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It's not always that easy. I was approached by a meth addict at McDonald's one time. She had her two young children there and had fresh track marks, meth mouth, etc. She told me they were sleeping in their car because she lost their apartment. I try not to be judgmental toward others and help if I can and it was VERY hard not to invite them home for a home-cooked meal and good night's sleep.
Yes, I know I shouldn't invite strangers home. Yes, I know some people are scammers. Yes, I know some people use any help to continue neglecting their children to buy more drugs. Knowing all that doesn't mean one's heart doesn't want to help, though. The only reason I opted not to do that in that situation is because I also have young children and was more concerned about their safety than my own. I did take her email (she had a SmartPhone) and sent her information about resources in the area and even a connection for a job. My contact said she never contacted him about the job though.
I understand wanting to help. Who wouldn't want to help someone who is truly in need? You gave the drug addict resources and she chose not to use them. My husband gave that guy $20 dollars because he said he needed it for gas, yet the guy never got any gas with the money! That's why I no longer give these folks cash handouts. If you really want to help these folks then support local charities which will help them directly.
I understand wanting to help. Who wouldn't want to help someone who is truly in need? You gave the drug addict resources and she chose not to use them. My husband gave that guy $20 dollars because he said he needed it for gas, yet the guy never got any gas with the money! That's why I no longer give these folks cash handouts. If you really want to help these folks then support local charities which will help them directly.
I have contributed to charities, financially and by volunteering. In many cases, very, very little actually goes to the end receiver. A huge chunk of it is for administrative costs (ie. overhead). I will buy someone gas by paying for it, but not handing them cash. I will buy someone a meal or two, but not hand them cash. This one is a particularly difficult one because it's impossible to know when someone last ate. I witnessed a woman at a restaurant with outdoor seating admonish someone asking for her leftovers as she was getting up to leave. She not only refused to give the person the food, she proceeded to throw it away in a nearby trash can in such a way that it would be impossible to get it out to eat. I know she was under no obligation to give the homeless person the food, but her actions were heart-breaking especially since she clearly wasn't saving it for herself for later.
My contact said she never contacted him about the job though.
Of course not. They don't want to work. Why would they? It's so much easier to just beg and comes with the added bonus of naïve sympathy from the gullible.
I researched resources and called a contact about a job for her because of my concern for her children. No child deserves to be homeless because their parent(s) are addicts.
Most of these people are long-time professional panhandlers that have made an art out of trying to falsely invoke and prey upon human sympathy. They want you to believe they are victims of something, but they chose this career path because they can choose their own hours and be their own boss, and there's no drug testing or rules against drinking on the job.
If you give them anything you're supporting their profession and encouraging them to maintain status quo.
This post made me wonder if panhandling income is subject to state/federal income tax and not part of the exemption that people are allowed for gifts of up to a certain amount.
Considering the state's recent pressure on Amazon to add sales tax and the direction things seem to be heading with other issues, my guess is the answer is yes.
I researched resources and called a contact about a job for her because of my concern for her children. No child deserves to be homeless because their parent(s) are addicts.
Correct -- they deserve to taken away from said addicts and be placed in a safer, more appropriate home, not with parents that find ways to more comfortably fund their drug habit.
I know someone who just got robbed at their home by some less than honest people. One guy knocked on the front door, and asked questions about the property line. The elderly woman came out onto the porch and talked to him for a few minutes and seemed to answer his questions. When she went back inside, it became obvious that someone had come through the backdoor and stolen money and jewelry while she was distracted on the front porch. It's hard to trust anyone. I'm VERY leary of anyone who rings my doorbell and isnt wearing a UPS or FedEx uniform!
I realize it was a scam, if my car was running out of gas, I should try to find a nearest gas station and wait for help, not drive it around the university mall.
I'm like most people, when I see someone who is asking for food, money, or gas I feel terrible for them and would like to help, but you always have it in the back of your mind it is a scam. Too bad the scammers have ruined it for people who do need some help.
I have had people pull up to me at a gas station and ask for some gas to just get home, and one time I actually did pump some into a young girl's car because she looked sincere. Usually though, I tell them no.
One day I saw a guy with a sign saying he was hungry so I drove to Wendy's and bought him a meal and drink. When I drove back to where he was he looked at me like I was crazy and just laid the food on the ground.
There were some folks rather aggressively collecting money at Tryon and Walnut St today for 'Life Church' (walking from car to car, almost to the point of disrupting traffic) - I refused. Felt bad, but I found it interesting that I was so put off by the aggressiveness of it that it made it easier not to give. So I suppose it wasn't an individual asking for gas, but it reminded me of this thread..
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