This reminds me a bit of Jack London's non-fiction book People of the Abyss, which was published in 1903. Sadly, many things haven't changed over the years, and your portrayal of what the homeless have to go through to get a bed and a meal is spot-on (not everyone is as unfeeling as the volunteers in this story, but many are).
Glad to see Clark met Charlie King again -- it looks like he's going to be a help.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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