I have found that to be a fairly successful approach, actually.
That is the best approach as most homeless people, at least the ones I meet on the streets, seem to be running some sort of con or scam.
One time I had an "artist" come up to me claiming he was in town from Chicago for an art show at a local museum and claimed someone stole his wallet and he didn't know anybody in town and could I please help him out, breaking into fake hysterical sobs at this point. I told him he must know the people at the museum who invited him to show his art and he should talk to them. I don't really remember much past that.
Later that same year, I met a very heavy set young woman who claimed to have had woken up in a strange house after a night a partying and implied she had been drugged and violated and couldn't I please help her out with cab fair to get her back home? I had my cell phone with me so I offered to call the police because it sounded like she had been through quite an ordeal. She kind of deflected and I said, "Look if what you are telling me is true, it is very serious and you need to talk to the police before it happens to another young woman." Finally she claimed the police had been involved and I said, well, they would have given you a ride home after the hospital, maybe you should go back to them and ask for a ride.
So far this year I have only met one huge man who handed me a scrap of paper claiming to be deaf and needing funds and I just said, "no thank you." I've never met a deaf piece of paper before. Or maybe I have never met one that claimed it could sense anything. Not sure which. At any rate, what could a scrap of paper need money for?
