There are a lot of homeless people in my neighbourhood, and I know many of them by sight, but perhaps only a handful by name. Here are some myths and realities:
Homeless people do not use Food Banks. Food banks are generally used by peoplw with a low income who spend a disproportionate amount of their money on housing.A bag of flour, a package of dry pasta, or a can of green beans is of no use to someone who doesn't have a stove and a personal source for running water.
Within ten minutes' walk of my home in Cabbagetown, up to 75 free prepared meals per week are available to anyone, at various times and places, between 7 AM and 4 PM, so there's no need for any homeless people to be starving. Some of these meals are better than others, but you have to go where they are, when they are. Someone who stays put for hours at a time wont get anything.
Someone receiving a government assistance cheque could apply to live in a rooming house, where they would have a roof over their head, free meals, and a common room with a television, and likely some free toiletries like soap and tooth paste. They would probably share a room with another person for approximately six months before being given a single unit. The negative aspect is the cost, which is geared to income source. Someone receiving a basic cheque would have to sign it over to the owner of the rooming house, and they would get something like $100 per month pocket money.
Someone could live at a larger shelter like the Salvation Army or The Good Shepherd. Those tenants would be able to keep more of their cheque, but they would also be subject to strict curfews. I think residents of The Good Shepard aren't allowed out of the building after 7:00 PM without a pass for a specific reason, and they aren't allowed to stay in the building between about 9:30 AM and 3 PM. Anyone who lives at the Sally Ann near Sherbourne and Dundas has to be in by 11 PM unless they have staff approval, and anyone who misses curfew twice has to spend a month outside. These rules are too strict for a certain portion of the population.
A government assistance cheque is composed of two fixed amounts, basic needs and shelter allowance. Anyone who receives some form of subsidized housing does not receive the shelter allowance as income; that money goes to the landlord. Someone who is homeless by choice receives both amounts, but it's up to them to obtain their own shelter.
There are a lot of scam charities associated with homelessness, low cost housing, and support for people with mental health and/ or addiction problems. The scam charities usually describe themselves as 'not for profit' organizations, as opposed to 'non profit'. Scam charities typically receive some government grant money, some funding from charitable donations from individuals or corporations, and they often do some fundraising of their own. Their public image is that they are altruistic advocates for the marginalized in society. In practice, most of the money that comes in goes towards staff salaries and administrative expenses, and only a small amount trickles down to their clients, and usually unevenly. If an 'overworked' caseworker is responsible to 50 clients, typically half or more will have no contact with the worker in ant given month, one third will get 15 minutes - one hour of time per month, and two-thirds of the time and effort will be spent assisting the five or six clients who are most needy. It's some of these five or six who are featured on the website, giving appreciative testimonials about how much good the company does.