外刊双语：华盛顿特区如何解决无家可归人群的住房问题？

原文标题：
Washington, DC
The homeless decline
Despite the abundance of tents in the capital, the city is doing a good job
华盛顿特区
无家可归者减少
虽然首都有大量的帐篷，但这座城市的无家可归者依然减少了
 
Cause for celebration
值得庆祝的原因

[Paragraph 1]
MOST INHABITANTS of the nation’s capital would probably be surprised to learn that homelessness rates are declining in the city.
美国首都华盛顿的大多数居民可能会惊讶地发现，该市的无家可归率正在下降。
 
Some people have lived on the streets for years, but encampments multiplied during the covid-19 pandemic.
一些人多年来一直生活在街头，但在新冠期间，露宿街头的人成倍增加。
 
One such tent community greets commuters as they trek between Union Station, the city’s main rail hub, and the US Capitol.

这种帐篷社区人会与穿梭于联合车站（城市的主要铁路枢纽）和美国国会大厦间的通勤者打招呼问好。

[Paragraph 2]
Yet there is cause for celebration.
然而，我们还是有理由值得庆祝的。
 
Despite appearances, homelessness has actually decreased by 47% (from 8,350 to 4,410 people) in Washington, DC, since 2016.
尽管表面上如此，但自2016年以来，华盛顿特区的无家可归者实际上减少了47%，人数也从8350人减少到4410人。
 
Muriel Bowser, the mayor, credits her initiative, Homeward DC, for the improvement.
市长穆丽尔·鲍泽将情况的改善归功于她的倡议“特区家园”。
 
Launched in 2016, the programme replaced a large shelter, DC General, with smaller facilities and support services, revamped the family homeless services system and opened a new men’s shelter.
该项目于2016年启动，用较小的设施和支持服务取代了大型收容所DC General，改进了无家可归家庭服务系统，并开设了一个新的收容所。
 
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Before it was closed, as many as 1,000 people (or 270 families) sheltered in DC General, a dilapidated former hospital.
在关闭之前，多达1000人，近乎270个家庭住在DC General，这是一所废置医院。
 
Almost nine years ago a young girl named Relisha Rudd disappeared from the facility. She was never found.
约9年前，一个名叫雷丽莎·拉德的小女孩在这里永久地失踪了。
 
Ms Bowser closed the facility in 2018 and replaced it with seven smaller shelters, each of which houses 50 families or fewer.
鲍泽在2018年关闭了这家大型收容所，用7个较小的庇护所取而代之。每个庇护最多容纳50户。
 
The city now provides temporary housing year-round to families, rather than only when legally required during cold winter weather.
该市现在全年为这些家庭提供临时住房，而不是只在寒冷的冬天法律要求时才提供。
 
[Paragraph 4]
The city has also tried to intervene earlier, offering support to people before they become homeless, explains Laura Zeilinger, the director of DC’s Department of Human Services.
华盛顿特区公共服务部主任劳拉·泽林格解释说，该市也试图更早地进行干预，即在人们无家可归之前为他们提供支持。
 
This might include help with a utility bill, assistance with a landlord, or mediation services to help housemates solve conflicts that might otherwise land a person on the streets.
这些支持可能包括帮助支付水电费，与房东沟通，甚至调节室友之间的矛盾，避免因为这些原因让人们流落街头。
 
All told the initiative has cost the city $300m since 2016.
自2016年以来，这项计划总共花费了该市3亿美元。
 
It is supported mostly with local funds, federal covid relief funding and the American Rescue Plan.
资金主要来源于地方资金、联邦新冠疫情救援资金和美国救援计划。
 
[Paragraph 5]
Yet despite the improvement, the tents remain.
然而，尽管情况有所改善，无家可归者仍然存在。
 
The unsheltered homeless are the hardest to help: they are more likely to be unemployed and to have severe health problems.
居无定所的无家可归者是最难得到救助的，他们不仅大多数面临失业，通常患有疾病。
 
During the pandemic, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention encouraged officials to leave tent communities alone.
新冠疫情期间，疾病控制和预防中心建议官方不再驱逐帐篷群体。
 
Campers became more settled, explains Ms Zeilinger.
泽林格女士解释说，露营者因此变得更加稳定了。
 
While the number of homeless people living in encampments stayed steady, some accumulated belongings and multiple tents.
住在营地的无家可归者人数保持稳定，也有一些人积累些了财物和帐篷。
 
This created the appearance of a growing community, she explains.
她解释到，这也就创造了一个不断增长的帐篷社区。
 
[Paragraph 6]
Jurisdictions matter too.
管辖范围也很重要。
 
Some tent communities in the District of Columbia are on federal land, such as the encampment between Union Station and the Capitol, and thus beyond the city’s reach.
华盛顿特区的一些帐篷社区位于联邦土地上，比如联合车站和国会大厦之间的营地，因此超出了政府的管辖范围。
 
The National Park Service cleared the tents in June, but some have since returned.
国家公园管理局今年六月清理了这些帐篷，但一些帐篷后来又回来了。
 
[Paragraph 7]
DC is hardly alone in having a homelessness problem.
华盛顿特区并非唯一有流浪人口问题的城市。
 
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, a federal agency, reported that 326,000 Americans were in shelters on a single night last year (a decrease from 354,000 in January 2020).
联邦机构住房和城市发展部报告称，去年每晚有32.6万美国人住在避难所，相较于2020年1月的35.4万有所下降。
 
This measure does not capture everything, though.
不过，这种衡量方法并不能说明所有问题。
 
Whereas many seek help in shelters, some live on the streets or in dwellings where they are difficult to track.
虽然许多住在庇护所的人会去寻求帮助，但有些流落街头的人的住址难以追踪。
Others live in vehicles or stay with friends or acquaintances temporarily.
也有一些人住在车里或暂住在朋友或熟人家里。

People also move in and out of homelessness throughout the year, a fact that will be missed by a data point captured in one evening.
每晚捕捉到的数据点忽略了一个事实，那就是无家可归者在一年中的身份状态并不固定。
 
School data can provide some insight.
学校的数据印证了这一事实。
 
According to the National School Boards Association, nearly 1.4m pupils were homeless at one time in 2019.
据全国学校董事会协会的数据，2019年曾有近140万的学生无家可归。
 
[Paragraph 8]
While DC’s efforts have been impressive, the single best policy for reducing homelessness is to expand the housing supply.
虽然华盛顿特区在这方面的努力令人赞叹，但减少无家可归者的唯一最佳政策是扩大住房供应。
 
Studies have found that as many as half of people in shelters participated in the labour market, but wages are often not enough to avoid homelessness.
研究发现，避难所中多达一半的人是有工作的，但他们的工资往往不足以支付住房。
 
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), no person working full-time on the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour for 40 hours for 52 weeks per year) can afford a two-bedroom rental in any state.
根据全国低收入住房联盟的数据，在任何州，拿着联邦最低工资（即每年52周，

每周工作40小时，每小时7.25美元）的全职工作者都租不起一套两居室的房子。

 
In Arkansas (the most affordable state) a person needs to earn $14.89 per hour to afford a two-bedroom rental, while the state minimum wage is $11 per hour.
在阿肯色州，这个物价相对最低的州，一个人需要每小时挣14.89美元才能租得起一套两居室的房租，而该州的最低工资是每小时11美元。
 
Hawaii is the worst. A person needs $40.63 per hour in Hawaii, over three times the state minimum wage of $12 per hour.
夏威夷是最糟糕的。一个人的时薪需要40.63美元才能租得起一套两居室，这是夏威夷州最低时薪（12美元）的三倍多。 
A one-line manifesto for homelessness in America would be: copy DC, clear the tents and build more.
如何解决美国流浪人口的问题，用一句宣言概括就是：效仿华盛顿，清理帐篷，建造更多住房。
 
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量679左右）
原文出自：2022年11月26日《The Economist》United States版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Maree本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
无家可归者问题暴露出美国贫富差距拉大的现实，对很多人来说“美国梦”无处安放。美国全国各地的避难所都报告称，因为难以维持基本生活而前去寻求帮助的人数激增。而在避难所之外，更多难以统计数量的无家可归者流浪街头或是在公园等地扎营居住。抗疫不力、通货膨胀、住房紧缺等是造成目前美国无家可归者数量激增的主要原因。由于服务业从业者的收入普遍不高，这意味着大量就业人口在过去两年时间里不但没有收入，反而可能耗尽积蓄，不得不靠政府补贴和救助为生。无家可归者也成为当前美国高企的通货膨胀的最大受害者。过去几个月里，美国物价飞涨，住房成本、能源和食品等基本必需品价格持续走高，令越来越多人面临流离失所的危险。住房紧缺、特别是低收入者负担得起的支持性住房紧缺，则令当前的情况更加恶化。对低收入者来说，无力负担市场租金，又不能入住支持性住房，最终的结果就是流离失所。
 
【重点句子】（3 个）
This might include help with a utility bill, assistance with a landlord, or mediation services to help housemates solve conflicts that might otherwise land a person on the streets.
这些支持可能包括帮助支付水电费，与房东沟通，甚至调节室友之间的矛盾，避免因为这些原因让人们流落街头。
 
Yet despite the improvement, the tents remain.
然而，尽管情况有所改善，无家可归者仍然存在。
 
While DC’s efforts have been impressive, the single best policy for reducing homelessness is to expand the housing supply.
虽然华盛顿特区在这方面的努力令人赞叹，但减少无家可归者的唯一最佳政策是扩大住房供应。