Because flat out saying "No" is completely out of the question, right? Even if they're on every corner begging, it's still rude to just ignore them. And not every homeless person is a hippie.

I live in a large city where there are plenty of homeless people. I still have the decency to acknowledge people who speak to me.

I'm talking less about the self-entitled hippies. I can see how your situation would be frustrating, for sure.

Goddamn, that 'decency' crap sounded self-righteous and I apologize; I wrote the post before I read about your hippies. Tried to edit but missed the boat. Just to clarify, I was thinking less of the entitled 'free spirit' types and more about folks who can't keep a job or home for 'legitimate' reasons (for lack of a better word) like illness/disability/addictions/etc. and who can't access the resources they need to get on their feet.

Arson is, like, so subversive man. Lord. I don't understand why people think mindless destruction or unprovoked violence helps a cause. Unless your goal is for nobody to take you seriously ever, and then go to jail. What a douchebag. There was a peaceful Occupy protest in my city, and it was lots of middle-class students with Starbucks and iPads acting like they were entitled to something for some reason but weren't sure what that reason was. I skipped that one, kinda felt like I can contribute more to society by actually doing something. :P That's a real shame about the job situation. In a way I can understand not wanting to go to an agency; I think I'd have a hard time swallowing my pride and asking for help. In fact I know I would. I suppose it might be even harder if you're worried people are going to look down on you or treat you badly because you're homeless or unwell. The job market where I live sucks, but not that badly. I don't know if the economic downturn hit us quite as hard in Canada as it did in the States. I'm glad your husband found a job, that was lucky. And thanks for your polite response! Glad I didn't offend you. :)