Preston Cochrane

Critics often argue that accountability “criminalizes homelessness.” This is a distraction. The real crisis isn’t accountability — it’s a system built on the belief that the chronically homeless are too fragile for expectations. The current approach fails for two main reasons: We’ve convinced ourselves that accountability is harmful for people in deep crisis — so we strip away the very social feedback that helps every other human being grow, change and stay grounded.

Dramatic improvement in helping the chronically homeless grow toward better lives is unlikely to happen without fixing the structure of the current system. The current segmented system of specialized service providers is a flawed structure. It is a broken market. Markets work when the receiver of a service or product is also the payer. In a healthy market, products and services continually improve because customers reward those who give them what they need and punish those who don't.