Money for the homeless

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laircy said:
How about the people who beg in front of churches? I saw this a few times. Once my mom, instead of giving money, invited a woman with a baby inside to attend Mass. But she refused.
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Just for fun I want to stand outside some posh church and ask people going in to pray for me because I committed adultery.
 
Theres a guy who stands outside a Church I attend for a Saturday mass - I gave him a 20 and he ran off Immediately and a woman who is a Nun at the church gave me a what are you doing stare , so I assumed that she must be familiar with him and that he was more than likely going to use it to buy drugs ( I don’t really know if he is or not I just had a feeling that that was what he was doing) . The next Saturday he was there again and he remembered me and asked for money again - this time I told him I would not give him money because he has not tried to get help since I last saw him. I went today and he was there again asking me for money and I declined and he politely said OK have a nice day,. Am I being cold by not helping him - I don’t know what hes doing with the money and our down-town is a drug haven , I feel guilty for not helping but hes there every time I go . He certainly wasn’t starving because he was quite over weight. What would you do or say to him?
 
sarahq said:
I was having this conversation with my parents and a Catholic friend of mine, and they all agreed— one shouldn’t give money to homeless people, because they most likely will spend it on drugs or alcohol. Instead, Christians (and all people) should donate to organizations which help the poor… feed them, shelter them, and help them get off drugs and alcohol. However I always feel like its my duty to give money whenever I see a panhandler… Like the Bible says, we should treat the poor like they are Christ himself.

What do you think? Should you give change to homeless people? Is it our Christian duty?
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It’s completely at your discretion and risk. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea – not everyone who begs is homeless or an addict, and some of us genuinely need it temporarily.

But it’s certainly not the best you can do. Unfortunately we’re stingy: all of us, even in those dependent on charity, need to give the charity of our money, and our time, effort, and love. It’s charity we’re often not willing to prioritise until we find ourselves in the same situations.
 
Rainaldo:

Thanks for the reply to my question. I have to honestly say that I won’t worry about you anymore since you have decided not to take in anothet homeless person. I feel that is much too dangerous to do unfortunately. You were fortunate and it worked out ok.

I was just curious if anyone had taken in any of the homeless and the outcome. Thanks
 
horselvr said:
Rainaldo:

Thanks for the reply to my question. I have to honestly say that I won’t worry about you anymore since you have decided not to take in anothet homeless person. I feel that is much too dangerous to do unfortunately. You were fortunate and it worked out ok.

I was just curious if anyone had taken in any of the homeless and the outcome. Thanks
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I had a homeless guy staying with me for about six months when I was single. It was fine except that people thought he was my boyfriend and that we were living together - that’s one of the risks you take, is what people will think of you, and it definitely hurt my job prospects and my social life, so there is that to consider, in addition to the risk of whether they will rob you blind, stash illegal drugs in your house, etc.

In my case the guy was a friend of a friend, and he was an Evangelical Christian, so I knew he wouldn’t drink or do drugs in the house - what he was doing elsewhere may well be another story, but he didn’t do it in the house, which was all I cared about. I didn’t own anything worth stealing at the time; the most annoying part was that it seemed he could eat a week’s worth of groceries at a single sitting, and my grocery bill was the highest it’s ever been - even with a husband and kids, I still don’t spend what I spent on that guy. 🤷

Once he got his feet on the ground, he left and we lost touch.
 
I live in a small southern town now. The homeless generally don’t congregate here.

On my way to Mass yesterday I had to stop for gas and while pumping the gas a man appeared out of nowhere and kept coming closer to my car saying something. I asked him to repeat it and he was asking me for $1.00. I told him no. He said, “God Bless You”. I returned the same.

jmcrae: Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
laircy said:
How about the people who beg in front of churches? I saw this a few times. Once my mom, instead of giving money, invited a woman with a baby inside to attend Mass. But she refused.
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Castello said:
They know that people feel guilt ridden when they see someone begging outside Church, so, those folks are an easy mark.
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If I was going to ask for money, doing so outside of a church would be my first choice. I’m sure you’d get a higher success rate among people who go to church.

One of the parishes in my town actually had to put up a sign that says “Please do not give money to panhandlers.” They had some regulars who were there before and after Mass every single day. Since the signs went up, though, I haven’t seen them.
 
jmcrae said:
I had a homeless guy staying with me for about six months when I was single. It was fine except that people thought he was my boyfriend and that we were living together - that’s one of the risks you take, is what people will think of you, and it definitely hurt my job prospects and my social life, so there is that to consider, in addition to the risk of whether they will rob you blind, stash illegal drugs in your house, etc.

In my case the guy was a friend of a friend, and he was an Evangelical Christian, so I knew he wouldn’t drink or do drugs in the house - what he was doing elsewhere may well be another story, but he didn’t do it in the house, which was all I cared about. I didn’t own anything worth stealing at the time; the most annoying part was that it seemed he could eat a week’s worth of groceries at a single sitting, and my grocery bill was the highest it’s ever been - even with a husband and kids, I still don’t spend what I spent on that guy. 🤷

Once he got his feet on the ground, he left and we lost touch.
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Being a female that was courageous of you taking in someone, glad it turned out well, well except for the huge grocery bill:)
 
Luvtosew said:
Being a female that was courageous of you taking in someone, glad it turned out well, well except for the huge grocery bill:)
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I am, too. Looking back on it, I was way more naive than brave - it’s not something I’d ever recommend to anyone to do.
 
PeterGStanley said:
…Am I being cold by not helping him - I don’t know what hes doing with the money and our down-town is a drug haven , I feel guilty for not helping but hes there every time I go .
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What would happen if you keep giving him money? Would that make the guilt go away?
 
I will give if I have money (change and bills) in my pocket…but I never pull my wallet out in front of someone. I am a large man so I feel safe, I advise my wife not to. If they are lying or use the money for something that I am unaware of, that is on them. They ask, and I give, what they do with it is up to them. It is a very difficult choice for me each time I am asked. I see both sides of the issue and equally see the merits of not giving. It’s just hard for me not to give…call me a sucker for hard luck cases, be they a victim of circumstances or addiction.
 
You’re not a sucker Patrick—just kind hearted and there is no shame in that. 🙂
 
patrick127 said:
I will give if I have money (change and bills) in my pocket…but I never pull my wallet out in front of someone. I am a large man so I feel safe, I advise my wife not to. If they are lying or use the money for something that I am unaware of, that is on them. They ask, and I give, what they do with it is up to them. It is a very difficult choice for me each time I am asked. I see both sides of the issue and equally see the merits of not giving. It’s just hard for me not to give…call me a sucker for hard luck cases, be they a victim of circumstances or addiction.
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I agree… I always feel compelled to give whatever change I have. Sometimes more, if I don’t have change and feel the person really needs it then I’ll give them a five… But its up to everyone to make that decision, it’s a tough one.
 
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