wouldnt surprise me if each little town had its own story like that
my kids always want to help out the panhandlers and beggars (especially when we are at conferences in cities i would normally avoid, like chicago, new orleans or san diego)
because of the conference we will find ourselves driving from the hotel to the downtown area where the conference center (and the beggars) always are, so i will make it a point to stop at a grocery store and let the kids pick out some fresh fruit for them