Broken homes, poverty, mental health, substance abuse, lack of education, etc. all contribute to homelessness and all can be proactive measures, but that's not the approach we take in America—we're a "fix" rather than "prevent" culture because we're bad at math.
That being said, no child or adult wakes up wanting to be destitute, addicted, or mentally ill. We treat those conditions as ugly whereas physical illness is normal—someone has an emergency operation paid for by a GoFundMe drive, but a person with schizophrenia will live forever on the margins.
People here like to talk all about how well they did in life and, let's be honest, the very nature of this forum means that most people here are doing very well compared to many Americans, but the truth is much more complicated.
It absolutely takes hard work and dedication and all that jazz to succeed, BUT it also takes a serious set of positive—or fewer negative—circumstances to make it.
Case in point: I had an ablation performed in April. Without insurance, the procedure would've cost $63k—an amount that would financially crush most Americans—but with my health insurance? $250. Which I paid with an FSA card that saves me an extra 22%!
THAT'S good fortune, and I won't overlook it when thinking of the Tale of Two Laconias.
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