I am asking because I know people from both sides:
- People who discourage it: usually talk about how the beggars might spend their money on, how they might be lying, How donating to them will encourage them to keep begging and how they should be looking for a job instead (My commentary: finding a job is impossible for them this days, matter of fact there is literally hundreds, if not thousands of articles online talking about how hard and impossible it had become).
- People who encourage it: to be honest here, they usually talk only about religious reasons.
(Note: I know that the overview about both sides are highly unbalanced, but I preferred to keep it limited to my personal experiences rather than expanding it from myself, as I intentionally not looking for theories and objective logic, rather I am looking at people reasons and opinions as this is highly subjective matter.)
Anyone got any thoughts about this?
I’ve been couch surfing homeless before and that was rough enough. People begging for money have it way tougher. Just because there might possibly be someone who has a house and a car behind for money doesn’t mean it’s a scam, they might also be desperate for money despite having those things.
Begging for money isn’t very lucrative.
If you have the cash and want to help, go ahead and toss that starfish, but if you don’t want to don’t pretend you’re taking the high road.
There are a lot of homeless people that stand on the side of roads with signs asking for charity where I live. There is almost an equal amount of people who do it as a “job” and take turns being on shift with their buddies before they walk to a nearby parking lot and drive back home at the end of the day. They usually do not accept food if offered. Actual needy people will gladly take food. If I were to give cash to someone, I’d offer food first.
Can confirm this. I was in downtown Kansas City Missouri on a daily basis for a time in the late 90’s. There was always someone with a sign at a big intersection close to the river. One day I spotted the person that was there that morning at gas station in the afternoon. They got in a BMW at the gas pump and left. It was at that moment that I mistrusted every pan handler I ever saw afterword. Turns out it was a whole family that sent someone down there daily. They dressed down but they were living big in a town right outside the city.
People can be in desperate financial situations and still have a car. Hell for some people that’s their only shelter. Begging doesn’t really get you a lot of money, so that family might’ve been desperate for a different reason than being homeless.
Nope that wasn’t the case. When I asked around I found out they were not poor or desperate. Few people dare I say no one with a late model BMW is living in their car.
Sometimes they are allergic. Sometimes they aren’t hungry and have no way to store the food you give them. Sometimes they are sick of the same food because there’s a taco bell nearby and that’ll all everyone gives them. Sometimes people give them stuff that you need to cook and they have no way of cooking it. There’s legit reasons why someone might turn down food if you try to give it to them.
I prefer donating to food banks etc. That’s a good tradeoff between helping people eat and not feeding addiction or encouraging begging. I want a world where anybody struggling just goes to the next food bank and shelter and won’t freeze, won’t go hungry and find assistance to improve his situation. The cost for these things is so little and it helps so much.
If they ask and I have it, sure. People will say “I don’t want my money going towards drugs and alcohol” to which I say “who cares?” once you hand it over it’s not yours anymore, let them do with it what they want. Their lives are already shit as is so what do I care if my $2 coin is going to go buy them a beer…oh no a single beer, they’ll get wasted!
Others will say “but you’re just encouraging it” my guy I live in a city of millions not everyone is handing out twonies to homeless people, it’s not going to cause a massive increase in drug use or alcoholism.
Here they are always on street corners. I never give money because I don’t want to encourage unsafe behavior, as our streets are pretty high-speed. I would much rather provide to the shelters.
Occasionally I will say “how much more to get some product” followed immediately by “how much ya got”. If they show change in their palm or otherwise engage honestly, I’ll usually top them up. Have your beer dude, if your life is so crummy this is what you need to feel OK go ahead. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever give to somebody that claims they are hungry because that is a bald-faced lie.
But generally the way I give is to check on the addicts in the bus shelter during extreme winter nights, bring them hot/cold water, supplies to plug wind holes and otherwise keep it warmer, plus whatever I salvage in my travels. In summer I maintain the community “ice water” zone which is just at the stump of a tree, but now that all the people in the hood know it’s there, it’s raided continually. I honestly can’t keep up as I just have a tiny freezer but it’s replenished as often as reasonable for me. The community chips in now as well… they’ve started to bring lidded takeout cups and plastic bottles and leave them there so I don’t have to constantly scout containers.
As someone who’s been homeless, I deride the term beggar. Still, It depends, If I have something on me I can part with. A joint, a cigarette sure. Got a fairly annoying allergy that means I often wind up with some food stuff I can’t eat. If I have bills they can have cash. Change is kinda worthless here. If someone looks hungry, I’ll give them something. But there’s so many now in the area, you can’t help everyone.
What someone buys with the money I give them is none of my business. These people are suffering, of course buying drugs and alcohol is a possibility. People get drunk at the bar for less.
Some people talk like giving these folks money keeps them in their situation. As if the threat of death and nobody caring if they disappear will magically spring them up with motivation to find a job. Nope. But I agree that our current system of leaving it to the generosity of strangers isn’t effective. We need more housing-first programs, with access to therapy.
A lot of them have drug or alcohol problems. I don’t want to fund their self destructive behaviour. I’m more than happy to give money to homeless shelters, food banks and other related charities.
My thinking is that as long as I’m given the choice, I’d rather be scammed out of $20 than fail to help someone who legitimately needs it.
I won’t help every time, but if someone asks and I’m feeling generous, I usually stop and talk for a few mins and hand them $10-20, no strings attached. I’m not the ethics police and if they buy insulin or liquor doesn’t matter to me as much as them getting the impression that they aren’t invisible and people want to see them prosper. It’s too easy to see myself in their situation for me to be an asshole about it. Most of us are only an accident or bad decision away from homelessness and poverty.
I don’t like giving money to the homeless, that’s why every month I make some grab bags, usually five or six because we have a few spots where people panhandle in my city. I based the grab bags off the weather, sometimes a cheap hat or shirt or sandals in the summer, and in the winter things like beanies scarves or gloves. Then throw some plant-based protein bars in there maybe a little candy, You will definitely want things that won’t spoil in the heat of the car. Then a couple self-care items like some travel toothpaste and toothbrushes, chapstick gum that sort of thing.
I been on the bottom rung. So I know that kind of living. And because of that I help when I’m able to.
Honestly for me, it’s very hard to trust people who haven’t fallen on hard times. People that have never been in trouble, always feels like they look down on you, and don’t understand the system that keeps people down.
Ive spent a night or two in jail, I’ve been broke as fuck, I’ve had to go without. Until you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to fully understand.
And it’s impossible to explain to people who haven’t lived it.
I had a lady come up to me in the grocery store with her child and ask very quietly in very broken spanish/english to help her buy food for her and her daughter - who looked to be about 2. My first reaction that I acted on was to say sorry and walk away. Then it hit how cold and callous that was. Even if she was a scammer, that is not an easy way to make money. So I found her gave her $20 and walked away. A few minutes later I saw her with a cart and some food with a smile on her face.
My opinion is that if I have a bit of money that I can do without there is someone that could do with it I’ll let them have it. The money may go to a scammer from time to time and I know in the past it has, but if I can help one genuinely needy person I do what I can, not going to let the shit bags (both scammers and politicians) keep me from trying to help
Where I live, there are a lot of people who hold signs on the side of the road and the end of off ramps. I’m a funeral director, and I’ve had to cremate homeless people who got hit doing that. It makes me very anxious to see someone running across traffic to grab a dollar from someone three lanes over.
So that in particular bothers me pretty bad
