On the corner of Interstate 95 and Hollywood Boulevard there is a small, grassy area polluted with empty beer cans and bottles. Tattered clothes are hidden in the bushes, along with a sign: "+Vet+Please\Help."

This is George Marshall’s home. After getting divorced, the 51-year-old rode his bicycle from Key West to Hollywood and took up residence off the highway. He admits that he’s an alcoholic and has been homeless for three years because of it, but when the Coalition of Service and Charity (COSAC) shelter’s outreach program offered to take him off the streets, he decided to stay at the intersection.

He wanted to maintain his "dignity," he said. "I am really tired. I try to stay out of trouble."

Marshall is part of a small group of homeless in Hollywood who, despite their problems, do not want to get off the streets. For them, says Sean Cononie, founder/director of COSAC, the decision is about preserving their "dignity" because it’s the only thing that helps them survive on the streets.

"I understand people have pride," Cononie says. "If I was homeless [and could survive], I probably would not go to a shelter. I would live on the streets," he says.

Still, the COSAC shelter’s outreach team returns to the streets every few weeks in hopes that this group of chronically homeless people will realize that they can keep their dignity and get help.

"They may not come in today, but they may come in three months from now," Cononie says.

Though COSAC’s outreach program has been in effect since the inception of the shelter in 1997, it has always dealt with the same small sect of homeless individuals who do not want to come off the streets.

"When you’re doing outreach, you’re always dealing with the hardest people because they don’t want to come [with you to the shelter]," Cononie says. "It’s not a large number [that want to be on the street], so we’re hitting the same people over and over."

The goal of the outreach program is to get the homeless off of the streets and into a shelter with the proper mental and health care, a clean and safe place to stay, and food. But on most trips, they end up just handing out food, water and cigarettes — things that they hope may one day coax them into coming to the shelter.

Most of the chronically homeless struggle with addiction, have mental disabilities or are disabled. Though their circumstances vary, this small group of homeless has one thing in common: They are protecting a precious part of their persona that helps them survive on the streets.

"Do you want to get off the streets tonight?" Yvette Tucholski-Dekeles, a licensed mental health counselor and outreach team member, asked Marshall on a recent Saturday night.

"Even if you’re not ready to stop drinking, you can come to the shelter," said Tucholski-Dekeles to the homeless Marshall. "We’re here to help you."

Tucholski-Dekeles said COSAC understands the nature of addictions and how people often relapse. She assured Marshall that he would not be kicked out if he continued drinking. Additionally, she assured him that a specialty doctor is only a phone call away.

Sometimes it helps to bring homeless people who have come to the COSAC shelter along on outreach because it sets an example that may trigger a homeless person to say, "Okay, maybe I do want to get off the street," Cononie says.

Police Officer Antonio Pontigo, neighborhood team leader for the Hollywood Police Department, partners with homeless shelters like COSAC to recruit the homeless off of the streets. For the past four years, he has investigated homeless encampments with the outreach team to not only get them off the city streets, but also to maintain their cleanliness and legality.

"They like to be on their own. They stick to themselves. They do not care about society’s rules," Pontigo says. "Their mentality is ‘you’re bothering them — they’re not bothering you.’"

Despite their resistance, Cononie believes it’s better to keep trying than to give up.

"You may not be able to make them drink the water, but you sure as hell can make them thirsty."