Last night I stood in line behind a guy who counted out his change and kept insisting the clerk sell him liquor. Any kind of liquor. Two weeks ago I was on my way downtown when a guy in a wheelchair approached me asking for 'a favor.' I should have known better, but approached him anyway. Yes, he wanted me to go into the corner store and buy him liquor (he even gave me the money for it). Apparently the clerk knew what I was up to because he refused. Sigh. I feel for these guys. Alcohol is legal, so you never know when/if it will competely control your life.

I came out here, my heart all a'bleedin' for these guys. Every day I gave money to everyone who approached me. My friends who lived here told me I'd be over that in six months. Well, it took me a couple of years, but yes, I'm over it now, except for the occasional relapse. A few years of watching men pull down their pants in the park and take a s**t there (when there is a free public restroom not three feet away) will do that to you.

That being said, I would imagine this program could be really beneficial for the non-chronic homeless. If you live paycheck to paycheck, and you miss a paycheck, it wouldn't be unheard of to end up on the street, even temporarily. How can you pull yourself out of that morass without access to basic civilization, like a telephone for employers to reach you, showers, etc.?

Not everyone who is homeless is the inebriate crapping in your park. Some of them are just like you and me, who got caught in an unfortunate chain of events that could happen to any of us.

good for google, I say.

when i get sick and can't work and can't pay bills and lose my home then someone like me will help me out.

And look! Comcast just built a brand-new shiny tower downtown- surely they will step up like GOOGLE, to give back to the community and all??

Not holding my breath...

Because they're EEEEEEEEVVVVVUUUUULLLLLL!!!!!!

kufie and Sinnard would rather the homeless be shot, y'see. That would serve those people right for being ill or weak or unemployed-not-by-choice or anything but rich-and-eternally-in-control. Neoconservative/libertarian idiots like these two dis solutions for problems because 1) they aren't smart enough to come up with anything on their own; 2) they are too short-sighted to realize that making sure people stay homeless will eventually impact their own quality-of-life, no matter how restricted their gated communities are or how many "free-market" morons they vote for.

So at least Google has done some good by providing them something new to complain about.

The people who want to be homeless, the ones that have decided to abandon all the pressures and trappings of society aren't going to want a voicemail box because it's a part of a society they have rejected. The people who are homeless because they are addicts or layabouts get a free phone number. Big deal. No worse than Google giving any idiot who can type his name unlimited storage - what did anybody do to actually deserve that, and is anyone using it for illegal or illegitimate purposes?

But when it's been 20 years since the average American household was more than 3 paychecks from homelessness, and when the average person who loses their decent job is unlikely to be able to get another one and they owe more on their house than they can ever sell it for again, talking shit about the homeless is bad, bad karma. Could be you lining up for your free voicemail next month.

Clearly you spent months doing anything you could for the homeless - that's how you accumulated all your examples of the pointlessness of it - only to have it thrown in your face. No wonder you're so angry!

I can only match your anecdotes with mine. I've always been ambivalent about giving out money on the street; sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. But I have a good friend who always gives something when asked. Sometimes a dollar, sometimes change (you know, what the drug dealers won't take). When we walk through San Francisco together, he often gives something out on every street corner.

Those terrible homeless people, almost to an individual, always say thank you and smile. I don't think I've ever heard them complain that it wasn't enough, or not the right kind of money. Maybe they go buy liquor or drugs with it, maybe they don't. We don't monitor them to find out.

In the 1970's I was walking in San Francisco with a woman friend of mine who was visiting the area. A man (I would estimate a homeless Viet Nam vet) asked for some money. I gave him a dollar. Then he said, "Can I ask you something?" I said yes. "Will you shake hands with me?"

I was reluctant. What if he pulled me to the ground and mugged me? What if he had a knife? I had my friend's safety to consider, as well as my own.

I shook hands with him. He sighed and looked as though his eyes might tear up. He said, "thank you." He didn't ask me for any more money.

No, I don't trust ALL the homeless people, all the beggars. I make a judgement call each time. But neither do I think that you have fairly presented them as a group. They are human beings; they are desperate, not only for material resources but for kindness. Sometimes, I imagine, my dollar and my kindness will be misspent. But I'll take that risk.

The statistics - how many are on drugs, how many are scam artists, etc. - I'll leave to those who study such things. You don't sound like one of them to me.

So I can use it to pay my telephone bill. Talk about a Win/Win.

Good lord...why is it in this city (SF) someone always complains whenever the homeless have access to anything?

Don't give them voicemail boxes - they'll deal drugs!

Close the recycling center! It's only enabling the homeless to obtain money for drugs and alcohol!

Don't give them mental health services or drug treatment programs! They'll just fall off the wagon when they get out!

Don't build them shelters! They'll congregate!

Don't let them sleep in the public park! They might leave a few needles lying around! Oh, they have to go somewhere? Somewhere else!

What next? Don't give the homeless jobs? They'll just by booze?

If you don't give homeless people a way to get their own money, they'll panhandle. Without money, they can't get back on their feet. Without services, they can't get a handle on the problems that are contributing to their sad condition.

WHAT do you propose be done then?