I was watching a program here in the UK about the "homeless" situation in the US, and it stated that some 45,000 people were homeless in Los Angeles, more than all the other major cities put together, it was really quite revealing that the richest nation on earth has such a large problem...
A few years ago, I spent a few days in London and was astonished at the increase in the homeless there from a few years before that I'd been there.
I would take them into a cafe/eatery and buy them food/beverages...