I disagree. When I give money to a homeless person I am trying to help them. if they then spend that money on alcohol or drugs I won't have improved their quality of life. If I were to give aid to a third world country expecting it to be spent on water or medicine but instead the government decided to spend it on guns I wouldn't think "I gave them the money it's theirs to do with as they will, I shouldn't dictate how they spend it" I would think "Why on earth is the money I sent to help being used to make the situation worse".

Perhaps he is a vegetarian? Eh. The only comment I was going to make was on the reference to not wanting him to go buy booze with the money they would have given them. Why do we feel that with the homeless we can decide what they spend money on. If you GIVE them money, they can choose to do whatever they want with it. Even if it is to buy a pint of whiskey. Nine times out of ten your couple of bucks isn't going to change their situation much anyway. Let them get hammered if they like. They're adults. If you feel the need to dictate what they should do with your money after you 'give' it to them, then just keep it to yourself.