When I first came to Ottawa I was living in a shelter overflow for 9 very long months. Technically I was considered homeless. Even though I had a room and $12 a day for food I was still living in a shelter.
Some of the people there would be out begging for money. Others were sick and came to the city to be close to the hospital or lost their homes because they were too sick to work, lost their jobs and had no money for the rent. More than one couple was the victim of a home invasion. And many were women and children fleeing an abusive relationship and the battered women's shelters were full.
Yes there were the addicts, a lot of them. But certainly not the majority, at least not where I was staying.