But Kaitlyn doesn't care what they think; she does it anyway, and says she always will.

Kaitlyn, 18, lives in Saratoga. Now a high school senior, Kaitlyn took a required course called social justice last year, and she says it changed her life.

A private, Catholic school, St. Francis requires all its students to take four years of religion courses, and to complete a certain amount of community service each year.

The social justice course, part of that curriculum, covers topics such as civil rights movements throughout history, racism and the plight of the homeless, Kaitlyn says.

"It was a really impactful course," Kaitlyn says. "It made me appreciate those around me, and respect people more. I was really drawn even more into the topic, and I felt a deeper need to help my fellow members of society."

Kaitlyn says her school and people in her neighborhood would organize charitable efforts like food drives and clothing collections, but she almost felt like they were doing it "for show," and they never inspired any compassion in her.

"The environment I was raised in was a rich, snobby environment," she says. "But this [course] really made me want to help more."

Kaitlyn says the section on the homeless in her social justice class discussed possible reasons people end up homeless, how they get out of the situation and how it's not always their fault they got into it in the first place.

Kaitlyn says she is well aware of the perceptions many have about homeless people--that they are just asking for handouts instead of trying to earn their way, that they use money people give them to buy drugs or booze or that they landed at the bottom because of gambling or drug abuse.

"They're still people and you should help them, even in a little way," she says. "In some cases I think [those perceptions] are true, to some extent, but people tend to think it's true for everyone. Not everyone gambled away all their money. People don't realize that a lot of them were middle-class and have just fallen into a bad financial situation.

"I think if people just had an open mind and thought, 'That could be me,' it would be much better. People are really judgmental of the homeless here, especially in Saratoga and other affluent neighborhoods."

Kaitlyn says the cost of living in the Bay Area is often proof enough that her argument can be true.

"It's so much harder to get out of debt here," she says.

For all of these reasons, Kaitlyn has taken action on her own. She has started her own donation program for the homeless called "Fashions for Families," and collects warm winter clothing, blankets and shoes for adults and children to give to the San Jose Family Shelter. And she makes it a point to help every homeless person she sees, in whatever way she can. Some people tell her that she takes it too far, however--when Kaitlyn saw a 30-something homeless woman sitting in front of a Walgreen's in Mountain View one day, she decided to sit with her.

"I didn't want to just give her money, I felt it was insincere. So I gave her an umbrella and some food and talked to her," Kaitlyn says. In their conversation, Kaitlyn discovered the woman had a son, and that she could barely walk--she was badly in need of knee surgery, but obviously couldn't afford it. Kaitlyn returned the next day to visit the woman again, and this time took her out to lunch.

Kaitlyn's friends and parents were a little concerned at first, she says, but by talking to them and explaining her philosophy and what it means to her, she says they are slowly starting to accept it.

"My mom, especially," she says. "Now when I come home and say, 'Yeah, today I met a homeless woman and took her out for lunch,' or, 'Today I bought a homeless man a sandwich and stayed and talked with him,' she'll say, 'Good, it's nice to see you helping people out.' "

Kaitlyn says she respects how her school promotes compassion for all people.

"I like the [community] service program at my school; it really gets us to help a variety of different people, and to appreciate them," she says.

Kaitlyn says she is also overjoyed at how Saint Francis is supporting her Fashions for Families project--Kaitlyn says she has a meeting scheduled with school administration, and that the school plans to help her collect clothes, as well as set up a donation station at the entrance to the upcoming back-to-school dance.

Kaitlyn says that anyone interested in donating clothes can call her and she will arrange to meet them and collect the clothing. She hopes eventually to have bins set up around town as well.

Giving back has given Kaitlyn such a good feeling that she plans to join the Peace Corps after college, and later help others through teaching or medical care, she says. She plans to major in sociology at either Lewis & Clark College or UC-Berkeley.

But for now--it's Fashions for Families.

"I hope this project will inspire other members of the community to take part in helping others who are in need," Kaitlyn says.

To donate clothing to Fashions for Families, call Kaitlyn Pavlina at 408.621.5667.