ProCon’s Homelessness Quiz
- Question: Which of the following is a common argument against “Housing First” policies?
- Answer: All of these are common arguments against “Housing First” policies.
- Question: Which U.S. state has the largest population of homeless individuals?
- Answer: California is the state with the highest number of unhoused people.
- Question: Which areas of the United States, ranked from the highest number to the lowest, contain the most homeless individuals?
- Answer: This is the latest geographical ranking.
- Question: How much of the unhoused population experiences mental illness?
- Answer: Between two-thirds and three-fourths of the unhoused population experiences some sort of mental illness; some 37 percent of those with mental illness live with alcohol use disorder, 22 percent with active drug use, 13 percent with major depression, and 12 percent with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
- Question: Which of the following is true about “Housing First” policies, which prioritize the providing of permanent shelter to unhoused people without requiring the recipients to meet other conditions, such as sobriety, employment, or drug and mental health treatment?
- Answer: All of these are true about “Housing First” policies.
- Question: Which segment of the population is the only one to see a decrease in homelessness in recent years?
- Answer: Veterans are the only group to report continued declines in homelessness.
- Question: Which of the following is true about how the U.S. government counts unhoused individuals?
- Answer: All of these answers are true.
- Question: Which film had a devastating effect on mental health facilities, contributing to the release of patients who ended up homeless?
- Answer: Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (book, 1962; Oscar-winning film, 1975) contributed to the deinstitutionalization of people experiencing mental illness from state hospitals beginning in the 1960s, leading to the release of many patients who ended up homeless.
