We will never get anywhere if we just lump homeless issues together and complain, or supply them with free stuff "aka compassion" indefinitely. The largest issues are those of drug/alcohol abuse and mental illness. Since you can't cure someone of drug/alcohol abuse that doesn't want to be cured, that doesn't seem like the place to start as a community. Mental issues impact all our society, from the whole why did this person have a gun question to my -insert family member- has mental issues and I can't get any help to we've got a buttload of homeless people and its a huge problem. We used to warehouse them in hospitals, now we warehouse them in prisons and on the street. How is that more compassionate? The standard opinion by mental 'experts' is that mentally ill folks should live in communities. This may work for some, but is obviously not working for all. We need to focus our efforts at the state level and start pressuring our legislators to change laws and provide real solutions.