And I agreed with your comment, “who is your neighbor?”
I am a big believer that part of the social contract is that we take care of our own. If someone is in a legitimate jam, though no fault of their own, then the family first has an obligation to help if possible. If the need exceeds the means of the family then private charity should be the next stop. In very extreme cases, yes the government can step in. This is the United States of America and we don’t let our people starve.
That said, unless you are an invalid, anyone on public relief should be required to work. If you really are down and out, we will make sure you get the proverbial three hots and a cot, but you will earn your keep. Public roads need to be de-littered. Parks and public restrooms can be cleaned. There are countless public works projects involving low skill manual labor that we would otherwise have to pay some civil service high school drop out $18hr to do that these people can do for their room and board.