Six Degrees of Separation

Things aren't really as black and white as I'd like them to be. Many times our set rules need to be manipulated to accommodate some new perceptions and events. Does that mean those "golden rules" were wrong? Are we wrong in accepting them? For the duration of the summer I decided to volunteer at a womens' shelter, and every week I come across examples that force me to widen my thinking horizons. Today while talking to a woman, I learned that she used to be a prostitute for 23 years. So automatically, in my head I'm thinking this is wrong and she should've searched harder for a decent job or applied for welfare and whatnot. But as I'm going through these criticisms in my head, various things crossed my mind. By default, humans have an attachment to their dignity, shame, and pride. No one likes to be sullied in any way, children and adults alike. Some things are simply in our genes and we can not part from them. Other people in the group present at that time were criticizing the opening of a prostitution place (I don't know what the correct term is for such a venue) and this woman was defending it by saying had she not been in the field, there was no way her kids would have gotten to colleges and universities, and today they have scholarships and enough money to pay for their tuition, books, food and rent. So they have grown up to be benefitting members of the society we ALL live in. End justifying the means? Which side of the debate are you on?