Giving the homeless money

[Lean L]

I just had a convo with a girl who called me out because I get annoyed when homeless people ask me for money. She said she always give them money. That just confused the hell out of me. Has there been a movement that says this is productive? I thought the money would be used on drugs.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: iamanidiot
I just had a convo with a girl who called me out because I get annoyed when homeless people ask me for money. She said she always give them money. That just confused the hell out of me. Has there been a movement that says this is productive? I thought the money would be used on drugs.

The homeless people around here are always getting picked up by EMS for overdosing on heroine. And it seems like they always have a beer in their hand.

 

[Tiamat]

If they ask for money, I ask if they would like some food instead. The ones that curse immediately don't get help from me. The ones who graciously accept food are the ones I am more willing to aid.

 

[herm0016]

i thinks its much better to buy them a nutritious meal or give them a coat. money goes to alcohol or drugs far too often. the guy on the corner today had a funny sign, it said" will wrestle your mother in law for $5, 10, 20 depending on size"

 

[Ns1]

I don't reward bad behavior

 

[FoBoT]

offer them some Plumpy'nut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy'nut

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: Ns1
I don't reward bad behavior

some people don't have a choice

 

[Crono]

They get food. Give money to verifiable and reputable charitable causes (not necessarily an organization, you can always put the money to work yourself), not some dude on the street who will likely waste your money.

 

[Schadenfroh]

It is better to buy them food or a blanket rather than handing them cash.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Crono
They get food. Give money to verifiable and reputable charitable causes (not necessarily an organization, you can always put the money to work yourself), not some dude on the street who will likely waste your money.

this, or straight up buy them some food.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: arcenite

Originally posted by: Ns1
I don't reward bad behavior

some people don't have a choice

They can't get a stick with a nail and pick up cans? Begging = lazy

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
It is better to buy them food or a blanket rather than handing them cash.

Yeah, if you see some need like they are cold or really hungry, then make sure you use the money to get them the basic necessities, not them.

 

[datalink7]

I never give money. I have been known to offer food though.

I donate money every month to organizations that help the poor.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: arcenite

Originally posted by: Ns1
I don't reward bad behavior

some people don't have a choice

They can't get a stick with a nail and pick up cans? Begging = lazy

For the most part, yes.
I'm biblical about it; if you are too lazy to work, even if its very basic work scavenging, don't deserve to have food handed to you. This doesn't apply to people who are physically incapable of doing work, but how many of those are on the street? The mentally ill should be helped, however.

 

[a123456]

I'm not for giving straight up cash since a lot of it gets wasted on smokes/drugs/laziness/etc. Food and blankets are for those who actually need it. There are way too many "professional panhandlers" out there to just give cash. From what I've seen, a good one can bank 10-30$/hour, which is more than they would get at a normal job so they stick to begging because it nets more cash, especially after taxes. You get jaded after you see one of them at the end of the day walk into a fancy car.

 

[mcurphy]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
It is better to buy them food or a blanket rather than handing them cash.

I agree with this. I live in a very small town, around 2k population, so I am not exposed to homeless people very often. But, when I travel to Chicago or Milwaukee, and I encounter homeless people, I tend not to give them money. Mostly because I don't know if they are going to spend it on drugs, alcohol.....hookers and blow....or if they really just need a decent meal.

It's a tough call for me. In the few situations I have been in where a homeless person asks me for money, I don't have the time to run to a store to get him/ her food or clothing...so I usually just try to ignore them. Sad but true.

 

[villageidiot111]

I never give them money. If they knew how to handle money they wouldn't be on the street.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: iamanidiot
I just had a convo with a girl who called me out because I get annoyed when homeless people ask me for money. She said she always give them money. That just confused the hell out of me. Has there been a movement that says this is productive? I thought the money would be used on drugs.

give them food, not money

 

[quackerww]

/lawnchair

 

[DaveSimmons]

I give to the Washington state food bank supplier Northwest Harvest instead.

 

[Miramonti]

If I were homeless I'd ask people for money/food/items etc. Screw shelters. Who wants to go live with a bunch of homeless people.

 

[Kalmah]

My brother-in-law was homeless between age 14-22. That guy busted his ass for everything he ever did. He didn't walk around begging for money. He relied on himself to get what he needed to survive. He found food, he found clothes, he found shelter.. He didn't ask for food, ask for clothes, or ask for shelter.

He finally was able to get a job at a Buffalo's cafe as a cook and slept behind the dumpster at night. My sister worked there with him. He ended up making enough money to get his first apartment.. and then a car...

And now he's happily married with 2 awesome kids and is the best brother-in-law one could ask for.

Homeless don't need to beg. They just need motivation and need to bust their ass to get what they want.

 

[Brainonska511]

I never give them money directly. If I give money, it is to a local charity that caters to helping the homeless.

Edit:
I remember one cab driver I had going from Midway Airport to my apartment. He started talking about homeless people that hold signs like "will work for food." He mentioned how he used to drive one of those food trucks that would sell sandwiches and stuff at construction sites and stuff. At the end of the day, the truck would need to be cleaned out and restocked for the next day. People used to walk up to him with the "will work for food" line. He gave his terms - help clean the truck and he'll give them food. Only once did someone ever help him clean the truck - and he fed him well - 2 sandwiches, a snack or two, water, and some cash to boot for about an hour's worth of work.

I personally see the same guy selling these newspapers that are supposed to help homeless people outside one restaurant for the last 3 years.

I do feel bad for people that are genuinely down on their luck, but it's hard to tell who is and who isn't faking, so I just ignore them and stick to giving to charity directly.

 

[JohnPaul]

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: iamanidiot
I just had a convo with a girl who called me out because I get annoyed when homeless people ask me for money. She said she always give them money. That just confused the hell out of me. Has there been a movement that says this is productive? I thought the money would be used on drugs.

The homeless people around here are always getting picked up by EMS for overdosing on heroine. And it seems like they always have a beer in their hand.

Yea, it should be illegal to be addicted to anything. You are so knowledgable.Thank god there are people who know it all such as yourself so one day we can just put these scumbag junkies in a big pit of fire and rid the world of it's worst problem...a guy asking for change, because i'm certain that was his dream growing up and he just loves asking cool people such as yourself for spare change. Love ya bro, not to mention your compassion, because anyone without knowledge of what that man has been through would never make general assumptions of all people in similar situations. But, yea, he must have been a junkie.

 

[Goosemaster]

I guess this is a good place to bring up that I felt bad for a homeless guy near my office that had some shitty shoes so I gave him a pair that I wasn't using anymore.
He doesn't want to ear em. I saw them in the bag at the other side of his bench the other day. I questioned him and he told me to leave him alone.

I want to snatch them back. Bunch of other people out there that could make good use of them.