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Letter: Reader feels obligated to give cash to homeless

Arthur Kahl
Palm Bay
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I pass the intersection of U.S. 1 and Strawbridge Avenue (U.S. 192) every day and have seen the man holding the "Smiles Please" sign recently pictured in FLORIDA TODAY.

I also see people holding signs around Palm Bay Road. I spoke with one of them who told me he and his girlfriend lost their jobs, then ran out of unemployment benefits. As a result, they lost their apartment, car and everything they had.

They now live in the woods and beg for money so they can eat supper. I gave him $5. I saw another man standing with his wife, who was eight months pregnant. He said he had lost his job and was desperate. I was shocked. I gave him $10.

There obviously is a problem. What to do about it? Not give them any money and let them starve to death in the woods? How about what they do in Boca Raton? Police there pick them up and drop them off at a homeless shelter in the next county. Is there a way back? Or is it too late?

When I see these homeless people, I think: "If not for the grace of God, there go I." Until the county comes up with a solution, I have no choice but to help. Someone said: "I actually think that the most efficacious way of making a difference is to lead by example, and doing random acts of kindness is setting a very good example of how to behave in the world." I agree.

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