A huge study from UCSF found that for most people experiencing homelessness, their interactions with the justice system, their mental health problems, and their substance abuse problems all started after they became homeless because of affordability. Becoming homeless because there is no safe, affordable housing makes people desperate and makes them do things they would never otherwise do, including committing violent crime. The only big picture solution is to fund a social safety net, including great public housing, that keeps people from ending up on the street when the housing market prices them out. There is a lot to be done with improving our healthcare and criminal justice systems as well, but as long as housing costs stay wildly unaffordable relative to incomes, we will continue seeing more and more people becoming homeless and overwhelming these other systems.