On our travels around the country, we saw them all over the place. The people with the will work for food signs. The 1 guy in Burlington, VT was out there every day like it was his job.
I'd get hit up at high traffic area gasoline stations. Somebody would come up with some sob story about needing money. Some times I'd reply back in Italian and keep walking.
There was a guy in Baltimore downtown years ago. He was in a wheelchair and had prosthesis for hands. His hands were those metal claw like deals. He'd have a used coffee cup that was used to put the change/cash. I'm sure a lot of folks contributed because seeing this guy made you feel lucky that you didn't have to deal with that sort of health issue on a daily basis.
Overseas I saw a lot of blind beggars. They'd set up near the tourist areas. Then there were the gypsy kids that ran around begging and picking pockets. In India, I saw entire families begging. So why have 10 kids when you can't feed 2 kids? When I was there, they had so many beggars it would have taken a fortune to get them all out of poverty.