Do you think that owners of large amounts of commercial property should build shelters for the homeless?

A few nights ago encountered a man on a downtown sidewalk who asked me if I knew of a place he could sleep for the night. The temperature was bitterly cold. He was polite, He was not drunk and he did not smell from alcohol. He was not pushy. I suggested that he stay at the local Salvation Army, but he said that the Salvation Army, (which is fundamentally a religious organization), would not accept him because he had a drinking problem. I asked him where he had slept the night before, and he told me that he had spent the night outdoors beside a public building because it had a vent from which the heat escaped. I then told him to consider an automated bank teller, because it is what I would do if I were in that situation. He told me he thought he would go along with that idea. I later began to fear that I might have given him some wrong advice. I began to wonder whether extending one's time in such a place might result in a bigger price down the road. I wonder how friendly the police are to people they come across in such circumstances. I do not own the place where I live and do not have permission to allow others a shelter for the night.

Many of the people who own business property in town appear to be wealthy. A number of their offices appear to be vacant. The buildings still have to be heated and lit. A shelter for the homeless would be relatively small in size and it would not required large amounts of fuel to heat. I am sure that the public would be happy to drop in varying amounts of money to keep it maintained.

The owners of business blocks frequently are guilty of slum lording. They often charge exorbitant rent, which forces occupants and businesses to close down or to relocate. At the same time, they receive recognition for their donations to registered charities. It is not clear how far some of these registered charities benefit others. A shelter for the homeless would be more tangible proof that their donations are really being used for the larger good.