I have seen people develop mental issues because they became homeless with the stress that incurs, and also due to or exacerbated by the alcoholism and drug abu

I have seen people develop mental issues because they became homeless with the stress that incurs, and also due to or exacerbated by the alcoholism and drug abuse that affects a lot of homeless people, often only after they become homeless. As for moving some place else: if you're for some reason financially in ruins, that option might not be really available to you. You cannot buy a home with bad credit, and landlords will more often than not check your credit scores and not take you on as a renter. Just moving to a cheaper area won't help. Granted, you need the mental and physical capacity to earn money from the get go to even have a chance. I have seen people who had bad injuries, others who were extremely grief-stricken after losing a loved one, who at first could not hold a job. Once they recovered, they'd been homeless for "too long" (even if it had been just a few months) to get back into society, essentially, with nobody wanting to hire the "tramp" and nobody wanting to rent to that "tramp"; and you will only find a place if you're employed, and you'll only find employment if you have an address.