Not sure how you fix New Orleans [MERGED]

A couple of years ago, Austin city leaders made the decision to relax enforcement of public camping restrictions. The idea wasn't without merit but it became clear over time that the city didn't have enough in the way of a plan to address the outcomes of that decision. There were homeless camps throughout the city - in medians and along busy roadways, under every overpass, creeks and greenbelts in and adjacent to neighborhoods, and other public use areas that were overtaken. Fires, assaults, vandalism, trash, public drug use, indecency, and other consequences were widely observed and reported.

In May, voters turned out to reinstate the camping restrictions. State leaders doubled-down with their own measures.

We don't do nearly enough in this country to address homelessness, drug abuse, mental health illnesses, and the fundamental socioeconomic inequalities, biases, and shortcomings that contribute to crime and create poverty, however, the well-meaning but shortsighted approach that Austin took isn't the answer, either.