This is a Marvelous capture of a very sad scene Wm. We all should count ourselves very lucky. Sure wish there was a way the cities all around the world could help get them off of the street.
I doubt that he has much choice; his middle front may be warm from the steam coming out of the grate but I'm sure the rest of him is cold. I know that occasionally some of these folks will adopt an expression of despair to get a handout (I've seen them do it here while wearing ear-buds attached to an MP3 player hidden in a pocket), but this guy is obviously not faking it. This is a candid and honest capture of a man in distress, a national problem that stimulus payments cannot assuage. It's top -drawer photos like this that keep me pushing the site for a photo-journalism gallery. This one is a perfect candidate for it.
If you've ever wanted to make a difference but found it hard to believe that one person could... check out the Kiva Team Caedes discussion thread and discover that anything is possible.