China's Approach to Homelessness

Why does China have no homeless people?

When my American friend asked me this question,

I realized I couldn't even remember the last time

I saw homeless in China.

Where did they go?

The answer lies in China's comprehensive welfare system.

By 2020, there are over 1500 urban assistance stations nationwide

specifically providing services to the homeless.

In 2022 alone, central government spending on social assistance reached

over 20 billion US dollars.

Nobody wants to be homeless,

but when people hit rock bottom, escaping the loan is nearly impossible.

But with the right support, lives can be transformed completely.

I read about a milk tea shop owner

who used to be homeless living under a bridge.

After being taken in by government services,

he received vocational training and now runs his own small business.

There was also a heartwarming story of a mentally ill woman

who went missing for over a decade.

Her family finally found her at an assistance station healthy and well cared for.

No country is perfect, but here's the lesson.

Homelessness vanishes when we stop seeing it as inevitable

and start seeing people as worth the investment.