Homeless?

Living in downtown of any big city introduces you to a wide variety of people.  Among others, there are the weekday commuters, the weekend partiers, the daily runners, and unfortunately, the many homeless. 

My school is located in downtown, so we students see homeless people walking around every day.  Every single one that I've encountered has been very polite, and there are some characters.  There's the gentleman who's always just $0.80 short on his bus fare, the gentleman who's determined to keep you safe from the people trying to steal your thoughts, the lady who always greets you with a smile and a Bible verse.  I try not to judge; you never know what caused these people to end up where they are.

We've been told by school administrators, security, local police, etc, that we should not give money or food, that we should refer them to the local shelters or churches instead.  But it's still not uncommon for a student to buy someone a sandwich from the local Subway or a cup of coffee on a cold day.  I once saw a student offer a lady her scarf (which she refused to take).

I'm sure among the truly unfortunate are a few impostors, those hoping for a handout because it's easier than actually getting a job.  Last week I saw one of these supposedly "homeless" people -- he was wearing new kicks, had a Starbucks cup, and was listening to music on an iPod.....and yes, he was asking for money.  I can understand the coffee (a nice passer-byer?) and new kicks (a church?), but the iPod?  Really??  I know you need a computer of some sort in order to download music, and you have to charge it eventually.  Maybe he really did need some help, but I couldn't help but slowly shake my head as I walked away.