They Just Need to Get a Job: 15 Myths on Homelessness

For readers of Andrea Elliott and Matthew Desmond, the former CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless breaks through the highly destructive misinformation surrounding our homeless neighbors As the COVID-19 crisis put millions of Americans in danger of eviction, the nation's affordable housing crisis has reached new heights. Yet Conservative think tanks like the Manhattan Institute continue to disseminate anti-homeless myths in the media, legislatures, and the larger culture: "These people just need to learn to save money." "Most homeless people are mentally ill and dangerous." "Runaways aren't really homeless." Drawing on her deep legal knowledge, policy expertise, and decades of frontline service, Mary Brosnahan cuts through the misinformation to deliver two important messages: that homelessness ultimately stems from a lack of investment in affordable housing; and that the greatest myth of all is that we should have no hope. In fact, the proven solutions are well documented, and the a