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I don't give money to the homeless because there is plenty of help for them out there, and yes they do spend it on booze and drugs, and I don't want to contribute to the drug trade and crime element in my community. And by doling out change to the homeless,, you are just contributing to their begging which only encourages them to be an ever-increasing nuisance in your town. If you lived in a place where you were surrounded by homeless pestering everyone constantly (as I have), you would see what I mean and you would eventually feel the same way. Believe me, you're only enabling them.. and it might give you a sense of temporary satisfaction, but it's not the answer to the problem.
If I have cash on me I will ALWAYS give it to a homeless person if they ask. It's not my job to find out what they do with it, it's their money now.
I did see a rather old homeless lady digging thru the trash one time eating food out of it and I tried to give her $10. She wouldn't take it, then looked embarrassed and walked away. I felt awful.
I went to high school in NYC and there were a few homeless guys, practically "regulars" at the corner. We all new them by name. They always had a brown bag of liquor available, so we learned very quickly that any money we gave them went for another bottle or another bad habit.
It's not our job to reform them or dictate what they do, but it was an unspoken rule that if we wanted to help, money was not the way. They weren't exactly saving for rent.
Instead, we would regularly give them or buy them a soda or water or a hot dog from the vendor cart.
I have given money to homeless people when I was in other countries, but I figure in the states it is a different proposition since the US is a wealthier country and a higher proportion of people on the streets here have addiction problems. I volunteer in a kitchen and would give people asking for money here food, but I figure if I gave a person here $2 it would probably be going towards a 40 and I certainly do not want to be an enabler.
I have given money to homeless people when I was in other countries, but I figure in the states it is a different situation since the US is a wealthier country and a higher proportion of people on the streets here have addiction problems. I volunteer in a kitchen and would give people asking for money here food, but I figure if I gave a person here $2 it would probably be going towards a 40.
The most heartbreaking and guilt-ridden encounters I ever had with homeless people were in Europe. On a trip to Turkey, little children ran around with scales so you can weigh yourself in exchange for money and in Paris I saw many women in the tunnels of the Metro, sitting alongside children who appeared to be severely handicapped or disabled.
You don't know if you are helping or harming these children by giving them money.
The most heartbreaking and guilt-ridden encounters I ever had with homeless people were in Europe. On a trip to Turkey, little children ran around with scales so you can weigh yourself in exchange for money and in Paris I saw many women in the tunnels of the Metro, sitting alongside children who appeared to be severely handicapped or disabled.
You don't know if you are helping or harming these children by giving them money.
That is always the risk, though in places I have visited in Latin America and Southeast Asia, I figure people who are begging probably have much fewer options then people in the US. There it is quite likely that just being born poor and without access to employment and education is more likely to be the cause of their problems rather then substance abuse. The last thing I want to do in giving is enable a drug habit, that seems counter productive to me.
Nice try but you're still responsible for any actions you have control over instead of blaming on genes or any external factors. There are some people with alcoholic parents who don't become drunkards and vice-versa too (parents who never drank but their kids did anyways).
If you're drinking then it's because you chose to. No one put a gun on your head and told you ''Go buy alcohol from the liquor store and drink like crazy''.........
You're right, one makes the conscious decision to start drinking. They aren't an alcoholic until after they continue to drink. HOWEVER...
Quote:
Originally Posted by AllAboutEve
...Being told you have alcoholism is on par with being told you have cancer. It is a serious disease... .
Alcoholism in itself is not the disease. Those who are genetically inclined have the propensity to become alcoholics. Not all do.
There are also many who are NOT genetically inclined who become alcoholics. The alcoholism in itself is an addiction. The predisposition of the genes is the disease.
Wtf? You pick up people off the streets? You better quit while you're ahead.
You won't be of use to anyone if you're dead. I know you really intelligent people tend to lose your common sense along the way so I'm going to hand it back to you on this one.
It's different when you've been there yourself. There are a lot of people in this world one paycheck away from being homeless. Or things happen, and they have nothing to fall back on or no one to turn to.
Yesterday I drove by this blond cleanly dressed woman with a small sign "need rent money" standing by a freeway exit. I opened the window and gave her a bit of money which she grabbed so fast and blessed me as they always do. She looked just like every rural middle aged mom, I would say. More and more people are in need today.
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