Steve Bell the attorney asks questions. He also is asked lots of questions, including this one: "What are you doing, Bell, for the homeless?"

Whatever he can.

Friday, he camped out, for the third straight year, to raise awareness of what homeless face come winter in North Idaho.

He plays his guitar at soup kitchens and churches.

He has been on nine mission trips to Tecate, Mexico, where he does construction work, where he lives among people who have, literally, nothing but the clothes on their back.

"This is what keeps me humble. This helps when my stupid 20-year-old BMW breaks down," he said. "I go down there, I bring materials, I have a small group of people who donate and then I build for them. I just got back. I completely remodeled the children's church. I stay in a dorm where there's no heat. There were no lights, because we had solar and it rained. There were no showers. I lived on nothing. I see all these happy people and it teaches me humility."

Steve Bell admits he's an activist.

He's long advocated for the preservation of Tubbs Hill.

He advocated against, without success, placing the Burlington-Northern refueling depot over the aquifer.

His latest role, he says, is pushing for tougher laws on use of cell phones while driving. Cell phone drivers, he says, are a danger to others on the road. He has a Montana client who lost three family members to texting teens.

"Just because people do it doesn't make it less dangerous, it is very dangerous. The accident rate increases 17 times for texting drivers," he wrote.

The Moscow native was following in the footsteps of his father, George Bell, a law professor and a builder, when he came to Coeur d'Alene more than 40 years ago to become Kootenai County's prosecuting attorney.

While he's still busy practicing law, much of his time is spent helping the poor, those struggling just for a meal, those without a place to call home.

The homeless are not just those with drug or alcohol problems. It's not just those who can't find work because they don't have a college degree. It's not just those who made bad financial decisions.

These days, it's neighbors and friends and yes, veterans and teens, too.

So Steve Bell, whether at home in North Idaho or as a visitor to another country, will do what he can to make a difference for those people.

He believes he is, and welcomes others to join him.

"I told people, to me, I'm like the pebble in the ocean. I can't solve the problem. But that little ripple is going to spread."

How did your homeless campout go on Friday?

Great. We quadrupled the number of donations from last year. We had more than 1,000 donations. Twenty-five sleeping bags, 100 coats, 70 blankets, that's just a partial breakdown.

We had 75 homeless people stop by. If you showed up and you needed a coat, you got one that night.

Were you the only one to spend the night?

Me and a homeless guy named Nate. He helped me work that night. He goes, 'I'm not going to leave you out there alone, Bell.'

But it was a cakewalk this year, when it was 37 degrees. Last year, it was almost comical. It was freezing, It was snowing. One guy, his tent got blown into the field at St. Pius. This year, it was easy.

What was the controversy over your first homeless campout in the city three years ago?

I have a home, they let me camp out. But they have a city ordinance, if you don't have a home, you can't camp out. And so, the people, we had probably 30-40 homeless people that had to leave that night. We had to tell them to go home. That raised awareness of our problem when everybody got sent home.

Was there a homeless problem when you moved here as a prosecuting attorney in the early 1970s?

Unless I was blind, there was no homeless problem then. I've just really noticed it in the past five years or so.

What changes have you seen in the homeless population?

I've seen things completely change, and it isn't just the drunks. It's people who are losing their jobs. That's what got me started. Just seeing people, good people, who needed help. They talk about the recession. To me, the recession is over when your neighbor finally starts working again, when he's not working 20 hours a week at $8 an hour and trying to support his family.

Is it better or worse for the homeless here?

This community is just incredibly generous. It just brings me to tears. I think there's more help available. As for the problem, I don't think it's getting a lot better. If there's one thing I pray for, it's more jobs.

A St. Vincent survey last spring showed 800 homeless people. That's the people they found. That doesn't include all the people who were hiding and didn't want to be reported, so, it's a lot.

Other than providing more jobs, what can we do to help the homeless?

Be our brother's keeper. The Bible says a generous man will prosper. He who refreshes others, will himself be refreshed. So, if I've got a little extra, go help somebody. This is such an area of contrast. You've got these half-million dollar homes up here, and these people who are on bicycles. I just say open the pocket a little bit. That will help.

Part of the problem, of course, is alcoholism. We need detox centers. We don't have detox places around here. That's sad. And so it's making it worse. That just puts more pressure on people like (police chief) Wayne Longo.

What about getting more people into college?

I paid my way through college with a small construction company I had. That's the difference. Kids now are incurring a $100,000 debt to get a four-year degree.

I was talking to a young lady the other day over coffee and she was looking for work. One of her friends was looking for work. She said it's so frustrating to be overqualified, trying to get a job you really don't want, and they turn you down, too.

When I got out of law school, everybody in my class had a job. Today, when they get out, some of them don't have job.

Have we priced college out of the range of most people and made it a place just for the rich?

If I were president, the first thing I'd work on is jobs. You send a guy through four years of college and they don't have work, how discouraging. Then you can have someone with an eighth-grade education who goes to work in the oil fields for $100,000 a year. What's the motivation to go to college? So, we have to create jobs.

What influence did your dad have on you? Is he why you went into law?

My test scores were low. He said, 'You're making so much money in construction, I don't care what you do. I'm going to love you either way.'

He would build houses and he would teach law. Guess what? I practice law and build houses. He was the one that showed up at my football games if I was third-string on the practice squad.

What have been some law career highlights?

Not the divorces. I got burned out. No one's ever happy. Actually, believe it or not, I love the criminal work. I took like seven murder defenses. People go, 'How could you do that?' It's kind of challenging.

I've completely changed over the last seven years. I'll do criminal, but I'll do criminal where people have drug and alcohol problems and they want help.

I'd say that criminal is a lot of fun because you've got a captive audience.

The divorces, they hate you whether you win or lose.

Do you recommend a law career for college students?

The market is flooded. The only way I would is if they get in a specific. The general practice will eat you up.

When and why did you become a runner?

1984. To tell you the truth, I got off a barstool and said I needed to change my life. I went over and ran Bloomsday and I've been running ever since.

I've done 27 marathons. I still do them, in spite of an ankle injury.

What role does your faith have in your life?

Huge. I had to make major changes in my lifestyle back in the 80s. I had a girlfriend who said, 'Why don't you go to church?' I said, 'I'm not going to do that.' It really changed my life. I kind of went gradually from a life of 'He who dies with the most toys wins," to an attitude of service. Service is the rent I pay for being on God's Earth today. I noticed with that Tecate mission, coming back, it's a cure for depression. Serving him has changed my life. Before it was all about Steve Bell. My faith keeps me centered. Get out of yourself to help others.