>I'd really love to learn about what is actually done in Europe. Where is a "mentally unstable" person to be found in Germany? If a "San Francisco-style lunatic" (like the one you saw in public in Germany) is encountered out in public in Germany, where is he put?
Some notes about the Finnish system:
There are plenty of psychiatric hospitals where most mentally ill people are (those who are not cared by their parents or relatives). There are some alcoholics/"crazy people" on the streets, but most of them have housing that they pay for themselves (through social security) or they live in special apartments for homeless people.
The whole country has about 1000 homeless people (for 5 million citizens). They could pay for their rent since they're entitled to "toimeentulotuki", a sum of about 700-1000 euros per month, but they probably spend it on alcohol or are unable to fill in the papers correctly (not an expert on homeless people here).
There's no official minimum wage, but "general employement contracts" make the minimum wage about 7-10€ depending on the job. There's some regulation on rents too.
Some notes about the Finnish system:
There are plenty of psychiatric hospitals where most mentally ill people are (those who are not cared by their parents or relatives). There are some alcoholics/"crazy people" on the streets, but most of them have housing that they pay for themselves (through social security) or they live in special apartments for homeless people.
The whole country has about 1000 homeless people (for 5 million citizens). They could pay for their rent since they're entitled to "toimeentulotuki", a sum of about 700-1000 euros per month, but they probably spend it on alcohol or are unable to fill in the papers correctly (not an expert on homeless people here).
There's no official minimum wage, but "general employement contracts" make the minimum wage about 7-10€ depending on the job. There's some regulation on rents too.