As new data from the California Policy Lab show, it’s likely that 50 percent of the homeless and 78 percent of the unsheltered homeless have a serious mental health condition. For residents of cities like San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle, this should come as no surprise. The people smashing up property and yelling in the streets are clearly suffering from mental illness. The numbers confirm the ground-level reality.
The homeless were thrown onto the streets, we’re told, because of rising rents, heartless landlords, and a lack of economic opportunity. Activists, journalists, and political leaders have perpetuated this line of reasoning and, following it to its conclusion, have proposed investing billions in subsidized housing to solve homelessness.
And that's because that's how those people make bank; they earn their living by "advocating" for the mentally ill and drug-addicted.
People who are mentally ill need to be treated, as do the vast majority of homeless folks with substance-abuse problems. Unfortunately, they refuse any and all treatment options afforded to them. in general, their attitude is that they're fine and you're nuts - which is embraced by "advocates" who essentially and knowingly capitalize upon these arguments so that they can continue to be paid for their "services". They are using the disabled and incompetent to support themselves. "Advocacy" has morphed into a lucrative business.