General

thanks guys!

There's a myriad of reasons that all depends on the individual.

Yeah, unemployment is definitely the biggest one. But then, some people are unemployed, simply because they don't actually try to get more work. For the past 6 months, I've seen this guy standing at one of the freeway exits, asking for money and holding a sign that says "laid off single parent 2 kids" and at first I thought "aw that sucks" but he's there for most of the day, every day, and I can't help but think that, with the amount of time he spends standing there each day for scraps, wouldn't that time be better spent going to a library and applying for jobs on the computer, or walking to stores and applying in person? I mean, standing there for scraps 7+ hours a day for half a year...

And not every homeless person is mentally ill (although some become that way because of their situation). Some people really just can't afford housing. A few years back, my fiance, her mom, and her little brother almost ended up in a homeless shelter because her mom is bad with money and didn't have enough to pay their rent (I really don't like her mom). That's all it takes really to become homeless.

Wow thanks for these answers! I can use them and add some more stuff into them, thanks guys!

unemployment, politics, corrupt government, dependency on non-renewable energy resources, lack of health care/educational reform, unskilled labor force, jobs being move to overseas, stock market crash, poor regulation in lending/housing/stock market. idk lol.

people don't have money to pay for a place to live because they either spent it on other stuff, or just never had enough money in the first place. Them spending their money on other things usually has to do with a mental disorder/addiction to something which led them to making poor decisions in life, therefore ending up homeless.

Lots of homeless ppl have mental problems. In some places, it is normal for people to work and be homeless. In first world countries.