You do what you can to relieve somebody's suffering with food, or shelter, or whatever you can do.  But there is another level in which you know suffering is Grace.  They are not asking for Grace that way.  And you can't lay a trip. You can't say it's good for you, suffer.  That's the beginning of dealing with the issues.

As we begin to awaken, experiences lead to reflection and contemplation. Then as we become more aware, experiences become a fire of purification, a burning ground of the ego, grist for the mill of developing consciousness, food enabling the emerging soul to break free of its bonds.