If someone is having so much trouble that giving them money or monetary equivalents won't help, then the traditional american welfare apparatus won't be of much

If someone is having so much trouble that giving them money or monetary equivalents won't help, then the traditional american welfare apparatus won't be of much help either. It then becomes a question of what kind of living assistance those people need. If they receive nothing, then they end up in prison where we have to pay for them anyway. Most of these people aren't dangerous at all, but don't have anyone to help them, and can't afford mental health treatment. There is alot of overlap here with other endemic problems like our broken healthcare system. The cost of incarceration in the us is over $30k/person/year, not including exorbitant and exploitative fees levied against inmates and their families for basic communication etc. Just providing housing and staff is much cheaper. The prison system in the US has also become a giant warehouse for these same mentally ill people, whose problems are generally exacerbated by an environment that isn't designed to help them.