I had a long period of chaotic life from 1999-2006. No secure accommodation, frequent rough sleeping, petty crime, begging.
The trigger was largely self inflicted. I got into debt. I fell out with family. However, underlying that was, at that time, undiagnosed mental health issues.
I can assure those heartless priggish souls posting here that this period of my life was no picnic. Yes I bunked trains, yes I shoplifted, yes I often asked for money rather than food and a hot drink. Why? So I could scrape enough together each day to get a bed in the ****tiest cheapest B&B that I could find.
The vast majority of the homeless out there are not making a lifestyle choice. Think just a little before you turn your nose up and look the other way. Don't make assumptions about what someone begging needs the money for. Have a little compassion.
By all means donate to charities instead of giving directly, but don't moralise against beggars and the homeless. Each one is a person, each one has a back story, each one deserves compassion.
Oh, and for the record, I found prison infinitely more acceptable than rough sleeping. Having no fixed address means prison is far more likely, even for the pettiest of offences. Bear in mind though that the attitude of 'lock em up' is a far bigger cost to society than actually addressing homelessness. And by addressing, I don't mean paying lip service to charities. It's proper funding nationally and locally that best addresses homelessness.
I came out of prison for the final time (all short sentences - no violence or drugs) in January 2006. The Prison and Probation Services had secured hostel accommodation for me. That saved my life. At that hostel I was able to address my problems, rebuild bridges with my family, get the diagnoses and help for the mental health issues, access further education, move forward. Eventually into my own place. I've not looked back. Others after me have not been so fortunate. Funding for the kind of projects I was able to access, such as the hostel, has been drastically cut in the last ten years. The place that got me back on my feet has closed down. In some ways I was fortunate to have had my problems during a Labour administration and before the financial crash. Had my life spiralled out of control after 2010 it's likely I wouldn't be here today to type this.