I have seen a homeless man with a bit of cardboard saying 'Homeless and Sleeping. Please Do Not Disturb. I'm not dead - Don't call 999!' I guess they got fedup of being woken up. It makes a change from 'I'm not drunk or on drugs, just down on my luck' The first person locally with that sign was genuine but its amazing how these marketing messages spread. I did a project some years ago photographing local beggars and homeless folk and it's amazing how careful they are about how they want to be perceived. Even the cup of tea or pack of crisps they had was well hidden before they would let me take a picture! Incidentally, was the self defence course internal or external? I've been looking for something focused on avoiding trouble or injury and some conflict management rather than the traditional knee in groin and run off as I think it would be useful for VAS members but management dread the possibility of someone in uniform being seen in a fight and seem to think we will be ninja first aiders or something. Any useful references I can find might be persuasive :)