The argument is that the "status quo" of people randomly handing out food on occasion just reinforces the status quo. And I think we can all agree that the status quo is not so great. So, what types of things do you want to encourage? Well, we'd want to encourage homeless people to do things like get actual healthy meals that are appropriate for their medical needs, get involved in jobs programs, get health screenings, and have safer places to sleep at night. How do you get these things? Well, you do it by encouraging the homeless to get involved with institutions that provide these programs on a wide-scale basis. When you do that you get information about how effective or ineffective the programs are about improving the quality of lives of the homeless as well as potentially even moving them out of homelessness altogether. It would be nice if people could all be rational actors, have this explained to them, and when they see a homeless person they could perhaps direct them to the local facility that is best equipped to handle their specific needs. But you know what? Experience tells us that isn't going to happen. That's why the law gets involved and does things like make panhandling and giving out food in city parks illegal. You say you don't have all the answers, but what you are saying is that you do have an answer: the status quo. It may not be perfect but it definitely stands to reason that getting the homeless directly involved with professional organizations that intend to help them is likely going to be better for everyone in the long run than putting the homeless in the very precarious position of having to panhandle for money or food from complete strangers who generally will have no idea how to actually help homelessness.

True story. The other night I ordered a small pizza. When I showed up to pick it up, they had screwed up and it wasn't made. The guy at the pizza place was nice, so he made me 2 small pizzas because I had to wait.

I didn't actually want 2 pizzas. On my walk home, I passed a homeless guy that has been in the neighborhood for nearly two years. And he's a really homeless guy. The kind of guy that doesn't have a sign, doesn't ask for anything, and is out there when its 20 degrees in february under a bunch of blankets. He also happens to be nice, I haven't had a conversation with him but he'll say good morning sometimes.

So when I passed by, I gave him the free pizza. He thanked me for it. I felt good about it.

Is it solving the problem that he is homeless? Absolutely not. Neither of thought 1 pizza would do that. But you know what, it was a friday night, someone did something nice for me, I decided to pass it along.

Should that be illegal? How can that be illegal? Imagine if a cop saw me do that and he gave me a ticket. He doesn't know that I can tell the difference between this guy that is on the corner every night for 2 years, and the other guy that is totally faking it and shows up on Saturdays only (when the weather is nice) and loudly asks for change, and I doubt is actually suffering from any of the things listed on the sign.

And how are the police going to tell the difference between me giving a pizza to a homeless guy I don't know, and me giving the pizza to a friend of mine that I texted "hey I got a free pizza, meet at the corner and I'll give it to you". The answer to that is plain old discrimination based on appearance, but no one will say that.

You are 100% right that random acts of kindness will not solve homelessness, but I simply can not see how making this illegal is workable or helpful. It just seems like a great way or nice people to have run-ins with police, and a law that basically can only work with discriminatory enforcement.

First, I'm not arguing for the status quo. At no point did I say I think we should keep everything just like it is.

However, I did say that I think it's deeply wrong to make it illegal to outlaw street feeding of the homeless. For one thing, it's not going to help. For another I feel deeply that I have the right to help people, and sometimes that means giving them food.

Street-feeding isn't a major factor in any of the homeless people I know, and I know a lot of homeless people. I interact with the homeless several times a week, and have for several years. I volunteer at soup kitchens, talk to them, give them rides, take them to doctors, buy them meals, and loan them money on a regular basis. Some of them are close personal friends.

As far as I can tell you want to see it made illegal to feed the homeless -- fair enough. However, there is nothing stopping the homeless from going to shelters or the city/county/state to get help right now. But without more resources for those programs there is very little that will change long-term.

If you are worried about exposing the homeless to programs I think it would be better for the police to have more mental health training, or a social worked they could call, or something similar. As far as I know, most of the soup kitchens around here already have a social worker on staff, but maybe they could have more available. The point is that I'm sure it could be improved, but making it illegal to street feed the homeless just isn't the answer you seem to think it is.

As far as a solution to homelessness goes -- I don't think there will ever be anything like a complete solution. However, I think putting a lot more money into social services and human development programs will help, as will directly funding shelters and government programs will be a tremendous help. But the best thing, the thing homeless people really need? People who actually care about them and try to directly help them. It's about human contact. It's about getting out and talking to them. Maybe I can't solve their problems, but I can make it better for a little while. And sometimes that's enough.