I think Sabrina makes good points . I also think that the whole issue of homelessness is so great that it's painful to think about .To me ,this thread represents a way in which individuals can feel that they are "doing something " ,helping . But I believe that their help is missdirected ,missguided .Greater benefit could be achieved by a regular donation to one of the charities that work with homeless people . Surely that's not hard to understand ? I guess "adopting" our own EDF homeless person creates a temporary glow and feeling that someone has been helped - I'm guilty of this when I hand over money to people in the street .For me it's a knee jerk reaction and makes me feel a bit better about myself and a little less guilty about the money I've just spent on myself in the shops . BUT I think it's a delusion or pseudo helping behaviour as Alice has described it,the money would be better used in the hands of an organisation who work with the homeless .