The lack of a robust asylum system is a huge part of the problem here, at least if you ask anyone in law enforcement. Not all homeless people are mentally ill -

The lack of a robust asylum system is a huge part of the problem here, at least if you ask anyone in law enforcement. Not all homeless people are mentally ill - I would argue that most aren't - but the chronically homeless and "troublesome" homeless that people complain about are often struggling with untreated issues and there is quite literally nowhere for them to go and nowhere to send them. They won't get treatment in jail, they won't get treatment in shelters, and the emergency room will stabilize them and discharge them (with a medical bill to be paid by the taxpayer).