of terrible funding.
As usual, it's not a simple "this" or "that" answer. It was a combination of issues.
Some good and some bad has come from deinstitutionalization. Homelessness is one of the bas things. Lots of people got more effective services, though.
The bottom line is that you have to decide:
1) How many rights do we want to take away
2) How do we determine who's rights get taken away'
3) Once we take away their rights, how will we serve them? What is the most effective way, in general, to do that?
4) Realize that ANY changes we make won't be perfect on either micro or macro levels.