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Many visitors to San Francisco are shocked by the numerous panhandlers and homeless people in areas frequented by tourists and business travelers. By some estimates, the city has some 3,000 to 5,000 chronically homeless residents who spend most of their time on the streets, and thousands more who pass in and out of shelters, jails and other temporary housing.

Encounters with these destitute residents are unavoidable throughout much of downtown San Francisco. While it is deeply troubling to see anyone in such dire straits, the city's street people generally pose no threat to your well-being as long as you steer clear of anyone who seems agitated or physically aggressive.

Choosing whether or not to give money to panhandlers is a highly personal decision. Dropping a few coins in a cup may be viewed as an act of kindness, or as a misguided gesture that only encourages more people to beg for money.

If you want to help someone but feel uncomfortable giving individual handouts, consider making a contribution to any of several local organizations that are working to get chronically homeless people off the streets. The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. (www.tndc.org) and Glide Memorial United Methodist Church (www.glide.org), for example, provide affordable housing, employment counseling and support services for thousands of people in the Tenderloin district just west of Union Square, where many of the city's most poverty-stricken citizens reside.