拜登公布新举措对抗游民危机

On a single night this year, the federal government surveyed people across this country who were homeless.

今年的某个夜晚，联邦政府对全国无家可归者进行了调查。

The survey found the total number of people who are unhoused is stable.

调查发现，居无住所的总人数保持稳定。

But hundreds of thousands of people are moving in or out of homelessness.

但成千上万的人正变得无家可归，或者正在摆脱这样的状态。

There's a lot of churn there. So the Biden administration is announcing a shift in strategy.

有许多的状态变动。因此，拜登政府宣布改变战略。

NPR's Jennifer Ludden is here to tell us about it. Good morning.

NPR新闻的詹妮弗·卢登将为我们带来详细报道。早上好。

Hi there.

嗨，你好。

What do the numbers show you, Jennifer?

这些数字告诉你什么，詹妮弗?

So you know, they are good news in the sense that we've seen homelessness numbers rising steadily since 2016.

从某种意义上说，这是个好消息，自2016年以来，无家可归者人数稳步上升。

During an annual count this year, there were just over 580,000 people without housing.

在今年的年度统计中，有超过58万人没有住房。

That's the same as in 2020, which was the last full count right before the pandemic.

这与2020年情况相同，那年是疫情前的最后一次完整统计。

I will note that over the course of a whole year, more than a million people report that they don't have housing.

我要指出的是，在一整年的时间里，有超过一百万人报告说他们没有住房。

But Biden administration officials say, look; these numbers likely would have been a lot higher without all that financial help that people had access to during the pandemic.

但拜登政府官员表示，瞧; 如果人们在疫情期间没有获得所有这些经济帮助，这些数字可能会高得多。

And now that a lot of that has ended, there's worry the numbers could go back up again.

现在疫情已经结束，人们担心无家可归的人数可能会再次上升。

Also, you know, the U.S. is actually moving more people than ever out of homelessness.

实际上，美国比以往任何时候都要让更多的人摆脱无家可归状态。

So they say they're doing some things right. The problem is that the same number or even more have been falling into it.

他们表示他们正在做一些正确的事情。问题是，同样数量甚至更多数量的人已经陷入了这种状态。

So many reasons - but, you know, a huge one that continues, we've got this severe shortage of affordable housing and really high rents.

有很多原因，但有一个持续存在的巨大原因，那就是我们的经济适用房严重短缺，且租金高昂。

And you just have a sense of so many people's lives that are unstable for a few weeks, a few months, for part of the year, the whole year.

你有这么一种感觉，许多人有几个星期、几个月、一年中的一部分时间、甚至全年都过着不稳定的生活。

They're out on the streets in some fashion. So what's the U.S. strategy to deal with that?

他们以某种方式流落街头。那么美国的应对策略是什么呢?

So they have their latest plan to fight this crisis. It is out today.

他们有了抗击这场危机的最新计划。今天发布了计划。

The most notable change is a bigger push for prevention, doing more to keep people from losing housing in the first place.

最显著的变化是加大了预防力度，从一开始就采取更多措施防止人们失去住房。

And I understand that may sound obvious.

我知道这听起来平淡无奇。

But, you know, advocates tell me, for so long, the overwhelming focus has really been, how do we help people once they are already on the streets? I spoke with Jeff Olivet.

但是，支持者告诉我，这么长时间以来，人们一致关注的是，我们如何帮助那些已经流落街头的人？ 我采访了杰夫·奥利弗。

He heads the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, which came up with this plan.

他是美国无家可归问题跨部门委员会的负责人，该委员会提出了这个计划。

He wants to see systematic prevention to catch people at risk for becoming homeless.

他希望能看到系统的预防措施，以发现有风险成为无家可归的人。

And the plan has a special focus on those we know are really vulnerable, people who are leaving prison, leaving addiction or mental health treatment or foster care.

该计划特别关注那些我们所知道的真正脆弱的人，那些将要离开监狱，离开戒毒所、精神健康治疗所或寄养机构的人。

At those critical moments of transition, we have an opportunity. We know where people are.

在过渡的关键时刻，我们有机会。我们知道这些人在哪里。

We could bridge that inpatient or incarceration or foster care experience straight into housing.

我们可以将住院、入狱或寄养经历直接与住房联系起来。

It does not have to result in shelter or living in a tent.

这并不意味着最终会住在收容所或帐篷里。

You know, Olivet also sees a role for business and philanthropies with prevention here, and for states and cities to take up this approach.

奥利弗也看到了企业和慈善机构在预防方面发挥的作用，以及各州和各市采取这种措施所发挥的作用。