I got the impression that many of the homeless are mentally ill people who have no where to go. They do not have an extended family support system nor does the state and or county provide care for them.

Some of the mentally ill may not actually be "mentally ill" but that would seem to be a problem related to some people having too much power while others have very little. You see that I believe too with people falsely accused of capital crimes.

I would expect that many vets have some kind of mental health problems especially the ones coming back from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.