When people homeless beg for money on the street corner, how often do you give them money?

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SeriousQuestion said:
How are they going to open a can of soup?
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Lots of ready-to-eat soups (or chili) have pop-tops now, but lack of a spoon could be an issue, yes!
(I’m assuming the water was for drinking, not to dilute a soup concentrate…)
 
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PetraG said:
Unfortunately, whenever I have found out what happened to the money I gave, I found I had been lied to.
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I also, over 99 percent of the time, do not give money. Or anything else.

I also have been lied to and have not forgotten it.

So if someone asks me for money the answer is no.

And it doesn’t bother me that I don’t because in the U.S. we have social programs to take care of people in need.
 
Originally, I did.

But turns out that one of the places I worked had a stupendous outreach program and they filled me in.

A bunch of priests and ministers used to give money, but when one of the ministers ran out of money the beggars stabbed him to death.
 
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SeriousQuestion said:
How are they going to open a can of soup?
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What @PetraG said. For the most part, they just drink it out of the can. I used to do a tuna fish pack thing which had crackers, mayo, relish, a little spoon, and a mint in it, and all you had to do was rip the top off, but then I ran across someone who was actually allergic to tuna fish! I figured soup afterwards was a safer bet, also higher in calories to fill them up more. The water, of course, is not meant to dilute the soup.
 
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We were at Hardees the other morning for breakfast…when we were leaving a guy asked us if we had any money…we didn’t as we used our card…I asked him if he wanted something to eat which he did…so I took him in and bought him a meal…which he thanked me for…if we do have any money on us we will give to them…we do it in good faith…what they do with it is between them and God
 
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When I was younger in Australia a woman approached me on the street asking for money. I asked her what she wanted it for and she said she wanted to buy a bottle of port. In a way I admire her honesty now. She looked very angry at me when I didn’t give her the money.

Another time in the Philippines when I first arrived, I bought Sagin (bananas) and was handing them out to the poor on the street as with other posters above I thought this was a better way of doing charity. A young Philippino youth/man came up and scolded me. There of course are degrees of poor in the Philippines and he was upset that I was giving to people on the street who he thought as layabouts rather than the good hard working Philippino who was also poor but trying to make things better for his family. I wasn’t sure how to react to that.
 
Peebo said:
We were at Hardees the other morning for breakfast…when we were leaving a guy asked us if we had any money…we didn’t as we used our card…I asked him if he wanted something to eat which he did…so I took him in and bought him a meal…which he thanked me for…if we do have any money on us we will give to them…we do it in good faith…what they do with it is between them and God
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This way of meeting his need had the added benefit that it was not just money given, but also human esteem and hospitality.
 
I give as much as I can and when I can. I don’t consider it a choice I should or could make regarding the how and where it will be utilized…I leave that part up to God. Warm blankets, gloves and hats in the trunk of the car in winter is a cool idea as well…no pun. These Midwestern winters are getting rough. Water is awesome to have extra of in this recent heat wave however keeping a cooler in the car isn’t feasible.
 
I don’t often give money, but sometimes I get a really strong feeling that I should. I figure that could be the Holy Spirit giving me a nudge.
 
I make a judgment at the time. I try to let the Holy Spirit lead me. I turn down many and others I have given up to $100.
 
I don’t often pass out beer to panhandlers but when I do…

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I’ve muted all response notifications. Still see likes, though. Nice PMs always welcome. Have a blessed day!
 
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I don’t often give money. I’m struggling to get by myself. However I usually offer to buy them something to eat. A few years ago, before I came back to the church, a homeless man asked me for money for something to eat and I rudly told him no. The man looked devistated and the look on his face bothered me ever since. Now that I’m saying the daily rosary and going to Mass regularly I feel differently. I recently visited a friend in a town 4 hours drive from me. I drove by a Mc Donald’s and a voice from within told me to stop there and I knew there would be someone asking for something to eat. Sure enough the second I left my car a man asks me for something to eat. I didn’t think twice. I bought him a big meal. I think the Blessed Mother sent me there.
 
don’t you hate it when people judge not only you but the people you try to show mercy towards. It is none of his business, you did the right thing. remember the parable about the servants who received the same amount despite their hours of labor… you are free to help whom you want according to the grace given you…
God Bless You

mathew 20
15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
 
I agree with you in most of the instances except regarding the homeless with mental illnesses.
Unlike fakes + people addicted to substance abuse etc,the ones with mental illnesses have done nothing to cause their state and should viewed as a victim of their illness in the same way that people with cancer are viewed as victims of their illnesses.

Unlike the case with some people with alcoholism,the reality is there is no effective treatment for many of these homeless with mental illness and not that they aren’t attempting to seek help.
 
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Rozellelily said:
I agree with you in most of the instances except regarding the homeless with mental illnesses.
Unlike fakes,people addicted to substance abuse etc the ones with mental illnesses have done nothing to cause their state and should viewed as a victim of their illness in the same way that people with cancer are viewed as victims of their illnesses.

Unlike the case with some people with alcoholism,the reality is there is no effective treatment for many of these homeless with mental illness and not that they aren’t attempting to seek help.
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Addictions have made a lot of good people into liars and fakes.It is a disease that ruins character. Getting clean and sober helps make it possible for people to get their integrity back. Being able to get more of the substance of abuse by lying to strangers gets in the way of that happening.
 
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billge said:
When homeless beg for money on the street corner how often do you give them money?
How does their begging effect you?
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I tend not to give money as many of the beggars in inner city(poorer areas) Dublin would be heroin addicts. I join in soup runs and sometimes I’ll buy someone a burger and a coffee.

I would often offer food and they just want money, which is a sign that they are looking for money to buy drugs.

I usually only have plastic, so that is also a contributing factor.
 
I really want to find somewhere where I can buy MREs by the gross to have them to hand out, but the prices I’ve found are always close to $10 a pop.

I’ve tried to figure out a way to pack sandwiches or whathaveyou that can last a couple of days in the car, but the 100F+ here kind of tanks that.

I like the soup idea.

I’m more inclined to give cash to someone who hasn’t asked.

Las Vegas has a grotesque number of professional fakers. Also folks with the “need money for beer” (or pot) signs.

We have had a drop in the number of vietnam vets in their 30s over the past decade :roll_eyes:

While I’m at that, in discussions with a friend who actually is a social worker . . . if you see someone claiming to be a vet, he’s either a fraud, or you’re about the first one who has seen him. He has a number to call, and I assume that’s true in other cities, which gets near instant help for actual vets. Even without that, I have the cell numbers for a couple of guys in veterans organizations who would, well, not deploy a swat team, but actually get a vet where he needed to be.

But ultimately, if you give charitably, and it’s abused, the fault is with them, not you.

hawk
 
I don’t often give but I try to let an internal guide(hopefully the Holy Spirit) dictate if I do. If I do give, I feel I gave as I was compelled and the burden is then on the receiver how they choose to use it. In our area it is very common to see people begging at one of three locations: street corners, exit ramps and gas stations. I usually see the same people everyday at the exit ramps whether it is 95 degrees or 20 degrees. Oftentimes they have a lawn chair. Some are indeed handicapped but most do not appear to be so. Some are pretty well dressed. I often wonder that with the time they put in at these locations and the climatic elements they are willing to endure, working at a Walmart or some other minimum paying job ( if they sought it) would be a better option that would provide for them but also provide a service to others. There is often a repeating theme at gas stations which is usually that they have run out of gas, they have a wife and small children in a car a few blocks away and the gas money is to get to a city several hundred miles away. You can usually recognize these scams. Hopefully, when I do give it is to someone who is truly needy.
 
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