I lived in Atlanta for about 10 years and had many encounters with homeless people. I've had them knock on my front door, approach me in the grocery store, come talk to me when my car broke down, etc. Most of the time, of course, they just approached me on the street.
The most successful homeless guys that were reasonably cognizant had a story. (Interesting note: the few female homeless people I encountered all had apparent mental problems.) Sometimes it was a story about their amazing life that took a turn for the worse through no fault of their own, sometimes it was about some tragedy that had recently befallen them or a family member, sometimes it was an "emergency" they needed help with, sometimes it was just a quick tale to build rapport...
This sounds a bit harsh but they are all con men. That's how you survive on the streets. I would not be surprised if literally every tale that I heard was completely fabricated.
That's not to say they are all liars or you shouldn't help the homeless, but the smart ones adapt to their situation quite well.
The most successful homeless guys that were reasonably cognizant had a story. (Interesting note: the few female homeless people I encountered all had apparent mental problems.) Sometimes it was a story about their amazing life that took a turn for the worse through no fault of their own, sometimes it was about some tragedy that had recently befallen them or a family member, sometimes it was an "emergency" they needed help with, sometimes it was just a quick tale to build rapport...
This sounds a bit harsh but they are all con men. That's how you survive on the streets. I would not be surprised if literally every tale that I heard was completely fabricated.
That's not to say they are all liars or you shouldn't help the homeless, but the smart ones adapt to their situation quite well.