Rather surprisingly, Juneau, Alaska has a good many homeless people. Many of them are not from Juneau, of course but have come up from 'down south' seeking an Alaska that truly no longer exists, if it ever did. Many of those coming north have no idea of how expensive it is to live here. I remember seeing a small truck with a camper atop in which there were two parents and five children. On the truck was a bright sign saying: ALASKA OR BUST.

The man told me they landed here with $1,000 remaining. They thought that would support them until he found work. They had no idea that with that many people they wouldn't find anything to rent under $2500 or so, plus deposit.

I directed him to a local shelter. I've never seen them again but I hope they found some help.

Juneau, several of years ago, built a complex for a dozen or so small apartments to house some homeless people whether they were addicts of some sort or another; the idea was to get them into a stable environment complete with counselors before they had quit drinking or using.

They have already found that the city has saved money every year: there are far fewer ambulance to hospital runs, far fewer people to pick up from doorways, far fewer people panhandling. It's been a win-win situation so far.