The more you need help, the less likely society is to be willing to help you.

I can't find a link for it but I remember an article where they got a dishevelled, homeless looking man to go into restaurants and ask for leftover food. He was rudely turned away every time. Then they got a man dressed in a smart, expensive business suit to go into the same restaurants and ask for free food (saying he'd lost his job/forgotten his credit card or whatever). He was treated politely and given free food every time.

The link above is to a youtube video, in which an able bodied woman asks for help zipping up her dress and people help her. But when a disabled woman asks for help doing up her buttons, people refuse.