Have you ever been poor? I understand that absolute poverty in an undeveloped country is worse, but to make a statement like you have shows that you apparently have very little understanding of the reality of poverty in a developed country.
As I said before, if you eat substandard food, don't give your body stress in manageable amounts (exercise), and are constantly bombarded by a level of stimuli unthinkable to someone from 1800...
Being "poor" or even "homeless" doesn't have to suck as bad. From experience, the whole homeless shelter (particularly within Veteran Affairs) system is ripe for disruption. You wouldn't believe how much money is wasted on absolute bullshit (coughAnyoneWithASocialWorkDegreecough) as opposed to simple procedures and steps which actually help a person to not be homeless.
Two things which persisently keep a lot of homeless people down are a lack of employable skills and a lack of supportive social networks that keep a person "in the game" so that they're not bored and smoking crack.