> Omniusaspirer: It's a taboo thing to say but spend enough time in
> different locations and you learn very quickly that the homeless are
> shameless opportunists who go wherever they can most leech off
> society.
First, I have to be clear: the homeless are a broad population, and calling them all parasites, essentially, is offensive to me. I've spent more time than most talking to homeless, helping them, and I consider many homeless people to be friends. A lot of them are mentally ill, and they are ill in ways that are easily identifiable from a brief encounter. However a lot of them are ill in ways that are just as damaging, but not easily identified. One rather common example: depression. From the outside they look normal, but if you spend any time at all talking with them, it's clear that something is very wrong. Some of them have trouble regulating their emotions, and it's not that they just don't try. It's not a problem that they can think their way out of, and medication often isn't that effective. Some of them are physically ill, but again, it's not clear just looking at them that somethings wrong. One friend of mine had a heart attack, got MRSA in the hospital which became a 9 month ICU visit that cleared him out of all his money. The end result was six or seven years of homelessness, until he could get into subsidized housing.
Please note that I'm not saying that all homeless people are just in need of some love and understanding and then everything will be just ducky. The fact is that some homeless people are dangerous and should be locked up. I don't have any trouble with that (although they should get psychological help while locked up).
If I had to guess, based on my (very) limited experience I'd say that about 1/3 of the homeless population is there because of addiction issues, and the remaining 2/3 has serious mental issues.
I agree that there needs to be "expanded mental services, more rehabilitation", however I think the policing needs to be dome very carefully. From the tone of your post, I suspect your idea of "strict policing" is going to cause more harm than good. First, there are some civil rights issues -- it's illegal (in the US) to discriminate against a class of people. That's why cities can't just kick out the homeless, just like they can't ust kick out addicts, or black people. Second, strict policing of homelessness will end up throwing a vulnerable population into jails or prisons, both of which are expensive, overcrowded, and have many other serious problems.
The thing with homelessness is that there isn't any easy, one-size-fits-all answer. It is a difficult problem, and one that will take time and money to address. I don't have any easy answers, either. But there are a lot of people suffering. Also, don't think that you are that far from homelessness. It's not an "us vs. them" issue. Sooner or later all of us get old, or sick, and need someone to take care of us. That's just how life is.