No More Cabrini-Greens—Motels Aren’t a Panacea for the Homelessness Crisis

If we don’t change our approach immediately, most of the motel conversions for people experiencing homelessness will become centers of crime and drug overdoses.

A homeless encampment in San Diego on Oct. 4, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Commentary

Over the past four years, in major cities across the country, hundreds of motels and hotels have been converted into motel shelters for people experiencing homelessness, with thousands more being planned. Rather than helping address the ever-growing homelessness crisis, these expensive projects are ill-conceived, poorly designed, minimally maintained, poorly managed, worn down, and crime-infested.