When do you stop helping the homeless?

[JackHandy]

Me? No. If I have something to give to someone who asks, they get it. Change, food, a bottle of water, the occasional bag of dog food for their pooch, they get it if it’s mine to give.

I have a home. I have a modicum of financial security. I don’t have any addictions, and my mental illness extends to an anxiety disorder that doesn’t keep me from living a typical, middle-class life. I have a husband who’d take care of me if I became disabled, and I’ve got stepdaughters who’ll probably stand by me when I’m old and feeble. In this respect I’m far, far more fortunate than those who sleep rough and approach strangers day in and day out for their daily bread. I’m 51 years old, and forking over spare change as well as buying sandwiches and sodas and dog food hasn’t diminished my or my family’s lives so far, so I figure I’ll keep doing it until I can’t anymore.

Luna

I understand what you are saying here. Your heart is absolutely in the right place. Just something that you should consider, however. At what point do you become more of a hindrance than a help?

Something that I think about is that without challenges we would not grow. It is human nature that if we get comfortable and can stagnate, we will. I have no solid answers myself. The one thing that is essential is to realize that there is a human being there with inherent dignity. Pray for them and pray that God may give you the discernment to know how best you can help any given person. We may not know what to do but it is certain that he does.

God Bless

Jack Handy

 

[ThinkingSapien]

I understand what you are saying here. Your heart is absolutely in the right place. Just something that you should consider, however. At what point do you become more of a hindrance than a help?

Sounds like what you are getting at (in part) is what I’ve heard summarized as “Money isn’t always the solution to money problems.”

 

[Jacob18]

In walking around the streets of Atlanta I have found that it isn’t hard to encounter a homeless person. But I’ve also found it’s not hard to find people pretending to be homeless out to exploit the kindness of strangers by either using a story to get cash for non-essential purposes (ex: alcohol or cigarettes). To avoid exploitation and for reasons of my own safety I’m electing to nolonger respond to request for money/food for people that I meet on the street and just stick with contributing to charitible organizations.

I was wondering ig any one else had any thoughts on this; have you ever found it necessary to make a policy against helping some one that may be in need.

1.) If someone approachs you and it seems like they told the same questionable story hundreds of times, they probably have. I would not give them money.

2.) Homeless people, regardless of wether I believe they are going to buy drugs and cigarettes, if I have the money to give, I try to give to them. It is like, “What if I was in their situation, would I like to be treated as a human being, too?”

3.) I do not give large amounts of cash, maybe one or two dollars or so if someone asks for it - some poor old lady sitting on the streets may get a five. If you really want to give to homeless people, they may resent you - but not for long - if you give them a giftcard to, say, Walgreens, where they do not sell beer and cigarettes.