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[quote=Anonymous]What lessons are you learning at church?!

Homeless people are people. If you want to talk to a homeless person, when they ask you for money, decline politely and ask them if they are doing otherwise okay. Offer to take them out for a sandwich. I have done this a few times with various homeless folks in my neighborhood and established about the same level rapport as I have with some of the people who work and/or own businesses in my neighborhood.

Talking to some of these folks can really shed some light on how DC's various systems do and don't work (e.g., making low-income people trek around the city for paperwork makes it more expensive and therefore less likely for them to complete all their paperwork).

After I lost my job a couple of years ago, I was talking to a homeless person with whom I'd spoken a number of times. He asked how I was doing. I mentioned that I'd lost my job but was looking for another. Upon that, he went through his wallet until he found a Walmart gift card. He would not take no for an answer, so I accepted it. When I found a new job, tried to give him a gift in return. He would not accept one, but I took him out to lunch (at Subway) a couple more times than I probably would have otherwise.

We're all just people so just being a normal person can go a long way. 
[/quote]

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