原文標(biāo)題：
Washington,?DC
The homeless?decline
Despite the abundance?of tents in the?capital, the city is doing a good job
華盛頓特區(qū)
無家可歸者減少
雖然首都有大量的帳篷，但這座城市的無家可歸者依然減少了
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Cause for celebration
值得慶祝的原因

[Paragraph 1]
MOST INHABITANTS of the nation’s capital would probably be surprised to learn that homelessness rates are declining in the city.
美國首都華盛頓的大多數(shù)居民可能會(huì)驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)，該市的無家可歸率正在下降。
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Some people have lived on the streets for years, but encampments multiplied during the covid-19 pandemic.
一些人多年來一直生活在街頭，但在新冠期間，露宿街頭的人成倍增加。
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One such tent community greets commuters as they trek between Union Station, the city’s main rail hub, and the US Capitol.

這種帳篷社區(qū)人會(huì)與穿梭于聯(lián)合車站（城市的主要鐵路樞紐）和美國國會(huì)大廈間的通勤者打招呼問好。

[Paragraph 2]
Yet there is cause for celebration.
然而，我們還是有理由值得慶祝的。
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Despite appearances, homelessness has actually decreased by 47% (from 8,350 to 4,410 people) in Washington, DC, since 2016.
盡管表面上如此，但自2016年以來，華盛頓特區(qū)的無家可歸者實(shí)際上減少了47%，人數(shù)也從8350人減少到4410人。
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Muriel Bowser, the mayor, credits her initiative, Homeward DC, for the improvement.
市長穆麗爾·鮑澤將情況的改善歸功于她的倡議“特區(qū)家園”。
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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.
該項(xiàng)目于2016年啟動(dòng)，用較小的設(shè)施和支持服務(wù)取代了大型收容所DC General，改進(jìn)了無家可歸家庭服務(wù)系統(tǒng)，并開設(shè)了一個(gè)新的收容所。
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[Paragraph 3]
Before it was closed, as many as 1,000 people (or 270 families) sheltered in DC General, a dilapidated?former hospital.
在關(guān)閉之前，多達(dá)1000人，近乎270個(gè)家庭住在DC General，這是一所廢置醫(yī)院。
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Almost nine years ago a young girl named Relisha Rudd disappeared from the facility. She was never found.
約9年前，一個(gè)名叫雷麗莎·拉德的小女孩在這里永久地失蹤了。
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Ms Bowser closed the facility in 2018 and replaced it with seven smaller shelters, each of which houses 50 families or fewer.
鮑澤在2018年關(guān)閉了這家大型收容所，用7個(gè)較小的庇護(hù)所取而代之。每個(gè)庇護(hù)最多容納50戶。
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The city now provides temporary?housing year-round to families, rather than only when legally required during cold winter weather.
該市現(xiàn)在全年為這些家庭提供臨時(shí)住房，而不是只在寒冷的冬天法律要求時(shí)才提供。
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[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.
華盛頓特區(qū)公共服務(wù)部主任勞拉·澤林格解釋說，該市也試圖更早地進(jìn)行干預(yù)，即在人們無家可歸之前為他們提供支持。
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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.
這些支持可能包括幫助支付水電費(fèi)，與房東溝通，甚至調(diào)節(jié)室友之間的矛盾，避免因?yàn)檫@些原因讓人們流落街頭。
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All told the initiative has cost the city $300m since 2016.
自2016年以來，這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃總共花費(fèi)了該市3億美元。
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It is supported mostly with local funds, federal covid relief funding and the American Rescue Plan.
資金主要來源于地方資金、聯(lián)邦新冠疫情救援資金和美國救援計(jì)劃。
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[Paragraph 5]
Yet despite the improvement, the tents remain.
然而，盡管情況有所改善，無家可歸者仍然存在。
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The unsheltered homeless are the hardest to help: they are more likely to be unemployed and to have severe health problems.
居無定所的無家可歸者是最難得到救助的，他們不僅大多數(shù)面臨失業(yè)，通?；加屑膊?。
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During the pandemic, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention encouraged officials to leave tent communities?alone.
新冠疫情期間，疾病控制和預(yù)防中心建議官方不再驅(qū)逐帳篷群體。
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Campers became more settled, explains Ms Zeilinger.
澤林格女士解釋說，露營者因此變得更加穩(wěn)定了。
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While the number of homeless people living in encampments stayed steady, some accumulated?belongings and multiple?tents.
住在營地的無家可歸者人數(shù)保持穩(wěn)定，也有一些人積累些了財(cái)物和帳篷。
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This created the appearance?of a growing community, she explains.
她解釋到，這也就創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)不斷增長的帳篷社區(qū)。
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[Paragraph 6]
Jurisdictions?matter too.
管轄范圍也很重要。
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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.
華盛頓特區(qū)的一些帳篷社區(qū)位于聯(lián)邦土地上，比如聯(lián)合車站和國會(huì)大廈之間的營地，因此超出了政府的管轄范圍。
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The National Park Service cleared the tents in June, but some have since returned.
國家公園管理局今年六月清理了這些帳篷，但一些帳篷后來又回來了。
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[Paragraph 7]
DC is hardly alone in having a homelessness problem.
華盛頓特區(qū)并非唯一有流浪人口問題的城市。
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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).
聯(lián)邦機(jī)構(gòu)住房和城市發(fā)展部報(bào)告稱，去年每晚有32.6萬美國人住在避難所，相較于2020年1月的35.4萬有所下降。
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This measure does not capture?everything, though.
不過，這種衡量方法并不能說明所有問題。
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Whereas many seek help in shelters, some live on the streets or in dwellings where they are difficult to track.
雖然許多住在庇護(hù)所的人會(huì)去尋求幫助，但有些流落街頭的人的住址難以追蹤。
Others live in vehicles or stay with friends or acquaintances?temporarily.
也有一些人住在車?yán)锘驎鹤≡谂笥鸦蚴烊思依铩?br>
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.
每晚捕捉到的數(shù)據(jù)點(diǎn)忽略了一個(gè)事實(shí)，那就是無家可歸者在一年中的身份狀態(tài)并不固定。
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School data can provide some insight.
學(xué)校的數(shù)據(jù)印證了這一事實(shí)。
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According to the National School Boards Association, nearly 1.4m pupils were homeless at one time in 2019.
據(jù)全國學(xué)校董事會(huì)協(xié)會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)，2019年曾有近140萬的學(xué)生無家可歸。
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[Paragraph 8]
While DC’s efforts have been impressive, the single best policy for reducing homelessness is to expand the housing supply.
雖然華盛頓特區(qū)在這方面的努力令人贊嘆，但減少無家可歸者的唯一最佳政策是擴(kuò)大住房供應(yīng)。
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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.
研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，避難所中多達(dá)一半的人是有工作的，但他們的工資往往不足以支付住房。
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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.
根據(jù)全國低收入住房聯(lián)盟的數(shù)據(jù)，在任何州，拿著聯(lián)邦最低工資（即每年52周，

每周工作40小時(shí)，每小時(shí)7.25美元）的全職工作者都租不起一套兩居室的房子。

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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，這個(gè)物價(jià)相對最低的州，一個(gè)人需要每小時(shí)掙14.89美元才能租得起一套兩居室的房租，而該州的最低工資是每小時(shí)11美元。
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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。一個(gè)人的時(shí)薪需要40.63美元才能租得起一套兩居室，這是夏威夷州最低時(shí)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.
如何解決美國流浪人口的問題，用一句宣言概括就是：效仿華盛頓，清理帳篷，建造更多住房。
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（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量679左右）
原文出自：2022年11月26日《The Economist》United States版塊。
精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路
本文翻譯整理: Maree本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
無家可歸者問題暴露出美國貧富差距拉大的現(xiàn)實(shí)，對很多人來說“美國夢”無處安放。美國全國各地的避難所都報(bào)告稱，因?yàn)殡y以維持基本生活而前去尋求幫助的人數(shù)激增。而在避難所之外，更多難以統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)量的無家可歸者流浪街頭或是在公園等地扎營居住。抗疫不力、通貨膨脹、住房緊缺等是造成目前美國無家可歸者數(shù)量激增的主要原因。由于服務(wù)業(yè)從業(yè)者的收入普遍不高，這意味著大量就業(yè)人口在過去兩年時(shí)間里不但沒有收入，反而可能耗盡積蓄，不得不靠政府補(bǔ)貼和救助為生。無家可歸者也成為當(dāng)前美國高企的通貨膨脹的最大受害者。過去幾個(gè)月里，美國物價(jià)飛漲，住房成本、能源和食品等基本必需品價(jià)格持續(xù)走高，令越來越多人面臨流離失所的危險(xiǎn)。住房緊缺、特別是低收入者負(fù)擔(dān)得起的支持性住房緊缺，則令當(dāng)前的情況更加惡化。對低收入者來說，無力負(fù)擔(dān)市場租金，又不能入住支持性住房，最終的結(jié)果就是流離失所。
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【重點(diǎn)句子】（3?個(gè)）
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.
這些支持可能包括幫助支付水電費(fèi)，與房東溝通，甚至調(diào)節(jié)室友之間的矛盾，避免因?yàn)檫@些原因讓人們流落街頭。
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Yet despite the improvement, the tents remain.
然而，盡管情況有所改善，無家可歸者仍然存在。
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While DC’s efforts have been impressive, the single best policy for reducing homelessness is to expand the housing supply.
雖然華盛頓特區(qū)在這方面的努力令人贊嘆，但減少無家可歸者的唯一最佳政策是擴(kuò)大住房供應(yīng)。