This article examines the effects of homeless policy on single homeless people’s exit potential in Los Angeles and Berlin, Germany, to understand why the numbers and characteristics of the city’s homeless populations are similar despite different welfare systems. The article shows that homeless people in both places are similarly affected by local welfare state deficiencies, by displacement and criminalization, and by the containment ofservices in inhospitable urban areas. The combined effect of such policy practices is that homeless people in both cities become both socially and spatially excluded with negative ramifications on their ability to overcome homelessness.