Do you ever give money to a homeless person holding a sign

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mrsdizzyd said:
In the US, there are many people who have no access to services for one reason or another. We have people who die on our streets from hunger, exposure, and disease. Your No True Scotsman argument is severely lacking.
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We need to provide food, health care, and safe shelter to the needy, not spending money. Too many of the needy also need to be denied near occasions of sin–I am talking about those with addictions who lie in order to get money to feed their addiction. There are also (unfortunately), people with no conscience who pretend to be needy in order to scam the soft-hearted. I rarely give money to people asking for money any more. I never give money to someone with a neatly-lettered sign and I never give money to someone asking for money from people who are in cars that aren’t parked.

Every time I have given cash to a panhandler and learned more about the person afterwards, I had been lied to. Once a man hit me up for money in one parking lot and then gave a different story to me across the street in another parking lot–he didn’t even recognize me. It is far better to give personal time and materlal help to efficient efforts to reach out to the poor and marginalized.
 
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Almost never. While I’m sure some people are legitimate, some are either spending the money on drugs or in fact are not all that needy at all and are doing it as a way to get extra cash in their spare time. You can actually rake in a surprisingly good amount of cash pretending to be homeless.

I feel money you would give to a “homeless” person is probably better donated to a homeless shelter or similar charity as you know the money would actually go to needy people.

People bring up the Good Samaritan. A key difference is that based on the context, it was extremely obvious the man needed help in that he was stripped of his clothing and was beaten up. The man wasn’t just on a street corner holding up a sign. Ironically, in modern times you probably wouldn’t do what the Samaritan did if you came across such a person (personally taking them to an inn); you would call 911 and have an ambulance come over to give him care.
 
Sometimes, when the Holy Spirit moves me to believe the plea is genuine.

Once had a young, relatively healthy Native American wearing a backpack approach me for money. He had an intense look of desperation in his eyes, bordering on anguish. He explained that he was Blackfoot Indian trying to hitchhike home to South Dakota. I felt the need was genuine and I gave him $20.00. Felt good about doing so, too.

Over a year later, my wife and I stopped in a huge truck stop to walk the dogs. It was windy, and I spied a green dollar bill on the ground, about to blow away. Nobody who might have dropped it in sight. I said to myself “Maybe that’s a five dollar bill.” I picked it up, and it was a twenty dollar bill ($20.00)! The memory of that poor Blackfoot came flooding over me instantly, as if he was repaying my donation, himself. VERY GOOD FEELING!

# Ecclesiastes 11:1 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

11 Send out your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will get it back.

Every little thing testifies to God’s truth!
 
True! But we can only assume they are fakers because maybe we “see them every day”, “they have nice sneakers”, “it’s close to a drug neighborhood” etc…I live in NYC and when I worked in the city I saw the same beggars every day, I could not afford to give them food or help every day but I did not presume they did not need it. Yes, I also saw the same guys over and over on the subways, I remember some had nice sneakers! Still, they could have been gifted to them. One last thing and then I will leave this thread is I would not stop helping a person because “I’d rather help an institution that helps persons because this truly helps” which is the theme here. It seems a very cold philosophy very opposite of what Jesus teaches us about loving our neighbors and especially about not judging no?
In any case I’m leaving this thread because my mind is filled with other cares but I appreciate your respectful (name removed by moderator)ut and hope my responses have been as well.
 
I think the important thing for everyone to remember here is that as long as a person is giving in some way, others shouldn’t judge.

Person A gives 20 dollars to a guy begging on the street.

Person B turns down the street beggar because he thinks beggar might be a scam or doesn’t want to open his wallet on the street, but instead gives 20 dollars to the food bank.

Person C does not give money to either the beggar or the food bank, but instead volunteers at the homeless shelter, or helps with another charity program at their church, or donates baby formula for needy moms, or gives to the Pope’s mission in Africa where people have much less than in USA.

All three alternatives are fine.
Neither is somehow better than the other objectively.

It is the feeling in our hearts we have to watch out for. If we think we’re better than others for choosing one alternative, that’s a problem. If we’re not giving the money directly to the homeless because we don’t like them, that’s a problem. But if we are just making what we think is the best choice for our donation, for example we want to make sure we help the truly needy and not get robbed or scammed, that’s okay. Likewise, the person who always gives money directly to the homeless person is not somehow more holy than others who donate to a charitable group.
 
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po18guy said:
Of course not! But, fakers are fakers and cash given to fakers is cash denied to the needy.
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What if you say a quick prayer, or a general prayer to God, that the money you give to beggars be used according to His will? Would you think this would make it work against worries that they want to do something bad with those money?
 
I said I would leave but here I am. I can both help, out of my heart, someone in front of me and give to charity all in one day. Im not holier because I choose to give to someone in front of me. Not saying you were saying this about me directly but this comment you frequent on reminding people they’re not holier than others is odd for me to understand why you feel you have to remind folks often.
Perhaps I used a poor choice of words but my point was it seems like the ones giving only at institutions are judging those in front of them as not being needy and that bothered me because I used to see people begging everyday all day when I worked near Times Square and I always felt bad for them and tried to help them when I could and sometimes I judged that I shouldn’t have given 2 bucks to that guy which is just as bad as walking on by since it is a heart matter. It’s the heart sentiment in my query I was going after without the luggage of holiness attached, it has nothing to with my thinking I’m holier than others, that is prideful and highly offensive to God, not that you were saying that about me but just in case others may make that judgment on the line of reasoning I was using based on your comment I wanted to be clear. I was trying to understand why reject Thomas when he’s asking for a dollar? But you’re saying because they feel in their hearts he doesn’t need it and that’s what I was questioning.

I’ll probably revisit this thread after the day winds down, have a blessed day everyone.
 
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I have made the comment on two threads because there is a general tendency on the forum for many people to announce and defend their preferences in a way that appears they’re saying, “My way is better than that of others.” Instead of just saying, “I prefer to do X because of Y” and move on.

We’ve had about a dozen threads on giving to homeless and the discussion often goes the same way. My post on here wasn’t directed to you personally, but if you choose to take it that way then that’s for you to think about.

As to the unrelated incident on another thread, I explained on that thread and it’s not relevant to this topic so I’m not bringing it here, and find it odd that you would since you aren’t the poster in question there either.

Have a nice day.
 
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Y@AlmaRedemptorisMater

Judgmental much? What a terrible accusation on a Catholic forum.

Maybe her heart bleeds, as mine does, for the less fortunate.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
It is the feeling in our hearts we have to watch out for. If we think we’re better than others for choosing one alternative, that’s a problem. If we’re not giving the money directly to the homeless because we don’t like them, that’s a problem. But if we are just making what we think is the best choice for our donation, for example we want to make sure we help the truly needy and not get robbed or scammed, that’s okay. Likewise, the person who always gives money directly to the homeless person is not somehow more holy than others who donate to a charitable group.
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I agree in full. But I didn’t see people here judging one another yet.
 
halogirl said:
Homeless charities here advise you that money often goes for drugs and that by doing this you are sometimes stopping people engaging with services that are trying to get them off the streets.
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As I have said before on many, many of these threads, I used to commute through Union Station in DC and walk through that neighborhood. It has a large homeless shelter (the one Mitch Snyder made famous) nearby, other places that do things like serve meals, and it is a major commuter hub. There are people panhandling in that station regularly who are visibly on substances, and others whom the WaPo reported make a comfortable “salary” through panhandling and actually live in their own apartment somewhere else in the city or suburbs. They come in every day and go about their “job” of panhandling. They also will “target” people they think will be sympathetic. As a white woman in my 30s, if I wore any kind of hippie-looking clothes or anything that looked like I might work at a nonprofit (like batik pants etc rather than a power suit) I would get them all hitting me up for donations. When I went to work in my power suit they left me alone. They would also avoid asking men for donations, probably because men (of all races) were not receptive to their begging. It was very manipulative, and like I said I knew they didn’t need money for “something to eat” because not only did they look well fed, there were charities dishing up food just a few blocks away!

By contrast, there was an elderly man who had a disability who used to panhandle outside a popular nightclub I went to. He was friendly and nice and talked with people waiting in line to get into the club. He would boom out the name of the club and ask for a donation, you could hear him down the street. He was there for years, many of us got to know him, and on cold nights the club would let him sit inside so he wasn’t out in the cold. I liked him, I gave him donations frequently. I am sure he is passed away now because of his age. I pray for his soul.
 
No, no, no.

As I’ve said before, today in the United States we have a government safety net, and we have private charities as well.

This isn’t Biblical times. A poor person isn’t going to come to my tent in the desert in the middle of the night asking for money. That person today in the U.S. will go to a social service agency (and/or a private charity) and ask for help. And they’ll get it.

I have, however, suggested politely, “Well, if this is true [whatever their sob story is], why don’t you try to get help?”

I will not forget the time while I was living with my mother sharing a one-person Social Security check and I gave money to two men with a sob story, who then went to the liquor store. I could have used that money to help my mother pay for meds.

So, no, I will not give money to scam artists.
 
John10 said:
That is strange, from my experience people will not always thank you, however anyone can tell they are grateful. I know I would if it was the other way around.
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From all my experiences, they are always very grateful, some might be embarrassed to take charity.
 
There is a type of “needy person” I am more suspect of. That person tends to be in the same locale, week after week, and month after month, particularly near heavily trafficked intersection. I remember one of these age 30-ish people who looked VERY fit (far better than me) and he literally wore a beaten path over months as he walked up and down the street median. He carried a sign like “HUNGRY. PLEASE HELP.” I did not feel that his immediate needs were genuine.

Another time I had a clean-cut man in his 30’s wearing shirt and tie come into my clinic seeking a Valium prescription. Pretty quickly I discerned that he was drug-seeking, declined the prescription, but inquired about his lifestyle. He rather proudly explained that he went clinic-to-clinic seeking drugs for resale, other times he put on old, torn clothes, a wig, and begged by a freeway exit. Aside from that, he collected welfare or some other form of public assistance. Overall, he netted in this way about $4,000 monthly and lived quite well. True con-men and charlatans are out there, One needs discernment about helping.

Matthew 25 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
 
I like the idea of bagging up toiletries, power bars, bottled water and I would include the number and addresses of help centers! Keeping several to give to beggars frees me from the conflict of giving nothing vs. enabling addicts, alcoholics or the con people. If they truly are destitute, they will appreciate it. If they are the other types, there are no money making items they can sell! It would probably only cost a couple of bucks a bag…about the amount I give now as gift cards!

It’s a great idea!
 
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