Do you give to homeless people when they ask you for money???

Question

i want to help and I give to shelters and stuff but I don't think it is safe to give to panhandlers and such. I work in an area that has a lot of homeless people and I have heard and seen the about the unstableness of the homeless. Not saying they don't have a reason for that but you go to give them food and I know of one friend of a friend that got punched because she offered food instead of money. Thoughts

Answer 1

sometimes

Answer 2

no.... because unfortunately..... i have seen them accept money walk a few blocks and get into their "nice" vehicle.... which makes it hard for those that really are homeless...

the ones that hold signs for food, i have asked them if they would like some food... if they say yes.... i'll go and buy some food and give that to them.......

Answer 3

Don't do it. 99.9% of the time they want it for drugs and beer. I read it somewhere before. I never give homeless people money. They wouldn't have been homeless if they didn't get into drugs to begin with.

Don't get me wrong, I mean I feel (kinda) bad for them, but they caused there own problems.

Answer 4

Usually I do, you should give them bread or other foods, but don't give them money because they'll probably spend it on drugs or booze. If they punch you for giving them food, punch them back.

Answer 5

I've always given food to them, I can say I gave this man 50 dollars once....but that was because he had a small child with him.

You wanna know something really sad.....

74% of American homeless people are Schizophrenics that don't take their medication......

Answer 6

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. The reason is if I see someone really looking like they are down on their luck and want to eat , I will give them money. Other times if I know I am in an area where drinking and drugs run rampant I will not give them money. I have given money to people and watched them go almost immediately to get something to drink. Once in a while I will get a drink and a sandwich and chips to the same type of person and they will curse me out.

Answer 7

I totally support charities, dropping my clothes and other items I am finished with at the Salvation Army.  Also Mennonite Central Committee and the Hospital Thrift store.  My group donates to the food bank and we make up hampers for another community organization.  Our next project is "Christmas in July."  There is so much help out there that I am convinced that anyone asking for money just needs it for the drugs and they are not ready at that point in time to get off the drugs.  Shelters have strict "No Drugs" policies and for that reason I feel no one should give any money to any panhandler ever.

Answer 8

I just completely ignore them, if everyone did then they would use the resources that are around them such as shelters, soup kitchens etc.

I give to kitchens and food banks and shelters, I don't even offer the beggers food because of the fact of what happened to your friend. I had a friend who got the c**p beat out of her by this crazy lady because she offered her the donut she had just bought at a coffee shop instead of giving her the change she just got from buying it.

They are not safe and some have issues. and if you make it a habbit of giving them money all the time they will come to expect it.

Homeless people should have a lot of ways to better them selves, if you live in an area where there are not many resources these people just may not go away. Try finding a different route to take to work and write a letter to some government offices that handle these kind of things to see if they can create some resources for them. That would help them in more ways and giving just a bit of pocket change ever could.

Answer 9

I only usually give it to a guy i know downtown, he doesn't ask he has a sign that says "will work for food" and sometimes he gets food for doing an honest job, but I give him food and money so that he can maybe get a hamburger at the local fast-food place, and catch a bus back to the shelter. I give him money because I know he has parkinsons and thats the reason he lost his job in the first place, yeah there a few bad ones but there are alot of them who are down on luck and are victims of circumstances, some are from out of town because the person they were with broke it off and they don't know anyone else so they have to live on the street.

Answer 10

Elmer Fudd Poster >>They need some cash because they are miserably sick, and without it they will be thrown into withdrawal>>

Yep, and I am not sympathetic.

For some of you other folks, it is true that many of the homeless are schizophrenic and suffer from other mental problems. These are not the folks who are usually panhandling because they receive Social Security checks.  Most, if not all, of the panhandlers are just plain ol' junkies and winos.

And, in answer to the original poster, I don't give to panhandlers.  There are no laws against begging and it is up to others to decide what they want to do, but some panhandlers have upgraded their tactics to 'weak-armed' robbery.  Good reason not to give to any of them.

Answer 11

I was in the Army in El Paso, and sitting at a light, I saw a bum fold up his sign, walk over to a car parked nearby, and drive away. It wasn't a total POS car, either; I think it was a Chrysler LeBaron. It's not a Cadillac, but it could have been worse. Anyway, I realized there's nothing wrong with this guy, he's just too lazy to work. And I have heard the stories that all they want is drugs and booze. I never give bums money now. Sometimes I'll pack an extra sandwich and give them that, but nothing else.

Answer 12

People are living on the street for a reason. It is a great gesture to give charities money/donations. Most street beggars are just in it for money, almost like a job. You work for money, you can buy food or what you want with it. Giving them money will just make them want to beg more. Best way is to just steer away from them, try as best as possible to avoid them, they can be dangerous.

Answer 13

well lots of homeless people want money for beer and other stuff these guys are called bums

Answer 14

No, I don't give them money because I would rather donate to a charity where I know it is going towards a good cause. I've heard of regular people who are not homeless sitting in wheelchairs with dogs making people feel sorry for them and the animal, making over 50k a year panhandling. Can you believe that?!

Answer 15

Sometimes.

Answer 16

A lot of them are drug addicts, who refuse to go to the shelters because they can't take their drugs. So it's smarter to buy them food instead.

Answer 17

sad about your friend but yes I give to homeless people when I

think it is appropriate

Answer 18

ignore them. most of them need money for drugs & alcohol. if they really wanted help, they could find it at shelters in their area.

Answer 19

no because all they do with it is either buy booze or drugs and they CAN get a job if they wanted one

Answer 20

Drug addiction is a disease.

They have the shelter to sleep at.

They have the food pantries, and free lunches to eat.

They dont need your food.

OR your imagined up "reasons" for condemnation.

They need some cash because they are miserably sick, and without it they will be thrown into withdrawal.

-a condition so horrible that, ya know what ? -->some of these answers here are so mean and ignorant, I wish YOU all had to go through it and live in your own pee.

Your ignorance and self-righteous condemnation,

doled out in uitter stupidity  

AND MEANNESS disgusts me.

YOU deserve to become homeless.

Answer 21

No, I don't give them money, but, I have dropped off McDonald's cheeseburger and fries before. I knew where one slept and he wasn't there, so, I left the food on his blanket behind a bush.

Answer 22

even if they spend your money on drink it was put to good use... bums only drink and doo drugs  to lessen the chilling pain of sleeping outside.... no matter how much clothes you have on you you it will still be cold...so i always give a bum some money except for those Romanians who ask for change and rob from the palm of yrou hand!!

Answer 23

I just keep on giving to the shelters and keep on driving. These people who are begging need to go to those places to get help if they really need it. Our mayor announced on television that after an investigation by the Houston P.D. it was found out nearly everyone of the men was a sexual predator and want the money for cigarettes, beer, and drugs.

Answer 24

i downtown cleveland they do not support it, so i never give the homeless money. their reasoning is "dont give money where it cant help", meaning the money that they get from passerbys is only keeping them homeless.

Answer 25

Wow, that's disgusting that someone hit her.  No respect from that person.  If you don't feel comfortable giving money out to people just donate to shelters.  I donate to shelters and will sometimes give some change to people, but it always gets me when the people are so persistent and ask for more.  I don't owe them anything, I don't like it when people are too aggressive about it.  I was getting gas once and some guy came up to me to panhandle, I told him no.

Answer 26

honestly i do give to some but not to the ones that ask i really don't like those. i grew up in a neighborhood were lots of supposedly homeless people live and they are con artist out their think about it a homeless stays in a corner asking for money every 2 or 3 minutes makes about 3 dollars do the math he shouldn't be homeless. apart from that some don't like to work at all and never will it shouldn't be up to you or anyone else to care for them if they won't help themselves. if i ever give money away i make sure it goes to a group of some sort that helps them out.

Answer 27

No, I do not give money to panhandlers. I have cleaned and bandaged a cut on a person's hand. I have called for and paid for a taxi to drive someone to our local healthcenter for the homeless. I've arranged for transportation to a shelter or a place to get a meal. I often do not carry cash with me; but even when I do I don't give cash to panhandlers.