Maybe I am wrong but at least two points mentioned in your comment are US specific :
"It is caused by peoples' jobs not paying a living wage"
Where I come from minimum wage is enough to pay for a rent.
"the cops really hate the homeless. Someone can't periodically destroy a bunch of peoples' meager shelter in completely unproductive "sweeps" without developing a view that they're less than human."
Again I may be wrong but where I live there are no 'homeless villages' like there are in the US.
"It is caused by peoples' jobs not paying a living wage" Where I come from minimum wage is enough to pay for a rent.
"the cops really hate the homeless. Someone can't periodically destroy a bunch of peoples' meager shelter in completely unproductive "sweeps" without developing a view that they're less than human." Again I may be wrong but where I live there are no 'homeless villages' like there are in the US.