Panhandlers, beggars, homeless in a big city

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tbcrawford said:
Gosh I am really sorry you took my post as so offensive and judgemental.That was certainly not my intention at all.I am sorry for having cuased you offense.
In my post I tried my utmost to be humble and polite stating that we all see things from different points of view
I did in fact say QUOTE “We all see things from a different perspective.I am sure we all, with great sincerity, mean to do the right thing as regards all our brothers and sisters who are in difficult times. Perhaps we all go about it differently and perhaps we all evaluate the situation in different ways.”
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Thus making it sound like Jen is a total dolt for not perceiving her angry and threatening assailant as some poor neglected lonely soul who only needs a kind word and a couple of quarters to soothe him. :rolleyes:

You don’t get any special favours in the afterlife if you are murdered while handing out cash to obvious thieves - we are to help the actual needy (those who make use of the homeless shelters, which is where we should be sending our money); not willingly allow ourselves to be robbed on the street.
 
I am humbled by the insults jen .I am hurt by your words but that will pass.I have repeatedly told you I meant no offense.I keep rereading my post I am really taken aback to be accused of something so awful.

Jmcrae clearly it is atrocious to have been attacked and jen is quite right to be cautious given her circumstances however I really couldn’t have worded my post more carefully or politely.
In her own case it is clear she has been affected by her experinces may God bless her.
I gave, nor meant no malice in my post to jen or anyone.No-one should ever put themselves in danger.However your point the ’ actual needy’ is where I have a problem.

I direct this commment to all readers not just you here…ALL are Gods children we are not to decide who is or who is not needy.If we feel we are in danger then of course don’t approach nor put yourselves in jeopardy.We are however called to love our neighbour…

As I explained in my post we all see things from a different perspective.I am sure we all, with great sincerity, mean to do the right thing as regards all our brothers and sisters who are in difficult times. Perhaps we all go about it differently and perhaps we all evaluate the situation in different ways

Doing what Jesus taught is often hard but what we are called to do.

It is easy to love those who are good and kind to us, who treat us nicely.How very difficult it is for us to love those who wrong us or do distasteful things to us…yet we are called to love everyone.

As regards helping the needy whether homeless or destitute we all have our own consciences and help in whatever way we can.

It is not our place to judge whether someone is worthy.Only our place to assess our safety.

It is good to help in whatever way we all can.
 
tbcrawford said:
I am humbled by the insults jen .I am hurt by your words but that will pass.I have repeatedly told you I meant no offense.I keep rereading my post I am really taken aback to be accused of something so awful.
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I am truly sorry that you feel insulted. It has not been my intention. A simple statement something like “I’m not saying that because you don’t give money to panhandlers, it means you don’t love them,” would have made a great difference in how I read your post.

I didn’t mention, but just because I don’t hand them money, it doesn’t mean that I don’t pray for them–individually, collectively, and sincerely.

There are several reasons not to give money to panhandlers. A couple of them are:
  1. Statistics show that many of them will use the money to buy things that will further harm them.
  2. It means you have less money to give to food banks and shelters, which will be able to use the money more efficiently to help more people, because they can buy in bulk.
  3. Money can be stolen from the panhandler.
To me, these are good reasons. They are also consistent with loving not only the poor in general, but also the specific needy person. They also do not require a judgement of the person as “not needy.” I am not in fact making that judgement about them at all–how could I possibly know whether they are needy or not?

I am not saying that people who feel called to give money to panhandlers should not do so. There are different ways that you can show love to people. I have great admiration for those people who can take a needy person and have a meal with them. It is a very holy act. However I, who feel really uncomfortable sharing lunch even with a co-worker I don’t know well, am not really suited to doing that. It has nothing to do with feeling uncomfortable around the poor, it has to do with feeling uncomfortable around strangers (however well-to-do they might be).

God has made us all different, and therefore does not require the same actions from all of us. There are more ways of helping the needy than handing out money to panhandlers. That is one of the ways, which is why I’m not saying people shouldn’t do it. The only thing I am trying to say is, that if you do not feel called to do it, it is not necessary. It is necessary to help the needy, but it is not necessary for everyone to help them in that way.

I believe you were not trying to say that if you don’t give money to panhandlers it means you aren’t ready for heaven, because you aren’t helping them all you can, and therefore aren’t seeing them as brothers and sisters. I believe that you did not mean to imply that those who don’t give to panhandlers will be told by Jesus, “Depart from me.” However, that is what I thought you meant when I first read your post. I still don’t understand what you actually were trying to say, and how it related to my post which you quoted, but that is probably a problem in my head, not in your post.

I am sincerely not trying to insult you, just trying to explain my reactions. I’m sorry if I have caused you pain.

–Jen
 
My son Marcus, has mental problems and he is out on the streets, today is his B-Day he is 27 years old, and the only thing I want is for a stranger to come along and help him to get into metal health, because he does not trust us his family. It is been 6 years of this strugle with him and his problems, he comes home, he gets paranoid and steals from us, then he runs to the streets for months and sometimes years…PLEASE LET HELP ME PRAY FOR HIM THAT SOMEONE WOULD FIND HIM AND HELP HIM…THANK YOU
 
I think it’s very important to keep in mind, when considering “what would Jesus do?” that neither Jesus nor any of the Apostles ever gave any money to the Temple beggars. Those who were willing to accept healing, they healed - but never, ever did they give money, and indeed, the Didache (the Teaching of the Holy Apostles) warns us, “Let thine alms sweat in thy palms, until thou knowest to whom thou givest.” In other words, they recommended researching every charity before giving even a single dime, and never to give anything to strangers.
 
mehsheekahd0ll said:
My son Marcus, has mental problems and he is out on the streets, today is his B-Day he is 27 years old, and the only thing I want is for a stranger to come along and help him to get into metal health, because he does not trust us his family. It is been 6 years of this strugle with him and his problems, he comes home, he gets paranoid and steals from us, then he runs to the streets for months and sometimes years…PLEASE LET HELP ME PRAY FOR HIM THAT SOMEONE WOULD FIND HIM AND HELP HIM…THANK YOU
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I feel your pain, went through that with my brother for years, him it was drugs. I pray your son gets the help he needs and he is ok , He is still a young man.

I wanted to add I use to worry all the time about my brother, but then I found out they kinda hang out with others, meet other homeless people, and we have many soup kitchens and shelters, so that kinda eased my mind. Hope that eases your mind a bit, he is not along out there.
 
mehsheekahd0ll said:
My son Marcus, has mental problems and he is out on the streets, today is his B-Day he is 27 years old, and the only thing I want is for a stranger to come along and help him to get into metal health, because he does not trust us his family. It is been 6 years of this strugle with him and his problems, he comes home, he gets paranoid and steals from us, then he runs to the streets for months and sometimes years…PLEASE LET HELP ME PRAY FOR HIM THAT SOMEONE WOULD FIND HIM AND HELP HIM…THANK YOU
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Your son is in my prayers my friend.May God bless him keep him safe and guide him to open his heart and mind.I pray someone will come into his life who can help him.

Lord please bless this son and guide him and bless his family who love him and are worried for him,most especially today on his birthday.Thankyou Lord for hearing our prayers Amen
 
mehsheekahd0ll:

How terribly sad and such a tremendous worry for you. I will keep your son in my prayers also.

Luvtosew:

I’ll also remember your brother in prayers and you are echoing exactly what my nephew told me that they do look out for one another. They are not hungry because of all the soup kitches and of course government assistance for food but also a group will pool together money and they can stay in motels. Some do look out for the mentally ill to make sure they eat and are not getting sick.
 
mehsheekahd0ll said:
My son Marcus, has mental problems and he is out on the streets, today is his B-Day he is 27 years old, and the only thing I want is for a stranger to come along and help him to get into metal health, because he does not trust us his family. It is been 6 years of this strugle with him and his problems, he comes home, he gets paranoid and steals from us, then he runs to the streets for months and sometimes years…PLEASE LET HELP ME PRAY FOR HIM THAT SOMEONE WOULD FIND HIM AND HELP HIM…THANK YOU
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Dear Jesus, please help Marcus to find shelter and to get help for his mental illness. Please comfort his family, especially his mother, and help her not to worry excessively, and let her know that you love Marcus even more than she does.

😦
 
PaulinVA said:
Well, I think that the whole “scam” thing is highly overrated.

Do you guys really think that someone comes in from the 'burbs, parks their car at Colonial Parking on K street, puts on their stinky clothing and 4 coats and spends a ‘shift’ asking for money? I hope you don’t think that.
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Every time that I have offered a panhandler (most of whom have something about hunger, etc. on their signs) food, they have refused.

If you work with organizations that serve those who are actually in need, they will tell you (in my experience, universally) never to give money to a panhandler. Direct them to the nearest food pantry/shelter/etc. Also, don’t give them non-food or non-perishable food items (like canned food), as they will sometimes try to turn around and sell that to passersby. If you want to give them something, give them food that is not packaged, or open the package, i.e., open a pop and hand it to them, give them a sandwich, etc.

And, to answer the question of, “Do you think people are really scamming this way?”: Yes. In my area, panhandling is legal, there are no laws against begging. In the rest of the state, there are such laws, so panhandlers flock here. Local investigative reporters have discovered that such people will make upwards of $200-300 in a few hours. These same reporters have watched panhandlers leave their position (prime spots in town include the main ramps off of I-70), walk to the adjacent hotel’s parking lot, and hop in their Lincoln/Buick to drive home.

Also, don’t fall for the “Homeless Vet” schtick. The vast majority of people claiming to be vets that are panhandling have never served anyone. If someone does have a sign declaring themselves a veteran, refer them to reputable veteran service/advocacy organization, such as the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans (if they’re disabled/claim to be), etc. Not only are these groups generally better at screening out scammers than the average Joe Pedestrian, but, if the panhandler is actually a vet in need, they can do something to fix the situation and really help the person out.
 
I find this a tough one, but I tend to take it case by case. For example, it’s now bitterly cold in London, and I don’t think any of the people sitting on street corners begging without even gloves on their hands are trying to scam. This is a pretty tough city, the weather is not the only thing that’s cold. The number of homeless people and people begging is definitely up in the last two years. If you have nothing, if you end up on the street, the way back is hard - just having someone acknowledge you in this city is hard!

I give some change and try to have a kind word with those I meet on the pavements on these cold winters days. If possible, I think the best thing to do would be to volunteer if you can at a local shelter. My church runs one during winter which I’m volunteering at this year for the first time. It’s been a great experience so far getting ready for the start of the shelter and I hope I can be useful and help some people out by showing them some kindness when we start accepting visitors. It’s tough sometimes to know how best to reach out to someone and help so I’m very grateful to have this chance.

If in doubt, there is a clear call to us all in the Sermon on the Mount - give to those who beg of you. I try to think of that.
 
Primrose: I have bever been to London so please excuse my ignorance.

I’m curious to know if in London if there are soup kitcjems, shelters, organizations where the homeless can go for shelter, food, clothing, bathing and if the government there provides any type of food stamps or a monthly dollar sum for each homeless individual.
 
Hey horselvr, there are certainly some charitable and church run groups providing these facilities, but I don’t know about state assistance yet. It’s an area I’ve just started looking into in the past month, so when I know more about the groups providing services, logistics of the places available versus demand and other related stats I’ll share the findings here.
 
That would be great Primrose to share your findings with everyone here. I for one am very curious about just what services are available to those in other countries.

I feel the USA is a very generous country and so just wondering about other homeless abroad and if they have as much assistance as we do here.
 
Primrose_gill said:
If in doubt, there is a clear call to us all in the Sermon on the Mount - give to those who beg of you. I try to think of that.
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The Sermon on the Mount - from the Gospel of Matthew, actually says to “give to those who ask of you”. Those of us who give of our time, of information, of resources, we give. We do NOT give out cash.

Remember in Scripture when Peter and John were approached by a panhandler? Did they give him cash? No, they gave him the gift of faith, of healing for his need. Let our first Pope be our example 🙂
 
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