The question officials and all of us must consider is whether we will need to find a way to accommodate a growing population of semi-transient homeless who can’t be housed in any existing subsidized shelter or housing and/or resist any institutional solutions in favor of a more independent existence. There may be some partial solutions that don’t fit our usual boxes.

Of course, part of the problem here is that we have national trends that are feeding the increase in this population, from job loss to continued lack of mental health support. The growth in inequality of income and the abandonment of our working class by corporate America is something that we may not be able to “fix” on the local level. The need will simply overwhelm our resources.