A newly released national survey is shedding light on how Americans understand the causes of homelessness — and the findings track closely with long‑running debates across Cowlitz County about addiction, housing costs, and access to mental‑health care.

According to a recent AP–NORC–Harris Poll, roughly six in ten U.S. adults believe that personal choices play a primary role in why people become homeless or remain in poverty. Respondents most frequently cited drug use and mental illness as underlying factors. The findings were first summarized locally by The Columbian.

While the survey reflects national sentiment, its themes resonate in Cowlitz County, where unsheltered homelessness has remained visible in Longview and Kelso and where public discussion often centers on whether addiction, mental‑health gaps, or economic displacement bears the most responsibility. Local service providers have repeatedly pointed to the region’s scarcity of behavioral‑health resources and limited shelter capacity as key structural obstacles.

People living outside in southwest Washington have described their daily reality in terms similar to those quoted in the regional coverage — comparing the effort to regain stability to sinking in quicksand, where every attempt to move forward is met with new setbacks. These accounts underscore the divide between public perception and lived experience, particularly around how quickly a personal crisis can escalate into homelessness when affordable housing and treatment options are in short supply.

The poll results do not establish causes, but they illustrate the public lens through which policy debates are shaped. Locally, that lens influences discussions around funding for detox and treatment beds, law‑enforcement response expectations, encampment management, and the limited pipeline from emergency shelters to permanent housing.

Why this matters

National attitudes about the roots of homelessness often guide state and federal policy priorities. For communities like Cowlitz County — where substance‑use disorders, untreated mental‑health conditions, and housing instability routinely intersect — understanding how the public interprets these issues can affect which interventions gain momentum and which are overlooked.

As the region continues to navigate the balance between emergency response and long‑term solutions, the perspectives captured in the poll offer context for the conversations taking place in council chambers, neighborhood meetings, and service‑provider networks throughout Longview and Kelso.

Sources:

Associated Press: Most U.S. adults think individual choices keep people in poverty

The Columbian: Those living outside say homelessness is like being stuck in quicksand