Ima bout to rant on this here: I'll try to restain myself.
I used to share (somewhat) the opinion of those that thought homeless people really don't want to work, blah blah, all the standard things. UNTIL I worked with some. I didn't really volunteer to assuage any guilt I had for having a decent life, but I figured quite simply, if it were me in their shoes, I'd sure appreciate the support.
At the risk of sounding trite, these people are just that: people. They all have their own stories. Okay, so maybe they don't cope with stress in the same way "successful" people do, and they drink, drug, or just unplug from life. The fact is no one knows the whole story about ANYONE. Period.
YOu can pass commitment laws, panhandling laws, etc, but no matter how may laws are in place, you can't place a law on the human heart, meaning you can't legislate morality. There will always be compassionate people and there will always be self righteous dicks. I'm not labeling anyone on this thread in either category. Just ask yourself honestly: Which one are you?