We did not have a homeless problem until the 1970's. Prior to this, those people who could not fend for themselves on an ongoing basis were placed in state run institutions.
But the ACLU took various states to federal court, arguing that this amounted to incarceration without trial, & that it wasn't illegal to be insane.
1 by 1, the various states closed their mental institutions (aka insane asylums) in favor of out-patient treatment. Those who had been institutionalized got apartments in Public Housing Projects.
However, 50+ years later, there are ~750,000 homeless people in the USA. ~1/4th of them live in California, the Land of Fruits & Nuts. ~3/4th's of the homeless are drug addicts/alcoholics. And ~2/3rd's of the homeless have psychiatric disorders.
We did not have a homeless problem until the 1970's. Prior to this, those people who could not fend for themselves on an ongoing basis were placed in state run institutions.
But the ACLU took various states to federal court, arguing that this amounted to incarceration without trial, & that it wasn't illegal to be insane.
1 by 1, the various states closed their mental institutions (aka insane asylums) in favor of out-patient treatment. Those who had been institutionalized got apartments in Public Housing Projects.
However, 50+ years later, there are ~750,000 homeless people in the USA. ~1/4th of them live in California, the Land of Fruits & Nuts. ~3/4th's of the homeless are drug addicts/alcoholics. And ~2/3rd's of the homeless have psychiatric disorders.