Do You Give To The Homeless?

[Galen 1,352]

It was a question not a statement, I've only talked about those who take for the sake of maintaining their lazy lifestyle, of course I would help those in genuine need but without a proper way to discern I don't see how, nor do I have the time to assess every single homeless person I meet, I haven't mentioned a lot of scenarios that don't  make it right to assume my position from something I have yet to discuss.

 

Yes, I understand that there's little you can do to discern between homeless people who really need help and those who just want to feed their fix, but that's a poor excuse for not wanting to do anything. Like I said, the best way to circumvent that dilemma is to donate to shelters which handle that differentiation (hint: that's their job).

[Tsukuyomi-MLP 33]

I'm not talking about some white-collar job or something that pays more than $10 an hour. Again, in my area, farming is a big thing, and unskilled seasonal workers are always desired. Is there still competition? Sure. But it's a job that isn't impossible to get.

 

It might be different where you live, but where I live (Hawaii) cost of living is ludicrously high. Like, so expensive that if you don't have a decent paying job it's still entirely possible to be homeless even if you have a job.

 

Just saying that, depending on where you live, getting a job doesn't necessarily guarentee you being able to do much better. There will be a LOT of regional variations since in some places cost of living is ridiculously low, while in other's it's ludicrously high.

[Guest]

No, if you need food, there is public assistance readily available in my country. We even have government programs for low income housing, phone bills, and utility bills. I'd give a homeless person a cigarette before I gave them any money. I'd say the vast majority of people who beg for money use it to buy booze so they can forget about how shitty their lives are.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Guest

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Am I the only one picking up great differences in between the, for lack of a better term, "cultures" of homeless between countries?

[Biggybrony 244]

Am I the only one picking up great differences in between the, for lack of a better term, "cultures" of homeless between countries?

 

It's interesting, certainly. Of course, poverty itself takes on a lot of forms throughout the world. Saying that, I haven't kept track of exactly where everyone in this thread is from.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Biggybrony

[----------------------- 171]

I think it depends where you are. There's not many homeless people in my area, but when I went to Manhattan, there were plenty. I just drop a few coins because charity is a big plus for me. Even if it might not get spent on what's necessary, I still gave to the poor.

 

In Egypt, it's very common in some areas. Some people yell in their face and tell them to get a job, but they can't even afford money to buy appropriate clothing for an interview and such. Soup kitchens and shelters can bring trouble, so they just choose streets. Anyways, I give money, but giving what's required (like food, clothes, etc.) is always good, too.

[Pastel 7,627]

I once gave 1€ to a homeless, but that was the only time (he really insisted).

I prefer not to, there are so many homeless people in the world, and some of them could have avoided that situation, we never know.

Also, I don't want to give mah money è_é

Edited July 27, 2015 by Blobulle

[Steel Accord 6,658]

It's interesting, certainly. Of course, poverty itself takes on a lot of forms throughout the world. Saying that, I haven't kept track of exactly where everyone in this thread is from.

I hear a lot of voices from Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. Not as much from other countries but those are there to.

 

I just thought it was interesting because, I would think it would be similar in most first world countries. Apparently not.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,234]

Sadly I have to say no, I don't do this. Several reasons;

 

1. Like others have said, who knows what they will do with that money. It could go anywhere like some great investment, or to drugs, or maybe food, it's just impossible to tell a lot of the time.

 

2. I have limited funds as it is, so that gets in the way.

 

3. There really is no opportunity to do such a thing in my area anyways.

 

I do feel really sorry for these types of people, even ones who have made mistakes with drugs and whatnot, that's why I hope more organizations can exist to help them overall if possible.

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

I give money to people on the streets that ask for it, but I don't know if they are homeless or not. There are not many homeless people in Iceland. 

[iceestarz 5,752]

I don't even have money on me, it's all in my bank lmao. But when we lived in Washington my mom was terrified of the homeless people so she would throw change across the street so they'd have to run for it as she drove off

[SilverHeart 741]

Every now and then I do but I always instantly regret it. I don't have the money to be giving any out. Besides that, the homeless here are rude, ungrateful, and deceitful. Some of them make upwards of $200 a day. More often than not they don't even say "Thank you" when given money. Twice now I've been spit on for not giving enough money.

 

For one of my early college courses it was required that we go down to a homeless shelter and volunteer to help out. Less than a block from the shelter three homeless men cornered me against a wall and demanded that I "be charitable". When I tried to move pass them they pushed me back against the wall and repeated themselves.  After one of them picked up a rock and the other showed me a knife I gave them all the money in my wallet. After that I left and went back home.

 

While the above experience poisoned my view of the homeless I didn't hate them for it. I continued to give money to (some of) them for another year or so. The last straw was a year ago when I was down to my last ten dollars. I was driving on my way to get lunch. I had to stop at a red light and there was a homeless man begging for money. I felt bad for him and signaled him to walk over. Despite the fact I was very hungry, I was supposed to eat dinner with my parents that night, which meant a free meal for me. I gave him the rest of money, which was a $5 and the rest in 1's. When I gave it to him a gust of wind blew a few dollars out of his hand. Instead of going to pick them up or even trying to, he shrugged, didn't say "thank you", and walked back to his corner and picked up his sign. If it wasn't for the fact that the light had turned green a few seconds before and there were cars behind me I would have chased after the money myself.

 

So now, the nicest thing I do when I run into the homeless is tell them that McDonalds, Walmart, or some other local store are hiring, and that's only if they are nice and polite (some of the homeless are decent people and will strike up a conversation with you when you drive with your windows down.). Other than that I flat out ignore them. I wish begging were illegal here. I would certainly enjoy seeing less homeless people around.

[IcyHaze 593]

I ha da friend who lived on the streets due to losing her money to a heroin addiction. She begged and did other things to get money, and I know that without the money she saved up, she wouldn't have had enough for food

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

I never give directly to beggars, If you do so then all you are doing is providing them with, at the very best a meal, at the very worst a drug fix or a bottle of alcohol.  The money you give them may help make their situation a little more bearable in the immediate short term but will not help them to get back onto their feet.  The same money given to a charity like the Salvation Army (for example) can be put to much better use providing not only food for those who are hungry but also providing accommodation and the means to help homeless people not only in the short term but to support them in efforts to find work and get themselves out of the situation they have found themselves in.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

As someone who was Homeless for a year, not really. While I was trying to get my life together I saw people who made an entire lifestyle out of being homeless. One man I knew proudly told me he hadn't had a place in 40 years. 40 flippin years. That was when it really hit me that, especially in the city, you can become complacent in any environment. Now not every situation is the same, there were plenty of people who were homeless because of bad circumstances or bad choices they were now trying to fix and now hit a brick wall wherever they went. I knew a guy who once owned several restaurants, and his medical condition made it difficult for him to move a few steps without losing breath. He was a good guy, a smart guy, but he lost everything because he couldn't get help for this condition. He died the day after Christmas, I talked with him that morning, and he was gone in the afternoon, and his bed in the shelter was filled by the following day.

If its a homeless Veteran, whom can't function from all the horrors he's seen, or someone who has issues that they didn't cause themselves but was just bad luck I might give them some food, but I know there are just as many people out there who are just doing it because its convenient for them and I don't want to enable that. Its a tough position, but one I held even for my self. I never once pan handled or begged or stole the entire time I was homeless and I earned every penny to get out of there.    

Edited July 27, 2015 by Buck Testa

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

I usually walk by them. There are a lot where I live, and they can be pretty confrontational.

[Lost 1,409]

I give money to the homeless quite often, when my mum was younger she bought a pizza for a homeless person but they refused to eat it as it had meat on it and they were a vegetarian... There is a reason that people use the phrase "Beggars cant be choosers"

[Koukatsu 5,898]

I don't give money. If I have a snack or some water on hand, I'll offer it. I'm not going to hoard bottled water, when I have 3+ cases in my house, while some poor bugger, down on their luck, sits in 43C / 110F heat.

[Ochre_Dust 329]

All the time. I give money to a charity and I'm always willing to give to someone down on their luck, in generous amounts I might add.

 

There was this one time when I was in Vegas and saw a man sitting on a bridge. Not begging and he didn't even have a sign. I went back to my hotel, bought some snacks and a gatorade and gave it to him, as well as 20 bucks with the promise for him to not "spend it all in one place."

 

 

 

Well that's just downright draconian! It's "anti-social" to ask for help?! And even if it is considered such, anti-social behavior should be outlawed?!

 

If that were the case on our side of the pond, the prisons would be filled with more New York and Philly street performers than car thieves and crack dealers! 

To be honest, American prison populations already have some pretty sad demographics.

[Biggybrony 244]

I never once pan handled or begged or stole the entire time I was homeless and I earned every penny to get out of there.    

 

Sorry, just to clarify, you were in fact homeless for a period of time? Please tell us, how did you get out of that situation? How did you earn your pennies to get out of there?

[Steel Accord 6,658]

To be honest, American prison populations already have some pretty sad demographics.

 

Yeah I know, the justice system isn't perfect but I'd rather it be mostly miscarriages of justice than just someone being arrested because he asked for five bucks.

 

Just asking, are you from these United States?

[Ochre_Dust 329]

Yeah I know, the justice system isn't perfect but I'd rather it be mostly miscarriages of justice than just someone being arrested because he asked for five bucks.

 

Just asking, are you from these United States?

Nope, Canada, and we aren't clean either, particularly on fronts of inmate prison health, and a disproportionate number of aboriginals in prison.

[Discordian 6,013]

Good luck getting hired by a company without clean clothes, a phone, money, a house, an education, friends & family, or any other resources. It isn't as easy as plucking a job out of the job tree. A homeless person may have only a portion, sometimes none, of these things.

 

 

 

Your attitude towards the homeless is very disheartening. Remember that the homeless are human beings too. You not knowing their situation is exactly the reason they don't deserve to be treated like dirt. Maybe begging is all they have left to do. How can you possibly know they're going to use the money on drugs? Second, can you honestly say you've never wasted money before? Third, it's a common misconception that all homeless people look completely beat up. This isn't the case. A lot of the time, they look like average people. Put yourself in their shoes.

I never said I treated them like dirt. I just don't care why they want money or why they're in that situaiton. I have no obligation, or desire, to give people my money and I greatly dislike that people treat it like it's some super bad thing that I don't.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Sorry, just to clarify, you were in fact homeless for a period of time? Please tell us, how did you get out of that situation? How did you earn your pennies to get out of there?

Yes I was homeless. I ended up getting a seasonal job with the salvation army collecting money during the holiday season 12ish hours a day six days a week. The money I earned was enough to fly across the country and start a new life with a new job, one I still hold to this day. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Buck Testa

[Vox 870]

If i give them anything, it's always food or articles of clothing,