This feels like a very US-specific way of framing it. In the UK and much of Europe, many of those “societal-level solutions” already exist to varying degrees: healthcare and mental healthcare free at the point of use, unemployment support, benefits towards rent, social and temporary housing, legal homelessness-prevention duties, and Housing First programmes.

They’re nowhere near perfect. We have social-housing shortages, benefit limits, long healthcare waiting lists and plenty of people who still fall through the gaps. But the response doesn’t have to begin and end with moving homeless people somewhere less visible to protect property values.

Your point that individual businesses and property owners cannot solve homelessness is completely fair. That’s precisely why they should sit behind a publicly funded safety net which helps keep people housed and supports them back into stability, instead of leaving everyone involved to deal with the consequences.

Yes, losing your home after losing your job definitely happens in Europe. The difference is that many European countries have stronger safety nets: they may help with rent, provide temporary or social housing, or use Housing First, so unemployment is less likely to end in rough sleeping. They generally won’t simply pay off your mortgage, and the help isn’t guaranteed, but keeping people stably housed can be cheaper in the long run than repeatedly dealing with homelessness. It also makes finding and keeping work much easier. In the UK, for example, eligible people may receive Jobseeker’s Allowance and help with their rent through Universal Credit, or Housing Benefit in certain circumstances.

That’s completely fair! Sorry, I underestimated the cost and the problem of getting permission as a renter. I looked into it properly and, although the plastic covering and curtain are cheap, constructing the drainage, sloped floor and waterproofing can still cost around £6,000–£8,500 here. If you’re comfortable saying which country or state you’re in, I’d still be happy to check whether there are any local grants, charities or tenant protections that might help. No need to give your precise location.

No offense intended, but isn’t that why shower rooms were invented? Waterproof the walls/floor with that cheap plastic stuff, curved edges on the walls for easy cleaning, plastic curtain on rails on the ceiling for blocking most of the water. Slope it down into the floor drain. No steps or doors. Is there really no safety net to get this sort of thing installed where you live? I would happily contribute a bit to a gofundme link for this, and I’m sure there’s plenty of others who would too. Example https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-ric-live-safely-in-his-later-years?cp_src=m . Ideally social services should have grants for this sort of thing though. There may be one you can access depending on where you live, DM me and I’d happily put in a bit of research to help you find out if this is an option.

Edit: UK example https://www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants/what-youll-get