Not a one-size-fits-all.

The thing about homelessness is that those who want to deal with it rarely try to deal with what causes people to be homeless. Yet, in order to solve it, we would have to simply and straightforwardly ask the people concerned: "Why are you living on the sidewalk instead of a home?" And, depending on their answer, propose the appropriate solution and guide them through it.

1) "Because I'm mentally ill." Obviously, the person who's mentally ill won't just tell you himself, but you — or a psychiatrist — can tell. What to do with the mentally ill? Take them to the relevant institution.

2) "Because I'm a drug addict." Similarly, most people who are drug addicts won't admit to being so. In these cases, the social helpers will have to infer that themselves from all the drugs being used by the person, and then offer them rehabilitation services and centers for their situation.

3) "Because I'm disabled." First, make sure that person gets the payments he's eligible to from all levels of government that hand them. Secondly, help him find a kind of job that he can physically do.

4) "Because the rent is too high." Such people need to be offered jobs that pay at least the lowest rent in town. If there are no such jobs, then maybe living in a giant metropolis isn't for them, and they ought to be helped move to a suburban city where rent is more affordable.

So that's where the local and state/provincial spending ought to be geared: in providing clear sets of pathways out of homelessness that are customized for each category of homeless person.

But what if, you ask, what if these people won't comply? What they if the mentally ill refuse to go get treated and institutionalized? What if the addicts won't go to rehab? Those who are offered jobs won't take them? Well, in this case, tell them they won't be able to occupy the sidewalk.

See, the reason many people are of the opinion that we should allow the homeless to camp on a city's sidewalks and underpasses is that they believe such people have been failed by society, so a society that has failed you can't just kick you out of its pavement. But when said society goes through the trouble of finding out the root causes of your situation, and then offer you solutions for them as well as assistance, and you refuse, then said society has the right to lose patience with you, because the only person failing you then is you.