But how do you know if they want the alcohol or the gift card?

Unless you have a true deadbeat this will work.In most cases it's a matter of having the tenant realize that rent is a priority - before car payments, alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs, child support, vacations, gambling, haircuts, and dining out.

The guys love doing work as a part of their therapy, making a few bucks and staying occupied and away from drugs/alcohol/crime.

I would take others investors sign on monday afternoon if they were still out, wipe the permanent marker off with rubbing alcohol or cheap colon and write my own words on it.

I am not an lawyer (and I do not play one on TV ;-)) but I went looking on masslegalhelp.org and found this nugget on Federal public housing:Federal public housingIf you are applying for federal public housing, a housing authority  must deny your application if it finds that:A household member is currently engaged in illegal use of a drug, or the  Housing Authority has reasonable cause to believe a household member's illegal  use of a drug or pattern of illegal use of a drug may threaten the health,  safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.1 The Housing Authority has reasonable cause to believe that a household  member's abuse or pattern of abuse of alcohol may threaten the health, safety,  or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.2   Importantbefore denying a person housing based on illegal drug use or alcohol  abuse, a housing authority may consider evidence of rehabilitation3.Any member of your household is subject to a lifetime registration  requirement under a state sex offender registration program.4 Any household member has been convicted of the manufacture or production of  methamphetamine in federally assisted housing.5 Any household member has been evicted from federally assisted housing for  drug-related criminal activity within the past three  years.6   ImportantA housing authority can also let your household in if the person who  engaged in the drug-related criminal activity has  successfully completed a supervised, approved rehabilitation program, or if the  circumstances leading to the eviction no longer exist—for example, the household  member has died or is in jail.7 In addition to the automatic denials listed above, a housing authority  may deny applicants "whose habits and practices reasonably may  be expected to have a detrimental effect on the residents or the project  environment."8 This means that a housing  authority has wide discretion over whom it allows  into its federal public housing programs.

Depending on the class of the tenant they might need money for many things.Drugs, alcohol, food, bailing someone out of jail, car payment, illness and on and on.They can usually find somewhere to crash so if they get money today they might want to move and figure out things later on.

They live for hand outs, and at least the ones I interacted with, spent the vast majority of their panhandling money or welfare money on drugs and alcohol, with the minority going towards food(mainly mcdonalds and pizza usually).

Does the church have any programs geared toward alcoholics, drugs addicts, etc?

Have a party but be cautious on providing too much alcohol.

Sometimes sellers are not fully available due to travel, habits (drugs and alcohol) and emotional issues that may have contributed to the reason they're in the situation they're in, in the the first place.