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> People are only homeless when they have mental issues Not to say there's not a relative greater share of the homeless population who has "mental issues", but

• teekert 5y ago
  I "walked the city" with some former homeless people with my colleagues as part of a societally relevant activity. They explained us that most cities have places where you can get a free postal address, then you can ask for "bijstand" (lowest level of support here), and for rent subsidy and care subsidies. Then you can apply for a social rent housing, which by then you can definitely afford. But going through these steps requires some level of focus and dedication. What you see is that people with severe ADHD (and a plethora of other issues) for example, simply can't sleep in a public sleeping place (like at the Salvation Army), too much crowd and strange people. They prefer the streets. Often they don't trust the state or the healthcare system and avoid seeking help even with festering wounds. One woman we spoke with was a raging alcoholic, one of her kids murdered the other one. These are tragic, heartbreaking stories. These people are completely locked up in their trauma.