Do we encourage alcoholics when feeding the homeless?

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Ramiroinrancho

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I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
 
I don’t think so. I do this too, if I see a homeless person near a minimart or Subway, I’ll buy them a meal. All you’re doing is ensuring that they’re being fed. You’re not telling them 'Hey – now you can free up more of your money for alcohol or drugs!" – for all we know they already skimp as much as they can on food do buy the maximum amount of their self-medication of choice. Instead, you’re doing your best to make sure they live for another day.
 
Ramiroinrancho said:
I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
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If I were homeless, I’d probably be a drunk too. I would be grateful for any help I got.
 
Hi Ramiroinrancho,

Your act of genuine kindness is all that the Lord requires - when you see someone in need, do your best to help them without judgement - ‘whatever you do the least of mankind - so you do unto Me’. It’s not your problem after that - that’s between them and their Maker to sort out if there is any question of deceit or ‘enabling’ - trust is all - just love your neighbour as you love yourself - no ifs, no buts, no doubts

God bless
 
Many an alcoholic will forgo food to drink. You are just feeding them, not handing them $$ so they can buy their next drink. Severe alcoholics can die without alcohol, due to physical dependence, but they can survive without food for a short time, sadly. So by feeding them, you are being kind.
 
Ramiroinrancho said:
I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
Click to expand...
If we were supposed to account for this fear of enabling, I’d wager no one would ever be helped. You’re not likely to find many opportunities to give where this sort of situation is not possible.
 
Ramiroinrancho said:
I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
Click to expand...
I’m not following the logic that giving a hungry person food is enabling her addiction to alcohol or any other substance. I also don’t understand the difference between “the drunks” and the “truly homeless.” Are the homeless who are free of substance abuse issues less homeless than alcoholics or addicts who are homeless?

And please keep in mind that more than half of all homeless adults in the US (not sure of elsewhere) have been diagnosed with at least one form of mental illness, and the vast majority of those are self-medicating with alcohol, illegal substances, or a combination the two due to a lack of access to psychiatric and other mental health services. So chances are pretty good when you feed a homeless addict, you’re feeding someone who’d mentally ill.

A hungry person is a hungry person, period. All deserve our respect and need all the help we can give them. Christ didn’t tell us to feed the hungry we thought worthy of our food.

Luna
 
Feeding the hungry is what you are doing. That is a good thing. The outcome is not your responsibility insofar as determining if your actions enable a person to imbibe more alcohol. YOur heart is in the right place when you feed the hungry, regardless of the hungry person’s other issues. God bless you.
 
No.

Alcoholism is a disease, it’s not just just weak willpower. You’d have as much luck getting a hayfever sufferer stop sneezing as getting an alcoholic to stop drinking by withholding food. That aside, it’s a matter of priorities. They’re going to get alcohol first, then the other necessities of life. So if you hand them cash, first up is a bottle, anything left over goes to food. If you give them food instead of cash, they eat. If you give them cash instead of food, they drink.

You’re not enabling nor encouraging them to drink - they’ll do that no matter what, no matter what the expense. But you are feeding the hungry, as Jesus instructed.
 
No, I don’t think so.

And remember,
“Nothing would be done at all if one waited until one could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.” ~ John Henry Newman
 
On an envelope from the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit:

“Anyone wanting a meal is fed, no questions asked, no judgments made.”

Peace,
Ed
 
Ramiroinrancho said:
I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
Click to expand...
Do you want to set up a drug and alchohol screeing to insure the food gets to people “approved” of? Seems to me we are not the “police” of who is “deserving”…🤷
 
I have gone round and round with people on this one. When the Lord asks us to give, that is our responsibility. He did not say we were to only give to people who deserve it. I always figured that what the people do with the money, food or other service I provide (such as a car ride) are the ones morally and spiritually responsible for how they use that gift. It is not my responibility to follow them around and make sure they use it correctly or in the way I desire. That is not showing them Christ’s unconditional love.

How many times in Scripture do we find Jesus or the apostles showing people love and kindness without even asking the person a question? It seems like, even in those situations, there were no conditions to the kindness.

Once again, it is God’s responsibility, not mine, to make sure those people get what they need and use my gift in the best way. It is also, therefore, that person’s responsibility to make sure they use it right. God used me, for some amazing and miraculous reason, to help someone else and all I can do is pray for that person and show them love.
 
Ramiroinrancho said:
I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
Click to expand...
a very good series has been produced that addresses your issues perfectly. The new Catholicism series by Fr. Barron is amazing… but specifically, episode 2 on the teachings of Christ speaks powerfully on similar issues. If you have the chance try that one if you are able.

In my mind Luna summarized it perfectly. “A hungry person is a hungry person, period. All deserve our respect and need all the help we can give them. Christ didn’t tell us to feed the hungry we thought worthy of our food.” We need think no further than that. We are *commanded *by Christ to perform the corporal acts of mercy. You are doing nothing wrong. If you instead were giving them money, then that would be a whole separate issue.
 
Ramiroinrancho said:
I feed or help feed homeless people in a local park on a regular basis. There are some alcoholics in the group. Am I enabling them by providing them food, thus freeing some of their money so that they can indulge in their addiction? My wife says that Jesus had something to say about “enabling” and is in the gospels but I can not find the reference. I’ve worked on the premise that “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me”. There are some people in the group who are not addicts or drunks.
So the question is, where is the reference in the gospel about “enabling”? How can I avoid feeding the drunks and feed the truly homeless?
Click to expand...
Many of the religious alcohol recovery programs tackle the issue of drunks ‘on the road’, catholics are one of the many who support the idea of bringing the ‘drunk’ into the support shelters and soup kitchens to feed and shelter this type of homelessness. It is true, that giving a drunk food or money while they are on the road will most likely end up bringing traded or sold for booze. As a person who is involved with the Catholic outreach in drunkenness behaviors, I was taught to encourage drunks to seek the shelter and soup kitchens first. If they are truly hungry, then, yes, you should feed them something… they may be in a life and death situation, but first send them to the shelter where professional help is there 24/7.

The word ‘enabling’, I’m not sure. I too believe I have read some translation in which the meaning you’re intending is inferred, but I not sure if it fits this particular situation. Bless 🤓
 
Future_Prodigy said:
If you instead were giving them money, then that would be a whole separate issue.
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Not necessarily. It is by definition not charity if those who receive are worthy of it: that is justice. Charity consists in giving what is unearned, and what the recipient is unworthy of.
 
I meant only to refer to the issue of enabling, which direct money giving falls in to. It is always better to support missions, shelters, etc… but buying them a meal is perfectly christian and nothing wrong with that.
 
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