Classy move, offering to help him. like you did.
Most of them are scammers, though.
There was a news report, several years back, that said a study done in Atlanta showed that those "beggers" average 30 something THOUSAND dollars a year, just from begging.

Was a guy that stood at the I-20/Villa Rica exit for a couple years, off and on.
His sign said he was a war vet, homeless and needed food.
We used to give him a few dollars here and there.
One day, a couple hours after giving him some $, we ran in to him at a gas station, off Hwy. 61.
He was wearing the same dirty clothes, but drove up in a brand new F-150 and bought 2 cases of Bud Wieser.
My room mate got in his face and wanted to kick his ass, but the clerk threatened to call the cops.