Free will and choice suppose one's back isn't against a wall with respect to bills, a roof over one's head, medical or mental issues affecting either of the aforementioned.
That we went from "I have no job at all and am unemployable" to "it appears I can be exploited for my labor at a rate that doesn't allow me to escape poverty, but may allow me to at least not starve to death" is not defensible or desirable.
That you see it as acceptable or a reflection of a legitimate "choice" moreso reflects on your inexperience with or inability to adequately reason about the reality of sincere poverty, not reality.