Critique of my efforts from the homeless shelter

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

Wow surprised this thread caused such an uproar

I am too. The closer to the street a scrapper is, I suspect he sees homelessness on a regular basis, and has either been there or pretty close to it himself. It's natural to feel sorry for a man who is at the pits of his existence and reduced to a life you can hardly imagine. One of my (alcoholic) brothers was homeless for at least a year - and that's a tough gig in Wisconsin. While I'm sure that he was a pitiful sight to strangers, those just passing by could not see the years of chaos that caused family and friends to finally turn their backs to him.

I interact on a personal level with homeless men on a regular basis so I don't consider the subject taboo. It is what it is. It doesn't really evoke a great deal of pity response in me, but a problem solving effort. If a man wants to change his life, there are certain things he can do. Some of these require great effort on his part. If he is unable or unwilling to climb these mountains, his condition will remain.

This does not include mental illness - that is a whole 'nother story and requires medical intervention.

Working with homeless men requires discernment, since resources are limited. Some of the men just had a few tough breaks but will not stay down long. And there are some people who just take advantage other's generosity and pity for as long as they can, and then they move onto the next sucker.