Giving to the Poor in light of Drug Abuse

[rightness]

Giving to the poor isn’t so straightforward these days. In Jesus’s time, you could really only buy food to eat. Now, a person can buy a lot of vices that you can’t really know the intentions of that person. To counter this, we have food banks, homeless shelters, and job search facilities to help them.

Even giving food, in my experience, is equivalent to giving money because if they do have any money for themselves, giving them food excuses them from spending on necessities and permits them to buy drugs or cigarettes. I had given this seemingly homeless guy a couple of muffins before, but when I saw him again, after receiving some money, he whips out his smart phone and I was close enough to hear him say something about “doing a trade”.

We’re called to give to the poor, but the current social environment makes it dangerous to give to the poor traditionally. What I mean by dangerous is that it endangers their lives if our alms is used for drugs. We might be causing their addiction to get worse. I feel like it’s more responsible not to.

The thing we could do is tell them where to find shelters and food banks. Our taxes (at least my government) go towards these social programs to help the poor, therefore, I think it’s not necessary and better not to give alms directly. Of course, our church is also a great place to give donations to because the church does a lot of work for the needs of the poor.

Would you give alms to a poor person? Would you entrust our social systems that help the poor?

 

[Irishmom2]

Why do you assume the worst about those needing help? Do you know for a fact that they are addicts?
Give from your heart and don’t concern yourself further.

 

[rosejmj]

I think it is up to you. I think it can be nice to give alms even if it is possible they will use it for bad. Not every poor person is doing drugs etc. Maybe other things are better than food or money. I think most important is to shoe the people you care about them, even talking to them if appropriate. Then give things that they could actually use. Money is not always bad either. Many poor in the U.S. are suffering from other problems that fuel and make them continue living in poverty. Some are just struggling and have gone through hard times. Of course there are a lot of services in the U.S. to help the homeless and less fortunate. They do suffer, but compared to a lot of countries, poverty in America is really not too bad. You probably won’t go hungry. Of course as Mother Teresa stated the greatest poverty is loneliness and that is everywhere, especially in the West

 

[Dan_Defender]

Give from your heart and don’t concern yourself further.

I second that. That person’s misuse of the gift received (if it happens) is answerable to God.

 

[Rhubarb]

It sounds like you’re doing all kinds of mental gymnastics to avoid personal charity.

I wonder if Christ was there, on the street, asking for a dollar, if you’d be concerned about what He’d spend it on? Because “Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.”

 

[Irishmom2]

@Rhubarb, I wish I could like that post more than once, so

 

[Trishie]

If in your concern for the less fortunate,
you continue to have doubts regardless of the advice and explanations already offered,

and if your conscience remains uneasy in a responsible fear of enabling drug abuse, which is destructive to both individuals and families

then consider donating food, clothing, toiletries, laundry supplies, blankets, sheets,
or any other practical donations.
God bless you.

 

[redbetta]

Personally, I have come to believe that the resource that people don’t give nearly enough of is time. If you are on CAF, chances you are from a very materially rich country with lots of resources, social programs, and private charities. But, a lot of people remain poor because of addiction, bad habits that keep them poor, mental illness, or being born to poverty. Things we need more of: people willing to mentor at-risk youth to help them grow up to be successful adults.

 

[midori]

We’re called to give to the poor, but the current social environment makes it dangerous to give to the poor traditionally. What I mean by dangerous is that it endangers their lives if our alms is used for drugs. We might be causing their addiction to get worse. I feel like it’s more responsible not to.

We’re called to be charitable towards others. If I give someone $5, my charity is between me and God. If someone wastes that $5 vs making good use of it— that’s between them and God. I’ve done my part.

Once upon a time, a friend of mine was financially struggling. He saw someone panhandling near a grocery store. He took money that he couldn’t spare, and used it to buy a rotisserie chicken, which he gave to the panhandler. Then he went back in to do his shopping. When he came back out again— he found the roast chicken dumped in the parking lot. It hurt him very, very much.

What he gave to the panhandler was much more than just a rotisserie chicken---- he gave what he couldn’t spare. And what the panhandler wasted was much more than just a rotisserie chicken— he now has the weight of all the un-performed good deeds that my friend decides against doing, in memory of how poorly his one gift was received.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be efficient with our charity dollars. If I can “feed a child for a month for $10”, that’s cool! Around here, I can barely get through the drive-thru. But sometimes, we overthink things… it’s okay to be spontaneously generous to the person right in front of us, and it’s not always just a matter of giving money.

 

[rightness]

Why do you assume the worst about those needing help? Do you know for a fact that they are addicts?
Give from your heart and don’t concern yourself further.

Like I said, I think it’s irresponsible to give alms to someone without thinking what they’ll use it for. The next thing they could buy could kill them. We should definitely concern ourselves further because to only be of concern for our own salvation is not Christ-like.

For example, a teenager asks the parents for allowance, and the parents give it to their child with no questions asked. Then the teen proceeds to buy alcohol through illegal means (if it’s underage in your country) or contraceptives, condoms to engage in premarital sex with a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe they’re being caught up in some sort of scam. It is the parents’ fault for being negligent of what the child is using the allowance for.

I think some replies here fail to see my alternatives that I pointed out. Rather than give $5 directly to a poor person who may or may not use it for good reason, give $5 to a food bank, a homeless shelter, or even our CHURCH. Wasn’t it us who created systems and institutions to care for the poor and sick? We should direct people to the places that can help them on a more permanent basis rather than to think giving them cash is the simple solution.

The very same person that I gave the muffins to, that I caught taking out a smartphone and calling someone for a “trade”, I talked to him about finding a homeless shelter or a foodbank and pointed out there are many nearby, but he just ignored me and asked the next person for money. Additionally, if the poor don’t seek out places of refuge, they won’t get themselves involved in a community that could rehabilitate them.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

Like I said, I think it’s irresponsible to give alms to someone without thinking what they’ll use it for.

I think it is judgemental and uncharitable to refuse to give alms based solely on your baseless assumptions about that person’s motives/worth.

Charity is love. This gift of love is given as your response to God’s love for you. How can you love another while judging them in this way?

 

[Magnanimity]

We’re called to be charitable towards others.

Yes. Cut and dry, that is it. Flatly, you are called to take care of the poor—it is a refrain all throughout the old and new testaments. You can’t miss the message.

Like I said, I think it’s irresponsible to give alms to someone without thinking what they’ll use it for.

As for the beggar on the street (a stranger to you), who are you to presume to know what they would use it for? Your job is to give out of your abundance.

You barely control your own life (and maybe small parts of your chIldren’s lives), but you will never control the life of another adult—and it isn’t your job to control it. It’s your job to help the poor and to give. I’m not claiming it’s always easy, but I’ve stopped making excuses. When I’m stopped at an intersection where there is a beggar, I give my daughter some change and let her give to the person. Why? Bc she needs to learn that a good person gives out of her abundance. Period. I made excuses for years for why I shouldn’t give to the beggar. I’m all done with that. All goodness I have comes from God. My job is to spread it (w/o trying to control the life of “the other”).

 

[blackforest]

Giving to the poor isn’t so straightforward these days. In Jesus’s time, you could really only buy food to eat. Now, a person can buy a lot of vices that you can’t really know the intentions of that person.

In the time of Christ, a person could have put up a façade of poverty in order to pay for a prostitute or a gambling debt. Regardless of the motives, our Pope himself has advised us to continue giving despite any potential bad intentions. If trust is an issue for you, give out prepaid gift cards to places like Subway because even an alcoholic or drug addict needs a meal with protein.

I also echo what others say about giving your resources, including your time, to a well-vetted local charity or a social services ministry at your parish. Catholic Worker and St. Vincent de Paul are two of my favorites.

To answer your question, yes, I’m for giving alms. To the second question, no, I don’t place unfettered trust in government programs or private charities. To check on the latter, the best resources are give.org and charitynavigator.org . The drawback to those sites is that the don’t normally include small, local charities, which are often more accountable and make better use of donor dollars.

 

[otjm]

I give to selected charities. Studies have been done indicating that the panhandlers (as the ones working the stop signs) average between $20 and $35 per hour - pretax. They ave a great gig; I prefer to donate to the charities which support those who don’t have a great gig.

One that I have supported and will continue to support is Unbound.

 

[1Lord1Faith]

Would you give alms to a poor person? Would you entrust our social systems that help the poor?

I would only give something to an organization I trusted or a person I knew.

 

[rightness]

rightness:

Like I said, I think it’s irresponsible to give alms to someone without thinking what they’ll use it for.

I think it is judgemental and uncharitable to refuse to give alms based solely on your baseless assumptions about that person’s motives/worth.

Charity is love. This gift of love is given as your response to God’s love for you. How can you love another while judging them in this way?

Simple, and I already answered it. Tell them where they can seek shelter and food, and if they are willing, bring them there.

If a person looks sick on the streets, do you just give money and leave? Or do you see if they’re alright and bring them to a hospital?
Likewise, if someone lives in sin, perhaps a family member who has substance addiction, do you just give them enough to live out their lives? Or would you bring them to church for spiritual healing?

I think there’s more to giving alms in our society. I think it is just as much assumption to think that the person will be alright with your alms, and I think it’s lacking charity to not seek a better solution for their lives.

Ever heard of the story of the beggar priest told by Scott Hahn? A priest was on his way to meet Pope John Paul II happened to notice that he knew one of the beggers on the steps of of St. Peter’s Basilica. He could have just gave him some alms and went his way, but he went further, as a true charitable person should, he asked the beggar that he recognized him from somewhere and asked why.

The beggar said he knew the priest from seminary, and the beggar was a fallen away priest. If you want to read the whole story, it’s here: http://vocationblog.com/2013/11/joh-paul-ii-and-the-beggar-priest/ . Keeping things short, Pope John Paul II personally met the beggar and reinstated his priesthood, now the beggar is back at his diocese to help all beggars. Now tell me, would that have happened if he was simply given alms?

 

[rightness]

As for the beggar on the street (a stranger to you), who are you to presume to know what they would use it for? Your job is to give out of your abundance.

You barely control your own life (and maybe small parts of your chIldren’s lives), but you will never control the life of another adult—and it isn’t your job to control it. It’s your job to help the poor and to give. I’m not claiming it’s always easy, but I’ve stopped making excuses. When I’m stopped at an intersection where there is a beggar, I give my daughter some change and let her give to the person. Why? Bc she needs to learn that a good person gives out of her abundance. Period. I made excuses for years for why I shouldn’t give to the beggar. I’m all done with that. All goodness I have comes from God. My job is to spread it (w/o trying to control the life of “the other”).

Here’s another example from my personal experience. I gave a beggar, some young looking guy who was asking for money walking down the sidewalk. I gave him some change, but he saw I had more money in my wallet and asked for more. What would you do in that situation? Are you not giving your all in charity to give to the beggar? Now, he sees your credit card, and wants you to buy him food nearby. You tell him you gave him money, but he tells you he’ll use it for other days when he’s hungry. Are you not doing your best for this beggar by giving him all that you can?

What I did after giving him $2 and being asked for more is that I pointed towards a Catholic Church that was visibly close. I asked him, “If you want, the priest there can help you get fed. I know him, and he can help you.” (I did know the priest) He just stormed off without looking back. Now, I think my speculations that he’s not using the money for food is a lot more plausible.

I prayed for him later in the day, but that’s all I could do.

I would only give something to an organization I trusted or a person I knew.

I would too. There’s definitely a lot of scams out there, even reputable charities.
If anything, the Catholic Church is the place to donate to.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

The problem is with the judgements you make about these strangers you meet. Charity is love. It doesn’t have to be monetary. However, some would say it is impossible to love someone if you are too busy judging them.

I should add that I rarely give money because I rarely have cash. I have care packages in my car that I give instead.

 

[1Lord1Faith]

I gave him some change, but he saw I had more money in my wallet and asked for more

You know now, but, never open your wallet in front of a “beggar”. Never give money to a stranger on the street. Don’t give money to anyone unless you know they are really going to use it for something legitimate.

There’s definitely a lot of scams out there, even reputable charities.

There are a lot of 501(c)s that have massive administrative overhead, like 75% or more. I won’t give to those.

The scams are mostly, IMO, from individuals looking to take advantage of anyone they can. It’s most visible on the street, but almost everyone is a target for a hustler.

 

[rightness]

The problem is with the judgements you make about these strangers you meet. Charity is love. It doesn’t have to be monetary. However, some would say it is impossible to love someone if you are too busy judging them.

I should add that I rarely give money because I rarely have cash. I have care packages in my car that I give instead.

You should look at my examples earlier. I made judgements after I discerned more about them. Would you give alms to a poor person who whips out a cell phone worth $500+?

I am simply stating that we have to be smarter in our charity, and to ensure their intentions are true. In my area, we have so much resources for the poor, food banks, shelters, pension, free health care, that there really should be no reason for them to be on the street. The only reason left are items that are out of necessity that can’t be gotten from a shelter or food bank.