> So yes, mental illness and drug abuse are factors, but they're factors exacerbated by housing costs. They're really red herrings relative to overall housing c

> So yes, mental illness and drug abuse are factors, but they're factors exacerbated by housing costs. They're really red herrings relative to overall housing costs. This is such a good point that it really deserves hammering-home. The causal relationship with mental illness and substance abuse, and homelessness, is bidirectional. Homelessness causes both mental illness and substance abuse (you try existing with no roof, no food, few possessions, and constantly being treated as subhuman) - but also pre-existing mental illness and substance abuse are far easier (and for the folks in the back who can't be swayed by humanism: cheaper) to tackle when the person has stable housing. Housing is not the only lever we can pull to reduce homelessness, but it really is the largest one.