I'd agree with that. Here in Chicago, there are plenty of homeless shelters. If somebody is out panhandling after 5PM, there's a 100% chance that they're getting money for booze or drugs. Most aren't really homeless either.

I knew this one guy who was a heroin junkie. He worked, but he had friends who stood by highway off-ramps and begged all day. They lived in a nice house! There's this other guy who lives at the VA hospital nearby. Every Friday and Saturday night, he rolls (he has no legs) out to the bar district, and deliberately falls out of his wheelchair. He does it over and over, and drunken tourists give him money. Then there are the "I need bus fare" scams. When there were bus tokens, I would offer them a token, and they'd get all pissed at me!

Homelessness is a real problem, but panhandling is a different thing. Giving money to people on the street never helps, but shelters do need money and volunteers.