I live in an extremely liberal town. They have a whole set-up for the unhoused. They have a huge place to stay (in tents) that’s patrolled 24/7 for safety, they offer services to help you get food stamps and help you apply for jobs, they even have donated clothes that were donated by others that you can wear to job interviews. They have places to shower, they provide every single aspect of support you could possibly provide someone. But what do people do? They get fucked up off the money they get from panhandling, and they use the resource as a place to sleep safely, but not to get help. 95% of them are completely uninterested in using the resources to better themselves. I used their resources years ago to get myself out of a homeless situation, and I am endlessly thankful. But when you’re a junkie, an alcoholic, just generally someone who doesn’t want the help…none of that matters. I was friends with someone who worked at that place, and they said “residents” would panhandle, use the money they got to get drugs or alcohol, then come to the camp fucked up and start fights or assault people. Those individuals weren’t interested in getting better. They had every resource possible available to them (including addiction counseling). It made me think of shit so differently. People who are houseless by circumstance don’t stay that way. I would buy food or give money to a homeless teenager. Not the person outside a convenience store screaming at me for not giving them 50 cents so they can buy beer. Sorry, I’m not heartless, I’ve just seen the truth.