Cont.. I've bought groceries for a bunch of kids who hitchhiked to Anchorage from Homer.  If you just talk to them you can tell the ones who are playing the system from the real ones who want/need help. 

I saw those same kids a year later working in the 5th avenue mall and one of them was enrolled in school for HVAC, they just needed a hand getting there.  AK has a lot of homeless kids as well as adults.  Most people don't want to be homeless, some just end up dealing with medical emergencies that end up swallowing everything they own.  Some are running from bad home situations.  Some are happy to be homeless & don't want the major responsibilities but they don't make up the majority.  I won't give anyone money (not even my friends). But ill get groceries & help someone with utilities in a second because those are the ppl who want & need help.  If I buy someone food & they decline (this has happened) then they aren't really homeless. That's a lifestyle they've chosen but they're fewer