> I believe that homelessness is only a housing problem for a percentage of people who are temporarily "down on their luck" and need a place to stay while they

> I believe that homelessness is only a housing problem for a percentage of people who are temporarily "down on their luck" and need a place to stay while they find a job. I agree. (I'd change "only" to "mostly", but close enough.) But I also recognize that people aren't born in whatever state they're in, and it seems apparent that getting into "down on your luck" homeless state is the first step into being part of the drug-addicted, mentally unstable homeless population. Do you suppose those drug addicts were born addicted? Do you suppose no home owners are mentally ill? There has to be a path from largely functional, housed, and employed, to on the street, on drugs, and mentally unstable. Pretending such a path doesn't exist is comforting for those of us who haven't started down it, but it's certainly not going to give us an accurate understanding of the world. Stop looking at a snapshot of people and look at the progression.