Re-reading Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed about the working poor in America.  This was written in the late 90's when jobs were relatively plentiful so I can imagine how much worse it must be nowadays.  One thing that stands out is the difficulty (in time, money and emotional energy) of finding adequate, affordable shelter for low-wage workers.  The cash required for the application fee and security deposit (and perhaps first/last month's rent) is a huge obstacle for someone making minimum wage, forcing many into more expensive weekly (or daily) rentals.

For many people "making rent" can be all-consuming (again, in time, money and emotional energy) because failing to do so can mean a rapid descent towards homelessness.  I know how difficult it is for someone to pull themselves (and their kids) out of a homeless situation, to find a shelter with openings, to procure transitional housing (with year-long wait-lists),  to qualify and find affordable housing that's safe and near a bus line -- even with outside guidance and assistance it has got to be one of the more difficult journeys in life.

For someone who has adequate and affordable housing, who is faced with a temporary financial shortfall, I believe it is far better (for them as well as society) to provide a funding bridge to keep them in their housing situation.  The more expensive option (and not just in the financial sense) is to let them be evicted, allow them to enter the downward spiral of homelessness and then wait until they hit bottom before expending the time & treasure needed to help drag themselves back up into a safe & affordable housing situation that mirrors the one they were in originally.  I can see why homelessness is such a vexing problem.