How to Increase the Number of Homeless People

I was dismayed to read yesterday that HUD may push rent increases for millions of people who receive housing aid.  The Trump administration and the head of HUD, Ben Carson, have said for months that this is a step they are advocating because the present system is "unsustainable".  They have also proposed increasing already existing work requirements for those receiving housing subsidies.  Let's unpack that for a minute. They just passed a tax cut which benefits the top 2% disproportionately, and which grows an already ballooning deficit.  So I suppose in that sense helping keep a roof over poor peoples' heads is unsustainable.

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities article:
"Most tenants pay 30 percent of their income (after certain deductions are taken out) for rent and utilities.  Housing agencies can choose to require families to pay a minimum rent of up to $50 even if this is more than 30 percent of their income, and families can opt to pay a flat rent based on local market rents regardless of their income."
There is an interesting chart in this article, breaking down the demographics of who receives housing subsidies.  
The proposed rate increase is from 30% to 35%.  Some people have said, "5% isn't very much, that shouldn't be a deal breaker." Do the math, it amounts to 16.66%. And the proposal is also to do away with the minimum rent ceiling of $50 for the poorest renters. Which means they could be paying up to $150.  These are people living on thin margins, to where a significant rate increase may cause them to fall behind and be evicted.
Our local St. Vincent de Paul Society chapter deals with rent assistance requests as possibly their most commonly requested aid. Most of these people are, or were, working. The most common reason for falling behind is a serious illness, in which a lot of work was missed, or which caused them to lose the job.
The present political mood is certainly not one of having the warm fuzzies for poor or homeless people.  Here is one California politician's answer to homelessness:  put them in institutions.
It's not a new idea, but not a merciful one either. The picture above is of a Victorian era poorhouse.
As recently as when I was a child (I know that's not terribly recent!) there was a tract of land east of the town cemetery called the Poor Farm. In my lifetime the county no longer owned it, and it was not being used to house the indigent. But do we want to go back to these types of solutions, especially when we have the means to do better?