and sometimes do) decide to be homeless for part of the year.
I mean, seriously... I'm originally from Indiana. Indiana has winters every year, and storms in the spring and summer (so homeless = wet). Indiana has a homeless population. Same for Chicago and New York City, both of which have winter.
And lets not forget that different places have different ways of dealing with homelessness. I'm not caught up on policies in different states, but I'm guessing some states funnel more folks into housing than others, some funnel more folks into jails and prisons than others, and some simply see if folks die on the streets or not.
It's this level of ignorance that is part of the problem.
Just because someone is rendered homeless doesn't mean that they uproot and move away from their friends and family and job and life. If you're conjuring up images of vagabonds and junkies at the end of their tether, you really need to learn more.
Chicago alone has almost 60,000 homeless, and it's a huge problem that so many die in the winter. https://s6624.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Homeless-Es...