Yes, it tears my heart out, but in St. Petersburg it is not always what it seems. I have a couple of friends who are involved in homeless issues who tell me that some of those people are put out there on purpose by a organization that has an agenda in the community. There is much discussion about the true status of the individuals working the intersections and what happens to the money they collect. Some people imply that the money does not go to the person working the intersection. I don't know...just something I've heard.

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 Many times the big "nonprofits" like Salvation Army & Goodwill view these individuals and small charities as competition and create rumors and even television "exposes" against them.

Personally I feel that if the large "nonprofits" were really taking care of the problem we wouldn`t have so many Homeless on our streets. Obviously we do have Homeless so that is all the evidence needed to prove the large "nonprofits" are not addressing the need sufficiently.

If any expose is needed it is one on the large "nonprofits" not the small "competing" ones. Also it may be that the large "nonprofits" may not so much feel threatened by the amount of monies collected by the small ones as they are by the fact that they are even out there, showing all the needs are not being met by them, the large ones.

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