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Give $10 away and $30 will come back to you. We're not talking monetarily, but coming back to you in other forms. In some cases, it just might be monetary.
So does it really matter then how they spend the money? You're still the beneficiary.
And there's the emotional high one can get just from the act of giving. The feeling of being needed, isn't that what helps keep us all around on this planet?
I was on vacation in Hawaii once and this mid-20s guy came over and he starts telling me his story how he has no place to go and is saving up to go to a hostel for a few days and he needs $25 dollars. He said thank for actually listening to him unlike others. I figured what the hell and gave him $25, I'm not rich or anything but damn it would suck not to have a roof over your head. He looked like he was having a rough time, then he did this rap he made right in the mall we were talking in and it took like 3 minutes, me standing there bop'in to his rap as he stood a few feet in front of me. It was different, at the end he asked if I wanted to hear another but said I needed to go.
I also once gave a guy a whopper in burger king. He asked for money for food so instead I just bought him one. He saved it for later tho :\ ew
We had a guy in my town that would stand at one intersection day after day with a sign saying he was homeless. People would give him cash. A police officer friend of mine once followed this guy when he walked away from the intersection. The guy walked into a mall parking lot and got into a car. The guy then drove about 2 miles away and parked and went into a house. Did he live there? Don't know but considering he had a car then he probably lived in the home. You never know.
I work 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.
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.
I work 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.
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.
You said it, great post!
Until people stop giving to the guy on the street things like this will keep happening. People THINK they are being compassionate and doing the right thing BUT, they need to think this thing thru a bit better to realize their money would be much better spent going to the organizations set up to REALLY help the homeless.
Until people stop giving to the guy on the street things like this will keep happening. People THINK they are being compassionate and doing the right thing BUT, they need to think this thing thru a bit better to realize their money would be much better spent going to the organizations set up to REALLY help the homeless.
Oh, yeah... I have a whole lot of more faith in where the money goes once it lands in the hands of some greedy "organization"! Plenty of stories of this nature, too, even though they're usually about the "crying hearts" on TV trying to get you to "help" children abroad.
didn't matter to me, if they bought food with it or not, what I care about, is not passing them by, without giving something to them...I wouldn't feel right. Every homeless story is different, and some of those homeless people were left go when cut backs started closing down mental institutions, therefore, they can't take care of themselves.
Last edited by cremebrulee; 07-27-2009 at 08:33 AM..
I sometimes give money to homeless people in St. Louis. I know that alot of these people can't fend for themselves for whatever reason and I also know that I have been very very lucky in life and am obligated morally to at least give something back to the less fortunate.
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BUT, they need to think this thing thru a bit better to realize their money would be much better spent going to the organizations set up to REALLY help the homeless.
Plenty of stories of this nature, too, even though they're usually about the "crying hearts" on TV trying to get you to "help" children abroad.
