Do You Ever Give Money To 'Homeless & Hungry' Beggars

[arwalden]

Or... do you ignore them because you think they are "FAKE-homeless" going for the easy sympathy handout to buy more wine and cigarettes?

[Don_G]

1. I Like To Talk To Them A Little First

If they look fairly neat and uninfluenced by drugs or alcohol then I'll give a little. Anybody can be going through a rough time and need some help at any time.

[emad]

5. Two vegetarians leaving a restaurant in London's Mayfair:

Q: Look at that poor hungry beggar. Do you think I should give him some money for a sandwich or something?
A: Mmmmm, dunno, he might just spend it on MEAT!......

[ronnykmarshall]

51. I've SEEN that happen

But in reverse. There was this young kid (probably early 20's) panhandling on Castro St in SF. This man went into a deli and bought him a sandwich. The kid asked if there was meat in it. The man told him there was and kid replied "Dude, I can't eat THAT I'm a vegetarian." The guy took the sandwich back and threw in the trash.

[arwalden]

2. Some In DC Are Very Aggressive...

... with a "how dare you ignore me" in-your-face (or tag-along behind) attitude. They frighten me.

-- Allen

[WoodrowFan]

20. I agree: Scary

I avoid most of them in DC, some of them get scary. On Florida Ave. a month or so ago one began pounding on my coworker's car window as we sat at a light. I have on occasion bought food for a homeless person however.

[ikojo]

3. The ones I have encountered in St Louis tend to

be on the make. I have offered to buy food and have had only one person take me up on it. I have seen far too many "Deadhead" or rainbow types beg for money. Demographically speaking most of these kids who are spare changing are from relatively affluent homes.


OMG I used my 500th post on an Israeli/Palestinian thread!!!!! Oh I wanted to use it for something earth shattering....

Oh well there is always my 700th post I guess.

:shrug:

[arwalden]

6. My Partner Has Offered To Buy FOOD For A Fellow...

... who was begging at Baltimore's Inner Harbor area. The panhandler replied with a confident "fuck you".

Sigh.

I guess he wasn't hungry after all.

[Dead_Parrot]

4. LOL... I've got one moving in!

Hey, I've got a spare room, and I've known him for a while. He's agreed to be my butler until he gets himself back on my feet...

(Anyone who's seen "Jack & Sarah" will get the idea. Should be fun...)

Insane but true.

[OldEurope]

8. Perhaps I´m wrong, but shouldn´t he better get back on ...

...HIS feet instead of yours????

;)

[Dead_Parrot]

12. Nah...

...I've always wanted a butler, and could never afford a real one... :D

[Kamika]

7. fake homeless??

i dont think they fake they are homeless but im sure they will just use my money for alcohol and drugs.


I never give any money. I did give money once to a beggar in germany when i was like 12 tears old and she got angry with me..

[arwalden]

9. I Recall A Story On 20/20 (or 60 Minutes) About A Guy Who...

... dressed in ratty clothes to beg from drivers stopped at the intersection in front of his apartment building.

If I recall correctly, he could get an extra $3000.00 on Friday and Saturday nights.

Not bad.

-- Allen

[Wickerman]

34. Yeah, and did you hear the one about the welfare mothers

who drive cadillacs and just birth more babies so they can abuse the system and not have to work? Wow - we are talking about anomolies when we hear about folks who make 3k. My head is spinning, I feel like I logged on to the wrong board...

[arwalden]

36. Seriously... this fellow (the faker) allowed the camera crew to follow him

... into his apartment while he changed clothes from his dockers and oxford shirt into torn and dirty jeans and tee-shirt and BDU jacket. They also filmed him going from car to car to car getting between $5 and $20 every time the light turned red. It was just AMAZING.

He was quite frank about the whole thing. When asked if he felt guilty about it, he replied "no".

I'm not making this stuff up. This is not "urban legend" or "political myth".

[Wickerman]

38. I believe it

but I won't make a judgement on an entire spectrum of society by one case - or even ten. I have heard in Mexico there are generations of folks who made a good living by panhandling - some cultures consider it marginally honorable.

[arwalden]

39. Meanwhile, In Mexico City... The Catholic Church Re-Guilds Another Chair..

... and millions go hungry or have to beg.

(But that's another topic for another thread.)

-- Allen

[Wickerman]

41. I'll be on your side in that thread,

it would appear!

nice one, arwalden

[ikojo]

47. I would find almost anything on 20/20 to be suspect.

First of all John Stossell, one of the primary "reporters," is a right-wing nut. He will always slant his stories in favor of rampant capitalism and against any sort of government intervention. For a good analysis of Stossell's bias go to fair.org. Their search engine is not working right now but you still may be able to find something on Stossell just by perusing their archives.

Liberal media by hiney!

yeah right.

[demnan]

10. I'm sure a lot of them are fake, I give anyway

but I do have criteria. If what they're wearing is more expensive than what I'm wearing, I usually feel they don't need it.

Also they have to be nice. The ones that snear and mutter scare me.

[arwalden]

11. Or The Ones Talking On Cell Phones...

... that's a dead giveaway too.

-- Allen

[CWebster]

13. the way I figure it is

Anyone who is at the point that they have to beg a fellow human being deserves charity and generousity.

[arwalden]

14. Oh... In That Case... I'm BEGGING You...

Please send your paypal donation to me at "arwalden2001 @ comcast.net" :-)

-- Allen

[searchingforlight]

15. Ditto

[arwalden]

17. The Cheaters and Fakers and Winos and Aggressives...

... ruin the goodwill that I would have for those who are truly in need and down on their luck.

-- Allen

[KCDem]

27. that's how I feel.

It's sad that we get so fed up with the fakers that we don't help those who might really need it.

I carry bottles of water in my car to give out to homeless here. Not money, though.

[Wickerman]

33. So, alcholism is a disease according to the AMA

but someone who is panhandling who happens to be a drunk is not down on their luck - they are merely gaming you?

[xJlM]

50. Alcoholism is a disease, but addiction is a crime

The fact is, there are far too many homeless and destitute people in this country. But my money isn't going to make enough difference, for more than one person. I think the bigger problem is that these folks have been marginalised to the point where they can be regarded as an annoyance rather than an obvious symptom of a serious problem with our society.

[prolesunited]

16. I usually give food

rather than money. I've never had anyone refuse.

[Cheswick2.0]

18. I like the Victor Hugo aproach

When Jean Valjean took the priest's silver candle stick, the priest told Javier (the police inspector) that they were a gift and gave Valjean the other to protect him from going back to prison. This simple act of mercy turned Valjean's whole life around.

Or in other words, even though I know some people are begging when they don't need it, I figure that the act of giving them what they ask for might help them to eventually face who they are and who they would rather be.

I think most people begging have real need, so I never worry that I have been ripped off.

[supernova]

19. Yes, I have

I do give when I am at least somewhat familiar with the person and I know they are destitute.

The last time I took an evening course over in Raleigh, there was a homeless guy who hung out in front of the block of restaurants/shops across from campus. I did give him money and food almost every chance I got.

I'm certain some of the money went to buy food and some went to feed his habit. But so what? Who am I to judge?

Sometimes we get drifters walking down our little country road. I give them the info for the community crisis shelter.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

21. Last weekend...

There was a couple out on the corner by walmart, using their SMALL CHILDREN to beg. It was rainy and wet and cold outside, and these kids had hardly anything on. We called the cops. Those kids aren't for their use in getting money. They're their children. And exploiting them isn't going to get you on my good side or get my money. It made me ill.
Duckie

[Cheswick2.0]

22. how horribly sad

how sad for everyone involved, including you.

[Brucey]

23. Of course there are all kinds.

I once tried to give clothes and food to a suffering homeless man, and he refused because his delusions believed I was with the police. There are thousands of mentally ill people on the streets who are not taking medication. This is a national tragedy.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

60. Thank You Republicans...

...for cutting all the mental health funding, closing millions of mental institutions, and setting all the mentally ill loose. We couldn't have done it with out you. You selfish pieces of crap!
Duckie

[maxanne]

24. I give

I also give to winos. A drink can save the life of a person in serious alcohol withdrawal.

I also give referrals to places that can help, if I can.

[NashVegas]

25. Panhandlers vs Beggars

I used to give money to beggars.

Then one day, a man asked me to give to the United Negro Pizza Fund. That was the day I decided that if someone was going to hit me up for cash, they were going to have to work for it in some way, even if it was just to give me a laugh.

He scored well, that guy.

[Romulus]

26. I stopped giving

because I could never tell where the money was going. Plus, I thought it was bad policy to "reward" that behavior because it would only encourage further panhandling as the most efficient way for them to survive, instead of maybe seeking out a shelter or something.

All my "homeless" money goes to a local DC soup kitchen. This way I know my money is actually used to help people, rather than purchase more Thunderbird.

[noonwitch]

28. I don't give every one of them money every time, but sometimes I do

And if I'm smoking and one asks me for a cigarette, I generally give him or her one.

[qb]

29. I don't ignore them. It is very demeaning to be ignored.

I just say, "I'm sorry, no."

[ronnykmarshall]

54. I've said that too

and on several occasions I've had the responce of "fuck you" returned.

[Mandate My Ass]

30. Most of the time I give

Unless they're very confrontational then I refuse. I have one regular homeless man I give money to whenever I see him. I met him on the way to my train one rainy night a few years ago. At first I almost walked right by him but he just sat there drenched and dripping and I thought about going home to my warm house and I just couldn't walk by without stopping. I asked him if there was a shelter he could go to and the way he shuddered when he talked about the place made me realize some of the horror stories about abuse among residents there is true. He's small and slim and has a bad leg so he'd be a prime target.

He knows a woman who lets him stay at her house for $5 a night and sometimes for a few extra bucks lets him bathe and wash his clothes. He likes this arrangement so we have a little joke between us when I see him I ask "how much more do you need for your rent tonight?" and he tells me and I give it to him. He also gratefully accepts offers for food he enjoys when someone just stops to converse with him.

[Punkingal]

31. Sometimes I give to people.....

who don't ask, but are obviously homeless.

[Wickerman]

32. A lot I see are begging for another quart of beer

I could give a shit. I give 'em a buck. Who am I to judge their life in brief interaction? When I drank there were times I really needed a drink and I can tell ya, if you are alcoholic that issue is as real as any other problem you can experience. If I can help them in any other way I'll try, but it ain't my job to try to save everyone on the planet. There, but by the grace of god go I. Yep, that's mine :), right.

[dani]

35. my boyfriend gave a begger $40

Some beggar gave him a sob story and my boyfriend just opened his wallet and gave the guy all the cash he happened to be carrying. When he told me about it later that day I was astounded. He's a good and generous person and I think sometimes people will take advantage of that.

Because homeless people can get more than enough food at the food banks I suspect most of them beg for alcohol/drug money rather than for necessities.

[arwalden]

37. So I Was At Home Depot...

... and this fellow approaches me and tells me that his car is out of gas and he has no money to get back into DC. All he needs is a couple of dollars so that he can buy some gas.

Only thing is...

This is the SECOND TIME THIS WEEK he's approached me at the SAME HOME DEPOT!!!

So I says to him: "You mean you're still trying to get home since LAST SUNDAY??" --- He shut up and walked away... eyeing his next mark.

-- Allen

[TioDiego]

40. If they say they are hungry,

I take them to someplace and buy them a meal. Once, I showed a guy how to kill and cook a pidgeon.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

42. I became very familiar with the panhandlers in Portland

especially after working with street kids.

I knew that some of the street kids were not hungry (they could get three meals a day if they went to the right places) and spent their "spanging" money on going to clubs or buying drugs. If they appeared street hardened, I didn't give them money. If they looked new and scared, I bought them a couple of slices of pizza and told them where they could get food, shelter, and medical care.

The kids who begged and seemed not to need it were probably suburbanites who were slumming. They were referred to as "weekend warriors," and they came from affluent but dysfunctional families who wouldn't say anything if their teens disappeared for a weekend of drugging, drinking, and clubbing.

I've already mentioned on another thread the well-dressed young woman with a perfect make-up job who walked the streets of Portland with three children at all hours of the night. I eventually reported her to Children's Services, because those kids should not have been spending their evenings walking around outside in all kinds of weather. (I suspect that she had a lazy, good-for-nothing boyfriend who sent her out to beg.)

The mentally ill were usually too out of it to ask for money.

There was an actual "team" of pros who collected on a pedestrian island near Lloyd Center. I actually observed the "shift change" as one panhandler left and handed his sign to the next one.

There was also a fellow with one leg who sat up against downtown buildings. He obviously had an artificial leg, though, because I also saw him walking around on crutches with two feet hitting the ground.

There were so many food programs in downtown Portland that the list filled a full page in Street Roots, the newspaper by and for the homeless. Most of the dinners were served from 5PM to 7PM, and sure enough, if you were out at a bus stop at approximately 7PM, someone would approach you asking for money for food. It was like, "I had my dinner. Now I need my fix."

There was a woman who used to beg in my neighborhood for "money to do laundry for my grandson." I used to give her money until one evening, there was a power failure just before dinnertime, so I started walking to find a restaurant that had its electricity on. The first place I found was a bar that was rumored to have good food. I went in, and who was there but the object of my donations, engrossed in video poker. (Video poker is like cocaine to compulsive gamblers.) The next time she asked me for money, I told her that I'd seen her at video poker, and she never asked again.

There is a charity called Sisters of the Raod. They serve meals for either $1.25, food stamps, a work commitment, or presentation of a meal card, which we middle-class folks could buy for $2.00 each and give to homeless people. THey also know the social services system thoroughly and can point people to the office or program that they need. If someone asked me for food during the day, I'd offer them a Sisters of the Road card. The genuinely hungry would be delighted ("They have good food."), but the not-so-genuine would get angry.

It's really a tough call. I usually tried to meet their stated need. If they needed "money for the bus," I'd give them a bus ticket, but I would often see the same person a couple of hours later trying to sell the bus ticket. If they wanted food, I would try to buy them some or give them a Sisters of the Road card. Sometimes I was turned down. If they needed "money to get home," I would offer to call the people back home on my cell phone so that they could discuss arrangements. (Nobody ever took me up on that offer.) But if somebody lied to me ("I'm going into drug rehab tomorrow and I just need some food for tonight" and then I saw them on the street the next day), that was the last time I ever helped them.

[Wickerman]

45. Addiction is a disease

- alcohol or drugs. These guys aren't going out to party at Ash Street or Roseland. They are trying to get by. Treatment programs have been slashed to the bone and even then success rates are about 25% and it rarely takes the first time. Any money that could be used for effective and safe treatment is diverted the false war on drugs. These folks are getting no help and all the liberals on this board are so self-righteous that they won't give a dollar so that someone can have a beer to calm their shaking hands?

No, instead we are sharing panhandling "war stories" like we were at free republic. What the hell has happened to compassion?

[4_Legs_Good]

49. Not to get religious or anything, but...

I never understood why Christian conservatives won't give to someone who *might* spend their money on booze or drugs or whatever. Jesus, after all, did go around asking what people would do if he healed them, he just did it out of, as you say, compassion. He may have suggested spiritual healing as well ("Go now, and sin no more."), but he didn't say, now don't go and booze it up, now that I've banished the spirits, et.al.

Just a thought...

david

Kucinich 2004

[4_Legs_Good]

43. I give when I can...

and feel comfortable with it. I don't always give.

Are they real or fake?

Does it matter? Not to me.

I did see this one beggar with a sign that said "Why lie? I want a beer."

I *totally* felt like going to the store and buying him a 6 pack and giving it to him saying "I just wanted to make sure you didn't spend the money on something else" with a very suspicious look.

david

Kucinich 2004

Arianna YES
Recall No

[Wickerman]

46. thanks, an actual progressive voice

[Exultant Democracy]

55. I saw a guy with the same sign in SF

I gave him $3, if I wasn't a poor college student I would have given him more. Most of these people aren't long for this world, and if they want a little buzz to dim the pain, who am I to say no.

[CBHagman]

44. It really depends

Frankly, there are a number of con artists very openly working in my area. Someone will approach me one week with a sob story ("My wife and son and I are trying to get back to...") and then, forgetting that he'd already approached me once, will spring the exact same emergency scenario on me the next week. We are right to be skeptical.

That said, I sometimes give something. My old rule was to give only food or useful items (for example, clothing) to people who were obviously out of work and/or homeless. I struggle with it, though, because some of them are probably getting their addiction financed. All in all, I would prefer to give to the food bank or So Others Might Eat.

The verbally abusive people, though, are not going to get anything from me. There are some very aggressive and/or verbally abusive types panhandling in my area, and I'm not going to reward the behavior. God knows there are millions of people in need who need help right now, and I'd rather give my money to the ones who aren't trying to manipulate or bully their way through.

[xJlM]

48. There are better ways to get money than begging

I've been there, so I know. It's hard to turn a blind eye to some of the older folks out there, though. I always used to figure that giving a drunk enough to get himself a drink might help him reach whatever bottom he needs to find, but I'm not so sure anymore.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

52. Yes I give money to people who ask who are not conning me with a

story about buying a gallon of gas.

[ForrestGump]

53. Almost never

I did, at first, when I first came to the Big City, but then I got a bit wiser. Id' never sene anything like it before. never sene peopel sleeping on the streets, or picking through trash for food, or begging for money or whatever. But soon enough I saw too much of it.

And my refusal to give to panhandlers, on general principle, has nothing to do with being 'progressive' or 'not progressive.' One thing that it did have to do with was the fact that on my long-time student budget (still paying that off, of course) I couldn't afford to throw money around unless it was for a good reason. Because I was usually on foot, walking around at street level, I saw that most of the panhandlers that I encountered regularly were 'fakes.' They may well have been homeless, but when some dude spends 20 minutes (while you're waiting for the bus) laying on this sad story and then you see him swigging away from a brown paper bag an hour later, you know he didn't want the money for the stated purpose (in one slimeball's case, a dying daughter).

In some US cities, I've been panhandled at just about every step, and those experiences were enough to deter me forever. Well, with a few exceptions. I, too, have heard and seen reports of professional panhandlers - 'white collar' beggars - who rake in a lot of money. But I'm not painting everyone with the same brush as a result. Homelessness in the US is a national shame, and I don't doubt that some panhandlers are absolutely sncere. Also, most of my experieces were from the '80s through early '90s - I gather that the demographic of homeless people has shifted further toward entire families (away from the traditional 'bum' or the Reagan-era mental patients) but I have never been panhandled by such people, to whom I'd be likely to give whatever money or help I could. Nope, most of the panhandlers who've approached me in the past decade were often dressed more expensively than me, sometimes prominently carrying a cell 'phone, and most often teen to 20-something grunge/'alternative' types who almost certainly have no legitimate reason to be asking strangers for money. they can go f*** themselves both for obvious reasons and because they're exploiting a dynamic that may be very real to some people far less fortunate than their lazy selves.

And, like others who've posted here, I've had offers of substantive help (including that of food) rejected curtly and I've seen the same f***er pull the "I need to buy gas/repair my car so I can make it to Kansas" story night after night in the same location.

Oh, yeah - I'm usually telling the truth when I tell panhandlers that I've got no money. I hardly ever carry cash. Heck, it's rare enough that I even have any. And I'll never forget the dude who asked me if I wanted to go panhandling with him - told me where we'd go, and everything. He was quite excited about the idea of team panhandling. :-) Maybe I should've given it a try.

I don't think I'm a particularly streetwise-looking person (maybe growing up in the boonies explains that), so perhaps I've tended to attract inordinate attention from such people, but I suspect that most of the panhandlers I've turned down ("sorry...no cash") are phoneys, at least in terms of their intended use of the money they're aiming for. And the nature of that use DOES concern me. For that matter, when I see one of these people smoking I go into instant f***-you mode, because if they can afford the extortionate price of cigarettes then they're really not as close to death's door as they make out. Hell, I can almnost guarantee that, as a starving student, a lot of the people who tried to scam me for money were more fiscally solvent than I was.

And the dudes in downtown LA are just plain scary. They'll get right up in your face - well within even the most gregarious person's personal space - and try to intimidate the money out of you. It's pretty much "Gimme some money." Impolite panhandlers don't even warrant a polite rebuff, but these guys are both impolite and - in the sense of entitlement that they seem to feel comes with being down-and-out and scary-looking and -acting - the bottom of the barrel. I'm taller than most of them, but they'll still freak me out, and I know that the SOBs play up the intimidation to get what they want. That's not far short of mugging, in some ways.

Then there was the extremely distraught, possibly insane, well-to-do man who told me his sad story, opened his wallet, and tried to give me hundreds of dollars within for listening. I didn't take it, but I did at least pull him out of traffic. But that's another thing all together.....

[arwalden]

56. As Nancy Blake Said In MGM's "The Women"...

"I ought to go to you for plots!"

A very interesting read. Well thought-out and well-written too. (You've certainly had an interesting life. You'd be a great party guest.)

== Allen

[ForrestGump]

58. My name's Forrest...I walk the streets of the city....

Oh, not like that you naughty man!

:D

[ScreamingMeemie]

57. I buy them a bag of groceries.

eom

[amazona]

59. i hit the wrong button

A lot of them are fake. I know that because I'm friends with some of them. You'd fall on your butt if you realized what some of the "professional" beggars make, and they pay no taxes. But I don't give because with my income in the high four figures I earn less than even the real ones. I get tired of people hitting me up for money. I am genuinely poor, and I would never dream of begging nor of dressing or presenting myself in any way that would cause people to give me a hand-out. I would only talk freely about financial issues on anonymous forums like this one, where there can be no chance of it being perceived as hinting or begging for funds. I've been desperate, and I didn't beg, so I just don't understand that mentality. I can understand an armed robber than I can understand a beggar. I just don't get it, I suppose.

[rbnyc]

61. I give food, or my business card...

...because part of my job is to put homeless people in touch with services. I sometimes give money but only if I have a good relationship with the person and am pretty sure they're spending the money to get on the train or to buy food, and not drugs.

I almost always have some fruit in my purse tho', and that's what I usually give.

(They are real.)

[Karenina]

62. I give when

that little voice in my head says, "Go for it." To give without making judgements is my pleasure and privilege. If I have a coin in my pocket for a street musician it's a no-brainer, even if I see a Haynes flute with a gold head joint. I don't care. There are always "punks" with their colorful hair, tattered clothes and mangy dogs, drinking beer while begging. Once I give it what they do with it is THEIR business. Between the official kickoff of Karneval (November 11th at 11:11) am and Sylvester Jan.1) I give away the klein Geld I've collected. If someone is scamming me that's THEIR problem. I GIVE because I give. Ther's no space in my brain to decide if someone is "worthy."

[tom_paine]

63. Not enough options here

For instance, I give sometimes.

Also, sometimes they are real...and sometimes not.

[SiobhanClancy]

64. I do,BUT...

I'm kind of selective about it. For instance,I never give to the very nice,well-spoken gentleman who is always right outside the door at the Harvard Square CVS...he's been doing it so long that it seems to have become his job,and that's not good. On the other hand,I always give to the guy up there who has his dog and cat with him...I'm a sucker for animals every time.

[patdem]

65. If I still had every $5 dollar bill I have given out I would have $50

okay...but I am not rich and cheap...I am poor and cheap. I do take them seriously...if they were not without a job...they could not be standing on the street corner at 10:00 am...so what if the only job you can get is begging..that also takes special skills, like not careing how the general public looks at your worthiness.

Begging is a job just like flipping burgers. :grr: And more and more begging will be the only jobs available to people willing to do it! :grr: