A Leftist mentality is the cause.
The main cause of homelessness is allowing homelessness. Within cities and towns it should not be permitted.
1. People abused or down on their luck should have shelters with curfews, no drug policies, safe and helpful to get them back on their feet and safe ASAP. Mostly, these exist. Living on the streets should not be allowed and these people should be forced to rely on family or these public shelters.
2. Anyone found on the streets with sub-functioning behavior should be forced into mental and physical triage. A small panel of mental health and drug abuse experts should be able to separate these people into three groups. The group that is functional enough to go to #1 should go there.
3. People determined to be incompetent due to drugs should be made to enter an inpatient rehab where the stay is a mandatory few weeks when another panel will triage again. They will either go to #1 and move on toward freedom and a good life, or need to stay because they can’t get off drugs, or be sent to #4.
4. Those found on the streets and not drug abusers but not mentally competent should first be reconnected with loved ones and if that is not possible or they are too disturbed for it, should be institutionalized in a kind and decent village for the mentally ill. With time and may return to the triage, and possibly be made functional enough to go to #1. Some from #3 will be cured of addiction but found to be too mentally ill for functional life, so will end up here.
This system is based on the belief that freedom is essential, but that some people are unable to handle freedom, and it is a greater kindness to both them and their neighbors to take care of them.
This would show greater respect for our Creator and for civilization itself.
BUMS
Lack of hunger. If those on the streets were hungry, they wouldn’t be on the streets long. People enable them to be bums by providing them with a subsistence level existence through Disability, Welfare and tipping them for their creative signs.
For the vast majority, just getting by is perfect for them.
“Home, I have no home. The jungle is my home.”
I guess you can apply it to CA and NYC. #5 drug/alcohol addiction? #6 lack of education?.
SSDI is a great cause of homelessness.
It gives the mentally ill and substance abusers independence that prevents them from needing the services that will help them live more normative lives.
Democrats and the IRS.
Behavior is a major causal factor in homelessness.
You don’t even list 1, 2 and 3...
Alcohol, drugs, mental illness.
The misfortunate that have some economic, medical calamity, whatever is probably less than 10, even 5 percent
The homeless population in the United States SKYROCKETED after the Supreme Court ruled that a person cannot be institutionalized if they are not a physical threat to the public. I think this was 1975 or so.
After that ruling, the mental hospitals opened their doors and the street became flooded with people unable to hold jobs and take care of themselves.
Government
My son and his wife and two sons were EMPLOYED and HOMELESS in southern Utah for four (4—count ‘em) months. Slept in their vehicles in truckstop parking lots. Worked days, barely survived nights. Sometimes friends or relatives would get them a hotel room for a night or two so they could shower and sleep in real beds. Because the parents both worked (even though it was minimum wage), they didn’t qualify for ANY kinds of assistance, housing, or shelter.
Drug and Alcohol abuse!
Falling on hard financial times (due to divorce and bastardy) may explain some of the homeless women and their children, but the vast majority of the homeless are addicts (booze or drugs) or mentally ill and unwilling to seek treatment or take prescribed meds. Or some combination of those. And, as anyone who’s taken Econ 101 knows (with the exception of Ms. Occluded-Cortex), if you subsidize something you can count on getting more of it.
If you go where the homeless camp..you notice two things right away. ..lots of beer cans and booze butottles.
And lots of trash.
You left out government encouragement.
Just enough handouts to keep people from leaving.
That and weather.
Not having a home.
I’d say the main reasons for homelessness would be mental illness, drugs , very bad luck and barrack Obama
and not a damn one said DISCIPLINE. Know you ARE God’s will and act accordingly.
Mental illness & drugs & alcohol. Plus high taxes making it hard to save money for a rainy day.