Hopefully, the gentleman you interacted with also encountered a number of charities. For example, in Toronto it might have been the YMCA or the Salvation Army, or a number of other groups that operate outreach programs. Again, they don't sit in an office somewhere, waiting for people to come to them, but they go out at night and try to find that gentleman in a cold night, to make sure that he's comfortable, that he has a warm parka or blanket. If he insists on sleeping in the street, they make sure that he's in a safe place, because it's not always safe in the street.
Those are the wonderful things, the stories that we are privileged to see, and, hopefully, privileged to participate in either as volunteers or donors.