Opening your Heart..and Home...

[Karla with a K]

jgussler

your dad is a gem, you are blessed

[LoveBoating]

Originally Posted by christina0001

My home: absolutely not. There are plenty of services out there to help someone who needs a place to stay, and I would be happy to assist someone with finding such a service. But I would never put myself and my family in jeopardy and invite a stranger into my home. If I made a friend online and we wanted to meet, I would arrange for us to meet in a public place.
My wallet: again, absolutely not. I love to give - to charities (large and small) both financially and with my time. But there is no way to verify that someone asking for help via the internet, truly needs help. Take a peek at craigslist.com to see how many people continually plead for money, cars, expensive electronics, etc., because they clain to be in desperate need. Unfortunately there is no way to determine who truly needs help, and who is running a scam.
My heart: sure! I have made good friends online. After enough time passed (I'm talking years), eventually we started talking on the phone, and I have even visited a few people. But it took a very long time to build to that level of friendship.

My wife and I totally agree with this reply. We just don't think that we live in that type of "day and age" anymore to totally "open up" to just anyone....
NO WAY, NO HOW

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by christina0001

My home: absolutely not. There are plenty of services out there to help someone who needs a place to stay, and I would be happy to assist someone with finding such a service. But I would never put myself and my family in jeopardy and invite a stranger into my home. If I made a friend online and we wanted to meet, I would arrange for us to meet in a public place.
My wallet: again, absolutely not. I love to give - to charities (large and small) both financially and with my time. But there is no way to verify that someone asking for help via the internet, truly needs help. Take a peek at craigslist.com to see how many people continually plead for money, cars, expensive electronics, etc., because they clain to be in desperate need. Unfortunately there is no way to determine who truly needs help, and who is running a scam.
My heart: sure! I have made good friends online. After enough time passed (I'm talking years), eventually we started talking on the phone, and I have even visited a few people. But it took a very long time to build to that level of friendship.

Ditto to all of the above. I would absolutely help someone I cared about, even if that person was from the internet... though I wouldn't put myself in danger, or in a position for them to take advantage of me. Being generous and caring are important qualities to have, but you still need to look out for #1 (yourself)! I've seen WAY too many people - myself included a few times - being used or scammed, and that's just not cool. As for opening my heart, I'd do that for anyone who truly needed it... and would certainly do my best to assist in finding financial help/shelter.