Oh to be so naive and sheltered.
You have Jim, an ex vet. He drinks to numb the pain, both physical and mental . To drown out the screams, to forget the horrors,to actually be able to sleep without a car backfiring sending him right back in that awful place. He can actually half engage with a shelter and he'd prefer that. However, the set up,the noises,the shadows means he's on alert all the time,in flight or fight mode , he can't actually settle he's just more anxious and jittery. He also has a "rep" now as in the middle of the night he got frightened, thinking he was attacked and harmed other service users. He's safer on the streets he thinks. It's safer for others if he's on the streets too.
Then you have Alicia, Mary, James, Lucas and Sarah. They're barely out of their teens but their scars(mental and physical) run deep. They've been used and abused all their lives. Groomed into prostitution or drug running or both. Oh they know all the pretty words and promises and reassurances. But they know it's just words. Because sometimes they got sent back where they ran from,despite the abuse, because sometimes where they were sent was worse than the streets. Because most times they were treated like scum and criminals and liars and no one cared or believed them. At least they have each other on the streets, they have each other's back, they understand each other, they look at each other as equals and peers and family, not with pity or disgust .
Or Sam,Jessica, Franklin and Joseph who have lost everything due to a bad mental episode. They had no support to begin with and they believed that it will be ok,they will be looked after,they won't lose their home,their children ,their jobs etc. Turns out they did and were left out on the streets with no follow up. They tried to hang on , but they couldn't get their meds , or stopped taking them , or the dosage didn't work anymore. So now they're consistently in a mental health crisis and they know "they" lie, that's without the voices ,intrusive thoughts etc.
Or Jack who got kicked out at 15 because he's autistic. Oh there is a diagnosis somewhere in his notes but it has been years since anyone looked at them. So people keep touching him,shouting at him, making him to look them in the eye, do things that he can't or hurt him, and when he melts down they just assume he's another druggie, under the influence they say , they call him crazy and mental and dangerous,they call him a violent offender and restrain him or arrest him causing more trauma,more pain.
You tell me that's a lifestyle choice, that forcing them into rehab it's all it takes, that they actually have choices and options and the ability to make those choices. That if only they tried harder, they were better people,stronger,more resilient,more civilised it would all be ok. That if they just went to a shelter it would just be ok.