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Old 09-15-2018, 07:55 PM
 
Location: Lakewood OH
21,695 posts, read 28,379,702 times
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I used to live in one of the homeless meccas of the US. The answer is a resounding no as any social worker, cop or psychologist will advise.

What I would give was food if they were really hungry or vouchers for food when they were offered. Never money.

There's too great a chance the person will use the money for drugs. Then there's the scammers who go home at the end of the day having made more money in a day than I made in a week.
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Old 09-15-2018, 08:14 PM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,298 posts, read 84,311,090 times
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Here's a story from the old World Trade Center. There was this huge bank of long escalators going down from the Concourse (where all the retail was in the center of the complex) to the train level. At rush hour, I'd see this young guy wearing a collar like you get for whiplash and standing on crutches and holding out a cup. It was amusing, because it was pretty obvious that it was fake.

One day at 2:30 in the afternoon I went down to the train level to play the lottery at the newsstand down there. The guy with the crutches was screwing them together to get ready for the evening rush, and another woman with a cup was arguing with him over which escalators were hers and which were his. I heard her say "OK, but if I see any of my people coming down on your side, I'm walkin' over."
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Old 09-15-2018, 09:56 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
7,181 posts, read 4,747,145 times
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There is a difference between a homeless person and and a drug addict who’s homeless because of his substance abuse.

I do not give money or enable drug addicts.

For years now, I’ve been consistently donating money/household goods to a shelter for battered women and their children.

A lot of times these women have to leave their homes in a hurry with just the clothes they’re wearing and they have to start from scratch.

That shelter has bona fide cases of people who need help.
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Old 09-16-2018, 01:07 AM
 
Location: Tucson/Nogales
23,145 posts, read 28,915,048 times
Reputation: 32494
Quote:
Originally Posted by buildings_and_bridges View Post
9 times out of 10, I don't, for two reasons. I usually don't have money on me. I also don't trust that the money is actually going to food.

The times that I offered to buy the person food, the individual made it clear that they wanted only money and not food.

This isn't to say that some aren't honestly begging for food. But many times, I think they just have an addiction.
And what's so wrong about them spending it on drugs or alcohol? As down in the gutter they are, they're not entitled to some pleasure?
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Old 09-16-2018, 01:16 AM
 
Location: Tucson/Nogales
23,145 posts, read 28,915,048 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post

I wish there was a mechanism for helping people that need help without helping those too lazy to work.
Most homeless people are far from lazy, think of the energy needed just to be homeless in the first place!

The problem: too many obstacles placed in their way to become employed!

I was briefly homeless in Denver in 1972 and back then it was a piece of cake to go from homelessness to employment. I picked done of the lowest paying jobs on the totem pole, working as a Nursing Assistant in the nursing home. Back then, unlike today, I didn't even need CNA schooling, a CNA license, a CPR card, a TB test, a Background check or drug test, which is all necessary today for a similar job. And even if a homeless person gets thru the CNA schooling, many facilities today won't hire you unless you have one year's experience.

Homeless are lazy? Not! Let's see how long a lazy, non-homeless person would last on the streets today!
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Old 09-16-2018, 06:50 AM
 
Location: Full time in the RV
3,417 posts, read 7,770,626 times
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No! No! No!

Don't give money or anything else to the homeless. This only enables their lifestyle.

When you work directly with the homeless (like I did) you will have a different perspective.

I worked (retired now) as a paramedic. I acknowledge that some homeless are truly down on their luck and need help. The rest are the chronic homeless.

Ever been to a homeless camp? I have....quite a few times. A mountain of empty beer cans and liquor bottles. Everyone sitting around drinking...at 7AM. No money for food but money for beer, crack, and cigarettes.

Here is how the food scam works. Around here they panhandle at the exits off the interstate. Conveniently, there is a homeless camp right there. They hold a "will work for food" sign up. Most people don't carry food in their car, nor are they in a position to offer employment. So if you want to help, what do you do? You give money, of course! This pays well, which is why it is so prevalent. I had a homeless guy who works this tell me he makes $100 an hour. I absolutely believe him.

The media has done stories. They set up a hidden camera and watched as the homeless take shifts panhandling. It is very organized. These folks also know what areas have the most services for them, so they gravitate there.

We travel in an RV and were staying at a Walmart one night, parked in the corner of the lot at a busy intersection. There was an organized team of homeless panhandling. They worked shifts, rotating every few hours. One would leave only to return a few hours later. My wife asked one if he had any luck. He said no one had given to him. This was a lie as I witnessed him getting money just a few minutes earlier.

A colleague of mine once chatted with a homeless guy. He told him he was tired of the corporate world, dropped out and became homeless voluntarily. He showed his ID card from his former employer-a pilot for one of the major airlines.
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Old 09-16-2018, 06:57 AM
 
4,717 posts, read 3,252,640 times
Reputation: 12122
Quote:
Originally Posted by EDnurse View Post
For years now, I’ve been consistently donating money/household goods to a shelter for battered women and their children.

A lot of times these women have to leave their homes in a hurry with just the clothes they’re wearing and they have to start from scratch.

That shelter has bona fide cases of people who need help.
The local domestic violence shelter is on of my major charity recipients. At their last luncheon, one of the speakers was a man they'd helped build a new life after fleeing his abusive wife. They do some pretty amazing work.
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Old 09-16-2018, 07:26 AM
 
Location: North West Arkansas (zone 6b)
2,776 posts, read 3,232,118 times
Reputation: 3912
i never give. my wife will give 9 times out of 10 because she says we could be in their place someday.

I just traveled to Downtown Denver where virtually every business with a storefront had a help wanted sign and every other business had a homeless person begging for money out front.

There's a disconnect, but I don't understand how or why it's there.
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Old 09-16-2018, 09:29 AM
 
Location: Yakima yes, an apartment!
8,340 posts, read 6,755,778 times
Reputation: 15129
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natnasci View Post
Well this is a weird coincidence. I was just chatting to a friend on the phone about beggars, here in Vancouver, B.C.
I mentioned that years ago, there used to be a beggar, quite convincing in his look. I never gave anything to him, since, like you, I want to KNOW where my money is going.

Well, one day I see him, get up, walk to a car, his car. I didn't even have a car at the time. Made me so mad that some people are so morally bereft.
I was quite tempted to go cut his tires.....But I didn't....Still irritated me.
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Old 09-16-2018, 09:33 AM
 
Location: Yakima yes, an apartment!
8,340 posts, read 6,755,778 times
Reputation: 15129
Quote:
Originally Posted by tijlover View Post
And what's so wrong about them spending it on drugs or alcohol? As down in the gutter they are, they're not entitled to some pleasure?
I pay for my pleasure, not theirs....
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