Note that Streets Team doesn't pay anybody - nobody's earning anything. I see people forced into "volunteering" or working below minimum wage regularly in the U

Note that Streets Team doesn't pay anybody - nobody's earning anything. I see people forced into "volunteering" or working below minimum wage regularly in the UK in order to receive benefits. Forcing people to work for near-nothing is detrimental to their health - it doesn't help anyone feel like they're earning a living, since they're not, and in fact in practice this practice is just the Government giving companies near-free human labour, with the threat to said humans of killing them (by removing the resources they need to survive). There's also a remarkable amount of people who can't work and maintain their health at the same time (mental illness), who should be on disability benefits but have been denied them, who are badly affected by policies like this one. Go far enough down this line and we have the workhouses of the past. By all means - provide people with the opportunity to access work (The Big Issue et al), or the ability to volunteer and develop their skills and resume. But don't force them to in order to access the money they need to survive.