Years ago, I took a college class on Homelessness and Public Policy and I am currently homeless.<p>A high percentage of homeless people have either serious medical or mental health problems. Many of them (not I) self medicate with alcohol and other drugs, sometimes in preference to the doctor prescribed drugs they are supposed to be on and often with good reason -- I am perfectly okay with them preferring to take drugs with side effects they prefer. But the reality is that many of them are just not stable or healthy and they are potentially dangerous and potentially vulnerable. Tossing them in with a total stranger for a free night&#x27;s stay has all kinds of disaster written all over it.<p>Homeless individuals are typically people with serious personal problems for which there are no quick fixes. There are many things that can help reduce homelessness. Most of them will not be directed at &quot;helping the homeless&quot; per se. Working on making sure there is sufficient affordable housing is one. Of course, that doesn&#x27;t feel heroic, but the really good solutions usually do not involve heroics. People looking for heroics are usually looking for an ego boost more than a real solution. It rarely leads to good solutions.