One of my first posts on this weblog was about a homeless guy who sullied a moment of pure, pristine philanthropy on my part. (As always, I'd link you to it if I weren't so lazy.) Well, I saw the same guy again today, about two miles from where I saw him a few weeks back. Once again, he asked me for 50 cents for bus fare. I wanted to ask him, first of all, whether he was still trying to catch the same bus he was trying to catch when he asked me for money the last time. I mean, if that's the case, by now he could have walked wherever he's going. Second of all, I wanted to point out that bus fare is more than 50 cents. Then again, so is a crack hit or a joint or a tall boy, so maybe he's on the up and up. Anyway, I told him I couldn't help him, by which I meant that I didn't want to help him, by which I really meant that I didn't think he would spend my 50 cents in a way that I would approve of.
I also decided, though, to pitch a study of street people to one of my clients. I figure that over the course of a week or two, I could probably interview 50 or so homeless men, women, and children on the streets. I'd ask them how they got there, how long they've been there, what they're doing to get off the street, how they earn money, whether they've got any substance abuse or mental health issues, when was the last time they held a steady job, and, in the case of the women, whether they would consider dating me once they get cleaned up.
I don't know if my client will approve the study, but if so, it could be quite interesting.
