The more Congress does, the worse the problems become. That is causal, and not coincidental. The biggest failure in Congress is to believe that creating commissions and doling out money (that is disproportionately collected from poorer people in the first place) can quickly resolve problems that have been created by earlier acts of Congress. In other words, the more Congress does, the more needs to be done to correct the problems.
By all means volunteer (or even better, start a business and hire people who need jobs and will do them) and get involved yourself. But elect representatives who are aware of “unintended consequences” of huge public policy initiatives that cost a lot and do not help, but only worsen existing problems, and who will walk softly and reduce the burdens they already place on people which drive them into homelessness. It’s not because “the 1%” are becoming more wealthy that people are made poorer. What happens is that people on the margins of the economy are disincentivized to work and increase their productiveness, and so give up, or fighting that, they face “the straw that breaks their backs” in various taxes and hoops they have to jump through, and lose that way.