do you give money to poor street people when they ask?? (drugs, regular)
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Sometimes I just tell them they can come to my house and work for me and I will pay them if they need money. They usually run away because they dont want to work.
Be Careful who you invite home!!! No telling what their mental state is.
I once gave money to some truthful "beggars" and followed them to see if they lied to me. It was on Bourbon Street in New Orleans and they told half truth. They said could I give some junkies money for beans. Surely they were junkies and college students as they said. However, in watching them we found that they did, as we suspected, look up a pusher and buy some illegal substances. Many students tell you some truth and if you are dumb enough to play with them they forget what they said they would use it for.
If you are going to give money, just do it under the assumption you are helping someone and think no more of it. If I see someone on the street at a corner, I will definitely give in the hopes they can somehow use the money to get a meal. If Im wrong, oh well, Im a sucker. I still have a pretty good life to go to. If Im helping them, then I did what I thought I was doing and Im glad to have helped someone out.
A better way to help the homeless when they're panhandling is to give them healthy food instead of money OR direct them (and even donate to) a local shelter or food pantry.
A better way to help the homeless when they're panhandling is to give them healthy food instead of money OR direct them (and even donate to) a local shelter or food pantry.
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when i go to dump our garbage i get hounded by like 5 or 6 street beggers it gets intimidating.. thats why i stoped giving them money.. once you give them money they will always keep begging you for money. i go to the garbage bins twice a week and they don't bother me anymore..it's one thing when one ask you for money but when 5 ask you for money at one time it gets stale....but accasionally i will give money to the ones that are realy down and out.
i'm just wondering i gave some guy at the wendys drive thru a dollar one day... and another night i was at the same wendys and the guy came up behind me and slaped me on my shoulder and said whats up buddy!! and i almost went thru the roof of my truck.. it scarred the crap outa me it was so unexpected...and now every time the guy sees me he bugs me for money..i do not give them money anymore.
I live in NYC and we get many people that perform for "donations" in many places. I sometimes give money to "performers" on the subway.
Yes, but only sometimes. Living in Philly, I see the homeless almost everyday not matter the time or the place.
I once worked far from my apt in retail and would get home close to 12 am on the Septa. I stopped to get something to eat on my way but I realized I had food in my fridge so I sat my meal next to a sleeping man in the subway station. I know he was quite surprised when he woke up! and it made me feel great!
I always give change if I have it and one time when I was younger, I used to cash my checks from my summer job at a liquor store. A man was outside begging so I gave him a whole $5! My mom cursed me out after that and I didn't realize I just gave this man money to buy alcohol! I felt soooo stupid...but oh well he got to enjoy what ever he bought with it! lol
And I don't know if this qualifies but we live down the street from the county jail in MD and my grandfather often gives rides to the men they let out at night. Our street is dark and in the country...most of these guys have no idea where they are and they are just wandering in the streets when they are let out of jail. On night a teenage boy came to our house crying becasue he couldn't find his way home so my grandmother cooked him a meal and my granddad took him home.
I always give pocket change or restaurant leftovers... unless they're picky. Then I'll save my leftovers for someone who really wants food. Period.
Frankly... whatever you give, pickiness or indifference is a good sign to grab your gun. They're hungry for somethin' besides food and lookin' to get it out of you, probably via a friend in the next few seconds. Begging is a very common method of distraction, especially when they've realized you're not keen to potential approachers.
To the OP, giving is noble and should not be discouraged by one weirdo, but there are enough creeps out there to make this a good lesson. You don't wanna be caught by surprise by the wrong person. You're lucky that guy was just a genuine beggar if he was able to startle you.
Homelessness wasn't much of an issue growing up in suburbia, but I learned my lesson after a couple of high school internships in Manhattan. I was generous at first (at least, as generous as a high-schooler can be), but I quickly realized that I was just a victim of their tactics. You give them money, they try to get more. I think this is a big reason that New Yorkers put on their "city-face" while walking to and from work; the better you are at avoiding eye contact with strangers, the less likely you are to be bugged by a homeless person.
Nowadays, I see it in Newark where I go to school. There are even a few who linger around the campus. When I hear three different sob stories at three different times from the same person, my empathy tends to fade away.
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