"In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. The reason: The country applies the "Housing First"

[DFW]

25. That was exactly my wife's job

She was a social worker in Germany for decades, specifically working with homeless and long-term unemployed. It had to have been one of the most thankless jobs in the world. She said a small portion of the people sent her way actually wanted to be helped, and the rest were a mixture of hopeless addicts and con artists trying to game the system into giving them eternal welfare and benefits with an endless supply of excuses and cheaply-bought “medical certificates” stating why a healthy 35-year-old was unable to do anything but watch TV from a sofa and make babies.

She kept at it for the few victories where she was actually able to get people to clean up, get off their dope, get jobs, and maintain them. They were not the majority. She never asked for thanks or recognition, and finally retired in frustration after decades of seeing her superior recruit “volunteers” to help repair his own house on off hours.