Reply to call the police (non-emergency) or am i over-reacting? (and possibly paranoid)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Homeless does not mean criminal. 
Also, I've spent a lot of nights outdoors in sub-zero temperatures. The presumed homeless person is safer and more secure in a tent than in a shelter. If you can't sleep on or in your belongings in a shelter they will get stolen. Or maybe that person has a pet to care for that will get taken away if they get whisked off to a shelter. Or perhaps they are there because it is close to some day-labor they are doing and won't be able to get to their job if they are forced out. If the person has a tent and the wherewithal to set up in a location that is near people, but still slightly out of harm's way, then he/she likely has the mental capacity to keep warm without someone calling the hypothermia hotline. 
There are thousands of scenarios you are not imagining due to your limited experiences. Do you care and want to make a difference? Grab a friend or two or five and drop off a clean blanket you don't use anymore. While you are at it, throw in a tube of toothpaste, a gallon of water, a couple of cans of food with pop-tops, a tub of peanut butter and a copy of the hypothermia hotline phone number. Say "early Merry Christmas/ Happy Hannukkuh" and leave. If the person is there you will have a very quick idea of whether you should place the call to 311 or not. Regardless, you've given him or her a little bit of dignity and you've dug yourself out of your own prejudice.

And before anyone jumps all over me for suggesting any of this: I was homeless on two separate occasions as a teen and have spent the past few decades quietly working with homeless people on both coasts and the southwest desert mountains. [/quote]

The OP specified the location.  To the PP quoted above, why don't you do this?[/quote]

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