How to Stop Homelessness Before It Starts | Jen Loving | TED · TED
通过讲述Tanya的故事，揭示无家可归问题的根源和预防方法。适合练习英语听力和理解社会议题相关内容。
About 20 years ago, I was working the front desk of the largest homeless shelter in Silicon Valley.
大约20年前，我在硅谷最大的无家可归者收容所担任前台工作人员。
And that's when Tanya walked in.
就在这时，塔尼娅走了进来。
She looked exhausted, the kind of weary that comes from having no place to go and no idea what to do.
她看起来疲惫不堪，那种疲惫源于无处可去、也完全不知道该做什么的无奈与迷茫。
She was clutching a satchel tightly to her chest like it was all she had left.
她紧紧地把一个书包抱在胸前，仿佛那是她仅存的一切。
And then all of a sudden, the satchel started to cry.
然后，突然之间，那个书包“哭”了起来。
Inside was her newborn baby.
里面是她刚出生的婴儿。
She shared that she had been assaulted, which led to her pregnancy.
她透露自己曾遭受过袭击，而这次袭击导致了她怀孕。
Prior to that, she’d been working a minimum-wage job and renting a room in San Jose.
在此之前，她一直在圣何塞从事一份拿最低工资的工作，并租住在一个房间里。
But when complications from her pregnancy arose, she had to stop working.
然而，当她的妊娠出现并发症时，她不得不停止工作。
So she lost her job and then her home.
于是她失去了工作，接着又失去了房子。
So when she was discharged from the hospital, she had no place to go, no home to go back to,
因此，当她从医院出院后，她无处可去，也没有家可回。
no savings, no family to call.
没有积蓄，也没有可以依靠的家人。
She was discharged from the hospital with a list of shelters and a bus token.
她出院时得到了一份收容所的名单以及一张公交卡。
So Tanya did what too many people in our community do when they're in crisis.
于是，塔尼娅做出了我们社区里太多人在面对危机时都会做出的选择。
She rode Hotel 22, our only 24-hour bus line that doubles as a moving homeless shelter for those with nowhere else to go.
她乘坐的是“Hotel 22”线路的公交车——这是我们唯一一条24小时运营的公交线路，同时也为那些无处可去的无家可归者提供了临时庇护所。
And she rode that bus for two days with her baby in her arms.
她抱着自己的宝宝，乘坐那辆公交车走了两天。
Tanya's story is heartbreaking, but what's worse is it's not rare.
塔尼娅的故事令人心碎，但更糟糕的是，这样的故事并不罕见。
It's not exceptional.
这并不算什么特别出众的事情。
This kind of thing happens in America every single day.
这种事情在美国每天都在发生。
In 2024, homelessness in America reached the highest levels ever recorded.
2024年，美国的无家可归者人数达到了有记录以来的最高水平。
There were over 771,000 people without homes in our country, and that was an 18 percent increase in just one year.
我国有超过77.1万人无家可归，这一数字在短短一年内增长了18%。
And for every one person on the streets, there are thousands more on the edge, living paycheck to paycheck,
在街上的每一个人背后，还有成千上万的人生活在贫困的边缘，他们只能勉强维持生计，靠一份工资过日子。
one unexpected bill or crisis away from losing it all.
只要遇到一笔意外的账单或一场危机，就可能失去一切。
We've been conditioned to believe that homelessness isn't solvable, that it's too complex, that it's too expensive.
我们被灌输了这样的观念：无家可归的问题是无法解决的，因为这个问题过于复杂，而且解决所需的成本太高。
But the truth is, it's a lot easier to solve than you may think.
但事实是，这个问题其实比你想象中要容易解决得多。
Prevention is the key to having less people on our streets over time.
预防是关键——只有这样，随着时间的推移，我们街道上的人数才会逐渐减少。
In almost every other area of public policy, we understand the value of prevention.
在公共政策的几乎所有其他领域，我们都认识到预防措施的重要性。
We screen for cancer early because it saves lives and money.
我们尽早对癌症进行筛查，因为这能够挽救生命并节省医疗费用。
We reinforce bridges before the hurricanes hit.
我们在飓风来袭之前对桥梁进行加固处理。
And every single day, every single one of us puts our seat belts on when we get in the car,
每一天，我们每个人上车时都会系好安全带。
just in case we're in an accident.
以防万一我们遇到事故。
But when it comes to housing insecurity, we like to do the opposite.
然而，当涉及到住房安全问题时，我们却往往采取相反的做法。
We prefer to wait until the crisis has already happened.
我们更倾向于等到危机真正发生之后再采取行动。
But just like diseases and natural disasters have warning signs, homelessness does too: a missed job, a death in the family,
但就像疾病和自然灾害都有预警信号一样，无家可归现象也同样有预警信号：比如错失了工作机会、家庭中有人去世等等。
a medical emergency -- just to name a few.
医疗紧急情况……这只是其中的一部分例子罢了。
And because these patterns are predictable, it means we can and must intervene sooner.
由于这些模式是可以预测的，这意味着我们可以而且必须更早地采取干预措施。
Because homelessness doesn't have to be inevitable.
因为无家可归并非注定不可避免的事情。
And if we continue to act like it is, we will never solve it.
如果我们继续装作问题不存在的样子，那么永远都无法真正解决它。
In 2017, in Silicon Valley, one of the highest-cost-of-living regions in the world, my organization, Destination: Home, alongside a core set of partners,
2017年，在全球生活成本最高的地区之一——硅谷，我的组织“Destination: Home”与一群核心合作伙伴共同开展了相关项目。
launched a homelessness prevention system.
启动了一项预防无家可归现象的体系。