"The idea that we can't do anything for 4 people because 1 of them has a drug problems is absurd." I've noticed this with almost all social issues especially social services for a long time. People I am close to would argue how they don't support food stamps for example because there was corruption or some people would be taking advantage of it. I always argued back that they were completely ignoring the unspoken majority of beneficiaries that it dramatically helped. As you can probably see by so many of the comments in this thread there is a lot of that thinking that the problem is intractable due to the minority being seen as the majority. My concern is how can we change the narrative? How do we communicate the unseen majorities plight in a way that doesn't get ignored or overlooked? It seems that using statistics like those provided would be enough but in my experience it rarely convinces those that solely think that the homeless should "get a job" or be put in jail as the OP of this specific thread stated. They seem to have a negative visceral reaction to this and really any of the social ills that are affecting so many people. What is driving that visceral reaction? How can we create solidarity between these disparate groups and organize people in a way that real change can occur?