missing and homeless?

What causes people to decide not to go home?

There are thousands of homeless people in the US that are not homeless by choice. They have no job, no skills, or are often mentally incompetent. The closure of hundreds of mental hospitals by Reagan in the 80s to "cut cost" created a whole new homeless population.

I'm used to seeing Crazy Valerie back on the corner of 20th and Irving. I've had people that were clearly insane out on the street approach me. But why do some of the more lucid people remain homeless? Is it because they cannot get jobs? Don't want to get jobs?

I guess the reason I startd thinking about this is because of the assumptions that I made regarding the Jerry Tang case. People in SF have probably seen the posters or news broadcasts around. I just initially assumed - because he was prone to seizures and didn't have his medication - that he was mentally incompetent. But I can't really tell from the information released. I know that he was reportedly depressed, but could the combination have caused a short in his brain that's kept him from finding his way home? Or is he lucid, but has decided not to?

I can't imagine that anyone who can make the decision and has a loving family would decide to wander aimlessly. From all accounts, this man was responsible and intelligent; he was the CTO of a company and taking care of his seizures. What triggers behavior like this?

I have a relative who has schizophrenia. All her life, she's had depression, but was one of the most engaging, vivacious people I knew. Two years ago, she started hearing voices. It got to the point that it was so bad that she needed to be chaperoned; even leaving her at home alone was risky. She was left in a mental hospital when she tried to commit suicide. Then, she got better. Yet recently, she's started her descent again.

My prayers are with Jerry and his family. I hope that he is returned safely; at the very least, these sitings indicate that he's alive.