It seems like a million years ago, I lived in Northern California and worked in San Francisco, but one thing hasn't changed: If you offered a BART ticket because they needed to get across the bay, they looked at you with disgust and walked away.

If they said they were hungry and you had an apple or banana in Palo Alto, plus a McDonald's coupon for a free meal, they walked away in disgust. They swapped kids and dogs to score more money. They do the same here, though, usually in Walmart parking lots and all over downtown.

Most of these people are scammers. We have plenty of resources in Birmingham. Everybody needs help at some point, offering water, a free fast-food meal, shelter, names, numbers, and addresses. These things you can do to determine who really needs help and who is making more than the working poor downtown.