street begging

[Fino]

If it keeps them in bondage, you have only prolonged their suffering.

Charity includes accountability.

Do you mean that you believe charity should include accountability, or is there a definition which includes "accountability" as part of it?

 

[Crossbreed]

Do you mean that you believe charity should include accountability, or is there a definition which includes "accountability" as part of it?

Typical charities require proof of need; that one isn't pretending or obviously misspending their resources.

Some have drug & alcohol tests, income tests, etc. as a requirement to receive benefits. And it isn't that addicts don't need support. In those cases, a soup kitchen might be a more appropriate venue.

My ASD2 son knows how to sell food that he bought with his EBT card in order to get more money for gambling (and it is always at a loss). With a mental age of 6-10yo, he is easily taken advantage of.

 

[Crossbreed]

I was even almost kidnapped twice.

That sounds scary. Can you tell more?

 

[All-Rounder]

Two of mine are churches that I know and associate with. Their books are available to their congregations. The third has helped us in the past and has a very visible presence in our community.

If your on-line banking works like ours does, you can punch in the physical address to your favorite charity* as a payee and your bank will mail them a physical check whenever you tell them to. (That is free for us and it is great for record-keeping.)

*Call them first for details to make sure that you have their preferred address for donations.

I don't know anything about online banking because my family never used it and I think it's pretty risky especially since i dont check it or keep track of the charges, and going to the post office has been a terrible experience before, had to go daily for a month until they gave me a phone number to call and told me where my money were. The state funds were supposed to go in the bank but they just ignored my hard work to get an account excerpt and hand it in to them in time. I hate bureaucracy.

Idon't think all that is worth when i just want to give a few coins. if banks had an online giving thing, itd be cool but I still wouldn't use it since I don't keep my money in the bank.

I recently bought a wooden spoon sold by a gypsy elderly woman. I don't know if panhandlers would go through all the sculpting process to get some money. If i had more money I may have asked her how many grandsons she had and given some fixed amount for each, but they tend to have a multitude of them.

 

[Crossbreed]

Fair enough. I seldom use cash. (My wife prefers cash, though.)

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

I'm not intending to imply you don't. I'm just genuinely curious. I certainly wouldn't be judging anyone. But do all of you who are talking about donating to charities actually donate regularly or is your argument more for the idea? And just to be clear, I'm not advocating for giving to the homeless in the place of giving to charities.

Yep I give 20% of my income to charity, automatic direct debit every month and I reassess which charities to donate to and how much each year.

 

[onlything]

Here's where I disagree. I'll give 99 scammers my money if the 100th person is helped.

It's a beautiful attitude to have if slightly idealistic and naive one. The world needs more good people like you out there, maybe then it would be a little bit easier to get through.

Possibly my experiences made me cynical in this area but the truth is, the more money you give out, the more scammers make sure they get it. By trying to help those that need it and try to get it through begging, you may in fact fuel the business of people threatening, kidnapping and using those that already fell the most, just to gain even more bucks in easy ways. Is it worth it to be used by 99 people when there are alternatives that could ensure a higher percentage of the money/effort went to those in need?

I prefer voluntary work myself, although I would think about charity if I earned enough. Volunteered before in an animal shelter, soup kitchen and residential homes. Sad and poor places those were, with good animals/people that most often didn't deserve the treatment, lone and abandoned. There are few instances where you feel like you truly make a difference and seeing that small smile and wet eyes they have when I speak with them or serve them hot food is one of them.

 

[Fino]

It's a beautiful attitude to have if slightly idealistic and naive one. The world needs more good people like you out there, maybe then it would be a little bit easier to get through.

Possibly my experiences made me cynical in this area but the truth is, the more money you give out, the more scammers make sure they get it. By trying to help those that need it and try to get it through begging, you may in fact fuel the business of people threatening, kidnapping and using those that already fell the most, just to gain even more bucks in easy ways. Is it worth it to be used by 99 people when there are alternatives that could ensure a higher percentage of the money/effort went to those in need?

I prefer voluntary work myself, although I would think about charity if I earned enough. Volunteered before in an animal shelter, soup kitchen and residential homes. Sad and poor places those were, with good animals/people that most often didn't deserve the treatment, lone and abandoned. There are few instances where you feel like you truly make a difference and seeing that small smile and wet eyes they have when I speak with them or serve them hot food is one of them.

It's not about the alternatives. I volunteer weekly and give to two charities monthly. But when a person in need approaches me, my concern isn't with ensuring a higher percentage of my money/effort goes to those in need; my concern is with the person in front of me.

 

[Crossbreed]

...my concern is with the person in front of me.

At least, for one aspect of the person in front of you...

 

[Fino]

At least, for one aspect of the person in front of you...

Of course I'm not in a position--nor am I qualified or capable--to care for the person holistically. If the issue has now gone from one aspect not being enough then we've changed the subject quite a bit.

 

[Crossbreed]

If the issue has now gone from one aspect not being enough then we've changed the subject quite a bit.

Not compared to the image in the OP.

 

[Fino]

Not compared to the image in the OP.

I disagree with the sentiment of that poster. It shift the responsibility from the addict to everyone else. I understand addiction is a treacherous disease but blaming others for "fueling" your addiction doesn't make sense whether you're homeless or not. Every time an addict chooses to spend their money on drugs, they've made another mistake and that's nobody's fault but their own. For us to then never give any homeless people money because we need to keep the addict safe from themselves is a cruel and silly result.

 

[Crossbreed]

For us to then never give any homeless people money because we need to keep the addict safe from themselves is a cruel and silly result.

Giving selectively helps all three types [addicts, lazy, truly needy], because of its accountability factor. That is, it has minimum expectations of the recipient.

Let's agree to disagree.

 

[VictorR]

I save my change for those who make an honest effort to make a living - be it busking, or selling newspapers / magazines.

I've had some bad experiences with direct giving - one being a time when I tossed some small coins in the hat (lying on the ground) of what appeared to be a older gentleman in a wheelchair who appeared to have had amputated legs - he prompted got out (revealing that he was actually kneeling in his chair), stood up, picked up the coins and threw them back, saying he wants dollars and not cents. Another example being a time when I saw someone purchase a Subway combo for someone, who took some sips of the drink then tossed out the sandwich after the Samaritan had walked away.

Where I am, we have ample food available - in addition to the food bank, two faith based charities operate daily soup kitchens, and there are about a dozen other organizations that also distribute food on less regular schedules (once or twice a week). Many of those who are panhandling are usually seeking money for drugs, and many are addicts with mental health difficulties. As a social worker, it pains me that we have lots of resources available, but there are some who choose not to access them. For some, this is the result of learned helplessness.

I have monthly automated donations to charity and when asked in an appeal may make an additional contribution. When I'm asked for money in my hometown, I will offer to provide a sheet with the days/hours/locations where meals and/or hampers are given out. Unfortunately I've yet to have anyone actually accept it.

 

[Transgressivecharm]

It's late but I've had a decade+ long romance with street culture. I'll have to share when I have time. *retroactively adds this topic to his blog pending approval* Meh, I'll just file under stream of consciousness because my homeless/bum stories still don't make any sense. Also, I've got some books about this to suggest, and they're real nuggets. (Lol @ how nuggets could be a euphamism for turds. *slowly meta-walks away* -- I can do that right?) G'night.

 

[Rectify]

I realise this thread has been revived but in regard to the original, and some earlier, posts I think I view things differently.
It's sad to see someone with an addiction, but I don't see them as being criminal or taking your $2 coin from other reasonable, law-abiding people. Addiction isn't just some nasty, criminal act that some people decide to enact on society...
And when you give (to someone in the street - not talking about registered charities) you can never be sure how they will use the money or what their deal is. But you know, when you give maybe it should come from the heart without so much freaking judgement. you might as well wish them the best, whatever situation they've found themselves in.

 

[Aspychata]

l offered a bar to a homeless person and they said "no". They wanted hard cash. Another lady- l offered a carrot loaf from Traders Joe, and her face totally lit up, she was hungry. Another lady looked like she was going to pass out from heat, so l gave her cold water. She looked relieved. She was using her shopping cart to hold herself up, she was a younger person. l am not a food bank but l try to help wherever l live including when we lived on the Navajo res.

 

[Aspychata]

I realise this thread has been revived but in regard to the original, and some earlier, posts I think I view things differently.
It's sad to see someone with an addiction, but I don't see them as being criminal or taking your $2 coin from other reasonable, law-abiding people. Addiction isn't just some nasty, criminal act that some people decide to enact on society...
And when you give (to someone in the street - not talking about registered charities) you can never be sure how they will use the money or what their deal is. But you know, when you give maybe it should come from the heart without so much freaking judgement. you might as well wish them the best, whatever situation they've found themselves in.

Until you have walked in their shoes, l agree. Let's not be judgemental. Let's help with decency. Some of these haven fallen and there are no services to help them. A shower, a toothbrush, a warm bed, safe place to sleep at nite. The homeless used my gym in LA. l was thankful they could use it for a shower,bathroom. Now we are really going to face homeless people. Please show compassion. Many of us are a paycheck away from being on the street. Through no fault of our own. Some have been abused. Some suffer from illness, some suffer from nobody hiring them, or they can't hold jobs. So maybe they do fall into addiction. Let's not judge. Who are we to judge, especially when many of us here have faced years of being judged.☹

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

Just saw a holiday Inn express closed, boarded-up, and a homeless person sitting on the same street. I thought the Scottish Government/Councils were supposed to allow homeless folks to stay in hotel rooms