PEOPLE become homeless for various reasons. Some, like Joe, experience personal tragedies. Others, like Martín, simply opt out of “normal” life, seeing it as a meaningless routine. Still others become homeless because of poverty, natural disasters, domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, a lack of affordable housing, or loss of employment.

Once thought to be limited to developing lands or those battered by war or economic depression, homelessness has “emerged as a major social issue in most developed nations,” says psychology professor Paul Toro.a Contributing factors may include government policies regarding aid to low-income families and a widening gap of income inequality.