The Truth About Homelessness. When homelessness became increasingly visible in the early 1980s, most Americans were reluctant to admit what was obvious that the homeless people they encountered were seriously troubled and chronically disabled by alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness. The media, policymakers, and the American public, persuaded by advocates for the homeless, came to believe that the homeless were simply victims of the hardships of poverty and the lack of affordable housing, both of which were exacerbated by economic recession and the unresponsiveness of government. Policies were created in the
