Just to fine tune a point here: Reagan did away with mental hospitals because the loony bins had turned into lazy bins. Huge numbers of the residents didn't really have any mental issues, they were just taking advantage of the system. Also, this is the second part of a two part problem that created homelessness. Prior to this era, homelessness wasn't an issue. At the same time Reagan did away with the lazy bins, massive regulations began being placed on landlords. Prior to this, there were none and you could rent a place to live for 5 bucks a week. It sucked and you really didn't want to live there, it probably didn't have heating or air conditioning, but it was a roof over your head with a cot to sleep in and if you were lucky, the roof didn't leak over your bed and the shared, community bathroom worked on your floor. Once regulations began mandating minimum requirements for landlords, rents skyrocketed to cover the costs. So at the same time people were being displaced from their free government housing, rent went through the roof. Those two factors combined to create homelessness in the USA.
