Giving to homeless people.... should I do it?
 

do you usually give to homeless people when they ask??? or no? and if no why not?

today i gave to a couple of broke dudes outside of subway :Oh crap

No.

Most homeless people are homeless for a reason, they're fuckups.

Not just fuckups, but probably backstabbing assholes. What kind of person ends up with NO FRIENDS and on the streets?

If I went broke I can name a dozen people who would let me sleep on their couch until I got on my feet again.

So what did these people do that no one cares about them? Probably some really bad dishonest stuff.

I do everytime I see someone in need.

I use my trusty dirt-o-meter to rate how long its been since they bathed and give accordingly.

Not when they ask. If they ask, then they can ask for jobs some place.

give them a mcdonalds meal or something. don't give them money. they'll just spend it on booze or drugs.

yeah i gave them food, not money :-\

I dont give 'em anything.. just offer to hook 'em up wit a job from a few places I know... (i.e. teach 'em to fish instead of give 'em a fish) and U know wat they turn me down every time & walk away

nope, the native american indians are always asking for change here. then they walk across teh street to the store and buy a 40oz

Im telling them to come to GFY and sell their sigs

Good One

Homeless people usually come equipped with some form of substance abuse problem or another... it's typically what's put them in their predicament to begin with.

I try and give food when able... because I don't feel giving money does much good.

i was downtown detroit at a pizza place on their outdoor patio area which is right next to the sidewalk on a busy street. some bum asked me for money when he was walking by and i said "no, but you can have a slice of my pizza" and he turned me down.

There is a guy here in downtown Atlanta near our building named Ted. I know this because after a year of passing him on the street at lunch time I bought him a sandwich and a bottled of water. He is in a wheelchair and dirty as hell. I just asked him his name and game him the bag of food. He told me and asked my name. Now, every time I pass him he speaks and so do I. I have noticed several people call him by name. I stopped and gave him some apple juice a month or so ago and the next day he told me it had been years since he had real juice. He seemed appreciative.

I am not sure what his issues are but I am sure he has some.


I don't give when asked, but Ted is a 'special case'.

It freaks out the ladies in our office when I stop to talk to him, but I think they understand I am a 'special case' too.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Ah, I miss kathi. I've seen ya post a little more recently and seeing your nick has put a little smile on my face each time. Do you make it up to the seattle area anymore? Or did your hubby retire to the ATL? anychance nat net needs Mrs. L in phoenix?

The best bet is to give your money to an organization that helps the homeless.

Every dollar I've ever given to a homeless person went to buy booze, not food or shelter. After two or three times I just started ignoring them.

don't even look at em, soon as you start dishing out change others will flock to you, its actually dangerous territory dealing with vagrants fuck em

I might flip them a buck or two

I would have to agree with that. I only give them money when I'm walking down the street, and they don't ask I'll throw them a little something.

My general policy (which I break often) is to not give to anyone/organisation that the govt should be paying for.

For example, if a hospital needs a new scanner then the govt should pay for it. If someone is homeless then the govt should step in and assist. Its why I pay high taxes to live in a welfare society.

Otherwise charity becomes a form of tax.

As I said, it is a policy rather than a rule with me though - I am a bit of a soft touch.

Edit: Remember I am in the UK and things are a little different than in the States.

humans, as with any living creature are selfish by nature. every need we have is a selfish need and most of our actions and behaviors serve only to feed those selfish needs.

giving money to homeless people is a selfish behavior. its a hallow, meaningless, "feel good" action that allows one to clear their conscience for the day, to feel better about themselves, to tell themselves they aren't quite the prick people think they are or whatever.

you can't help a homeless person by giving him 2.00. that is evidenced by the fact that they will be there the next day and the next and the next.
"homeless" is a symptom.. not the problem. you can only make yourself feel good for a few minutes. nothing more.

enabling a homeless person by giving them money is arguably one of the cruelest things one human being could do to another.

no, I don't want to get in a way of "natural selection"...

Do unto others as they should do to you.

So if you where homeless would you want people to help you?

that seems kind of narrowminded . . .even if it is true and did they did fuck up big and backstabbed people in the past . . what makes you think they will do it again ?

some people learn the hard way . ; many people living on the streets live there for other reasons than you just mentioned . . not all people have lots of friends . . not all people have someone to fall back on . .and even if they did and they fucked up their relation with those people . . what makes you believe they dont deserve an other chance ? ?

I used to give money to every homeless person I saw...usually i did it just because it made me feel better. I knew it didnt always do much good for them...but it felt right at the time.
Then one day i read an article in my local paper about a homeless woman that was making an average of 70k per year begging on the streets. That was more than I was making!!!
So, Ive been a lot more hesitant these days to give just any homeless person my money...I have my own trusty dirt-o-meter that I use to gauge how needy the person actually is.

Brilliant :1orglaugh :thumbsup

Yes i do, and i dont care why they are homeless.. they are in need, help is un-conditional..

agreed. people who are giving money to homeless people on the street are basically killing them a dollar at a time. 99% use it for drugs or alcohol. many homeless people get money from the government (at least here in canada) and choose to blow it on drugs or alcohol instead food and a place to stay.

bs!, i made some stupid fuckups in the past as well.. doesnt make me a bad person.. i was just lucky people actualy cared about me and saved me from homelessness..

There are so many factors why people end up like this..i dont care to think about it, they need help so i give it to them without asking..

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh !!

I them money, they need the spare change more than i do..

I met a homeless girl outside of a 7/11 about 4 years ago and let her stay with me at my apartment. Long story short.. she got a job within days, ended up being my roommate for over a year, and has now graduated nursing school as an RN and is making around $30/hr. Not all homeless people are scum.

yeah but i give them food...coz if i give them money they will just buy stuff like alcohol, or something not important and they really don't need..

That's right. Everybody deserves a chance...anyway, how can anyone be sure that every homeless are hopeless people...I'm sure there are lots of talented people among them who just simply couldn't find a better way...

About giving money...I often give money when I see someone in need...imagine, if you don't buy a chocolate bar that day, and give the price of it to SOMEONE WHO REALLY NEEDS IT...maybe you can save a life this way...

AND TOGETHER WE COULD SAVE MANY LIVES THIS WAY.

It's 100 percent that not all of them are buying booze of the given cash...So I think it would be better not to judge the woman who has two children, and lost her job, couldn't pay the bills, dropped out on the streets - with someone drinking booze all day...

why not judge her? particularly with children and hanging out with shitheads. we all judge people. we create stereotypes as shortcuts, instead of intellectualizing every single thing we see, hear, taste, feel, smell and think. we use them becuase they are most often correct and based on a positive pattern of past experience that has tought us that it is a reliable method of judging people.

I give food all the time, no money, what are they going to do with it?

Depends on the situation.
Round here the shelters have very limited space and you can only stay for a set period of time.
Coupled with a lot of the homeless are either slightly insane and or past veterans, both of which have been dumped by society.

Depends. I've only given money to a homeless person once. It felt pretty good. Though I can't really say I'll ever give them money again. Food? Yep. Money? Nada.