Helping the homeless

[rainforests1]

A woman was holding a sign about being homeless. All of the cars drove by. If you see a homeless person on the side of the road, do you do anything?

 

[KLS52]

I don't live in an area where you see homeless people often. There is one man who is sometimes off the exit when I go to TJ's. I always give him money when I see him. There used to be a man I would see on my way to visiting my daughter, who parked himself at a traffic light. I gave him money as well. It isn't hard for me because it would only happen once a month or so. I guess if I saw someone or multiple homeless people everyday it might be a different story.

I've heard all the reasons why we shouldn't give money...I do anyway and hope that I am making a small difference for at least that moment.

 

[SummerRain]

I used to give money quite a lot, but I've been conned a few times (i.e. people saying that they're selling a big issue, and it's just a free magazine..), and I now know a few local people who regularly come up to you with the same lines (such as a long story about an aunt in hospital and needing money for the train fair). I guess I'm a bit more suspicious now.

I've bought people food in the past - but they often ask for non-vegan food - and I'm never quite sure what to do about that, so I haven't done that for a long time either.

Now a days I tend to give money to homeless charities, because I think that's probably the best use of my money. But whenever a homeless person asks for change/money/trys to talk to me, I try to always smile and refuse/answer them politely. Most people just ignore them and I think that's probably really horrible, to be ignored all day long, so even though I don't give money anymore I do try to respond in a nice way.

One exception - there's a big issue seller local to us, who tends to get quite abusive or acts very strangely. Whether he's drunk/on drugs or has mental health problems, or maybe he's just an eccentric kind of guy... I don't know, but he's very erratic and I ignore him, because he scares me a bit.

 

[Pirate]

There was a big Big Issue scammer around here as well, apparently he lived in a £600,000 flat along the Thames. I would rather give money to charities that help homeless people than directly to a person who may/may not be a scammer. I do give sometimes though, if not I'll say "Sorry I dont have any change". i hate people with these fake "I need 20p for the bus" stories though, its obviously ****.

 

[Wolfie]

I will usually give them a couple dollars. I figure even if they are con men (rarely see women asking around here) I won't miss the $2, and there aren't many around here so it's not like it adds up enough to affect me even though I don't have a lot of money. I did see a guy once with his pit bull holding a sign that said they were trying to make it back home (somewhere out East, I don't remember the state.) That man got $10 and dog biscuits. Wish I could have given him more. Instead of dumping the dog which would make getting back easier most likely, he was determined to take his pal with him.

Years ago there was a homeless man who hung out in the wooded park where I used to take my dogs to run. I think he went somewhere to sleep at night but by day rode his bike down there, wearing every item of clothing he owned. I gave him food gift cards a couple of times. Most people steered clear of him which was sad. I never once got a weird vibe from him and, even more telling, neither did my dogs. They loved the guy and I completely trust their judgment. I've seen them pick up when someone is not trustworthy on more than one occasion. Not sure what happened to him now. That park is now off limits, because it's on an island and the bridge to get over their was deemed "unsafe" and the money-wasting politicians claim there's no $ to fix it. Off topic, but it was a beautiful park.

 

[Mischief]

I give money, and I don't particularly care whether they use it on alcohol or drugs - whatever gets them through the day. I also look at them directly, and say something to them; I think that so many people act as though the homeless are invisible, and that must be terrible.

 

[Calliegirl]

I rarely give money, but will buy them a meal or groceries if I have any money.

I've bought people food in the past - but they often ask for non-vegan food - and I'm never quite sure what to do about that, so I haven't done that for a long time either.

I did that once. Let someone pick out what they wanted to eat at a fast food place, and ended up buying them a chicken sandwich. I felt sick to my stomach after doing that. Now I buy the food first and then surprise them with it. I try to get something nutritious, because I know they're eating mostly junk food from convenience stores. If there's a grocery store nearby, I usually get them a bunch of luna or cliff bars, some fruit, gatorade type drink or water, peanut butter, jam, a loaf of bread, and plastic cutlery (plus dog food if they have a dog). That way they have a couple of somewhat health meals.
I've only ever had one person say no thank you to the food. A man in a wheelchair had a sign asking for money because he needed food. So, I bought him food and he said he didn't want 'any damn food, just money'.

I give money, and I don't particularly care whether they use it on alcohol or drugs - whatever gets them through the day. I also look at them directly, and say something to them; I think that so many people act as though the homeless are invisible, and that must be terrible.

It is terrible. I've talked to some of them and they said people treat them like they're trash instead of a person, and they eventually feel like they are. A friend was sharing a meal with a 70 year old homeless man, who was telling him why he was homeless. His social security wasn't enough for an apartment, and he had been looking for a job to supplement it, but no one wants to hire a 70 year old. While they were sitting there, someone driving by in a car threw a soda at them and laughed. He said the old man started crying, and said that happens a lot.

 

[shyvas]

I rarely give money, but will buy them a meal or groceries if I have any money.


I did that once. Let someone pick out what they wanted to eat at a fast food place, and ended up buying them a chicken sandwich. I felt sick to my stomach after doing that. Now I buy the food first and then surprise them with it. I try to get something nutritious, because I know they're eating mostly junk food from convenience stores. If there's a grocery store nearby, I usually get them a bunch of luna or cliff bars, some fruit, gatorade type drink or water, peanut butter, jam, a loaf of bread, and plastic cutlery (plus dog food if they have a dog). That way they have a couple of somewhat health meals.
I've only ever had one person say no thank you to the food. A man in a wheelchair had a sign asking for money because he needed food. So, I bought him food and he said he didn't want 'any damn food, just money'.


It is terrible. I've talked to some of them and they said people treat them like they're trash instead of a person, and they eventually feel like they are. A friend was sharing a meal with a 70 year old homeless man, who was telling him why he was homeless. His social security wasn't enough for an apartment, and he had been looking for a job to supplement it, but no one wants to hire a 70 year old. While they were sitting there, someone driving by in a car threw a soda at them and laughed. He said the old man started crying, and said that happens a lot.

Some people are cruel to animals as well as humans. Poor man.

 

[KLS52]

This is probably going to sound weird, but I feel funny buying food because I don’t want to give them something that they might not like. I don’t feel that just because they are homeless that they should be grateful for whatever they get. That feels wrong/sad to me. So I’d rather give the money. But obviously, everyone has to do what feels right for them if they are going to give anything at all.

 

[Dedalus]

In NYC I knew all the homeless guys in my neighborhood by name (well - nicknames anyway). They often helped me in lots of ways. One used to give me novels - mostly westerns - because he knew I liked to read. One day I was supposed to meet someone and we were on opposite sides of the street - this homeless man that I knew started shouting out my name - he'd located the person I was looking for. I took breaks out on the sidewalk and spoke with lots of them - a guy named Kenny was my favorite - he told great stories and knew a few magic coin tricks. The story of why he was homeless was heartbreaking - and you could see that it could happen to anyone under certain circumstances. The homeless were like sentries if you were walking home late at night. I never felt the slightest bit afraid because I knew they'd all have my back in a spot. A guy stole me a Christmas tree once. (I told him to take it back.) My girlfriend made cookies one night and I took an old coat I had, put warm cookies in the pockets and delivered it to a guy standing in the cold looking for spare change and/or handouts. I gave them money sometimes and sometimes not - they never harrassed me. I see them around here (in the Midwest) holding up signs 'will work for food' etc. I sometimes give them a dollar, but those opportunities are rare because you have to hit the light or be in the right spot in traffic.

 

[Spang]

In Utah, they're giving homeless people homes, because through cost-benefit analysis, they've discovered that it's cheaper than the status-quo.

How did Utah accomplish this? Simple. Utah solved homelessness by giving people homes. In 2005, Utah figured out that the annual cost of E.R. visits and jail stays for homeless people was about $16,670 per person, compared to $11,000 to provide each homeless person with an apartment and a social worker. So, the state began giving away apartments, with no strings attached. Each participant in Utah’s Housing First program also gets a caseworker to help them become self-sufficient, but they keep the apartment even if they fail. The program has been so successful that other states are hoping to achieve similar results with programs modeled on Utah’s.

 

[Spang]

Also, I don't help the homeless with coins or dollar bills, because I rarely have either.