The Second Avenue Commons #shelter project in downtown Pittsburgh will probably just turn into a run-of-the-mill flophouse for the #homeless, and it is unlikely to help them long term because it does not address the root causes that led people to that situation in the first place.

People who are without homes do not only need a place to sleep, they also need access to resources such as rehabilitation to give them a fighting change at developing a self-sustaining lifestyle. It is essential that they feel encouraged to seek personal growth and fulfillment that can only come with working toward a goal, such as maintaining sobriety and finding a steady job. 

However, the more likely scenario is that some people will just call this place home. They will take up bed space for a much longer period than we intend, and never utilize the services provided to help them work towards a better life. It will prevent more people from being able to find help because the beds will essentially be occupied by squatters.

Another issue is that homeless people are not used to living together in close quarters, which is how this facility is constructed. It is also important to realize that a large percentage of people on the streets have mental and emotional conditions that need proper treatment... and the facility will not require them to seek that treatment. So one has to wonder how (and if) they can find a way to cohabitate without encountering problems related to aggressive behavior.

Any problems among residents in Second Avenue Commons will drive some of them away from the shelter and back onto the streets, making it so that they do not have access to the resources that are supposed to be provided. This is a huge problem that may make it impossible to reach the goal of decreasing the number of homeless people in the city.

It is a very difficult challenge to create a permanent solution to help the #homeless people in the city. In order to reach that end, any project that is taken under serious consideration needs a more developed plan to address the issues that caused people to become homeless in the first place. The ultimate goal is to decrease the number of homeless people in the city as much as possible. At the moment, Second Avenue Commons does not appear to be enough to solve or noticeably alter the homeless situation.