important to distinguish between two topics of homelessness: temporary and chronic

Temporary homeless are usually people who got kicked out due to eviction or domestic violence. They're usually back on their feet quickly and just need a temporary place to stay and some support through the hard time.

Chronic homeless are the people who are homeless all the time and never/rarely can stay housed. This is usually where the drug abuse / mental health problems are most prevalent.

Temporary homeless account for the greater share of the homeless people. Chronic homeless account for a greater share of the days people spend in homelessness. Most people would probably say that "chronic homeless" is the problem that needs addressing, but the issue is that most of the policy and metrics don't distinguish between the two.