This year I’ll be going around the city and interviewing people that are asking for money on the streets. As a test of their work ethic, I will offer to pay them at the pretax rate that I make as an engineer for their time and require that they sit with me for at least ten minutes. My goal is to learn more about how they got there, what it would take to get them off the streets, and hopefully reduce the dehumanization that these people experience by spreading their stories and appreciating the positive qualities that they have to offer.