A homeless man appears with a very interesting skill. He becomes popular on the web, and his story drives companies to try to recruit him. He claims he has been sober for two years. Two weeks after his rise to fame, and employment by some known organizations, he admits to drinking and goes to rehab.

This makes the people who spoke for him, and were inspired about his story, look weak and naive. It definitely hurts the image of the products he promoted.

Could it be said then, that when you invest in these folks, it comes with a huge risk that they can maintain their image. For someone who is a homeless person, maintaining their image is not something they are used to doing in the world, and is something for which they are prone to significant failure.