I think we can look at this in two ways, how to support the current homeless and how to prevent future homelessness. Having worked in a soup kitchen, I've obse

I think we can look at this in two ways, how to support the current homeless and how to prevent future homelessness. Having worked in a soup kitchen, I've observed the current homeless are in their positions for many different reasons. Some had a long string of bad luck, some had one huge bout of bad luck (in terms of an unexpected bill, layoff, heath issue, etc.), some are homeless because of addiction/mental problems, some have addiction/mental problems because of homelessness, etc. So, all these different categories have to be addressed in different ways. There's no one size fits all solution, and pocket change is certainly insufficient in all categories. It's a tough sell politically to spend resources on this, and while religious and charity efforts can certainly "momentarily defer discomfort", they simply can't address all the underlaying issues all of these folks are having. In terms of preventing future homelessness, that would require policy changes, like cheaper housing, a stronger welfare system, easier access to health care and more modern drug addiction treatments. Addressing these will be helpful for everyone, so hopefully it is easier to at least throw some political weight behind it for the future.