The causes of homelessness are as varied as the number of people living on the streets or in shelter. Mental illness, drug addiction, job loss, domestic violence, broken relationships can all result in some person or family without a home. But Brooklyn City Councilman Stephen Levin and Giselle Routhier of Coalition for the Homeless agree on this: the solution is affordable housing. And that doesn’t mean cheaper apartments, it means homes that everyone, whether they’re working or not, whether they are able to generate income or not, can afford. Levin and Routhier talk about the urgency of building truly affordable housing in the numbers that can bring most people off the streets and into safe, affordable spaces. They also address the Mayor’s latest homeless initiative, Outreach NYC, which would have employees of all city agencies able to spot and identify the homeless and report them to a central location, run by the NYPD and the Department of Homeless services, who can then take them off the streets. But is it money that could be better spent on housing? And, does it criminalize homelessness instead of getting to the root of the problem?