Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Homeless and panhandlers?

I live in a city with many homeless people and panhandlers. I know for a fact that many of them are drug addicts and/or con artists.

How do you deal with panhandlers? Is it wrong for me to pass one by with change in my pocket? Many of them are clearly suffering immensely.

Comments

  • nakazcidnakazcid Somewhere in Dixie, y'all Veteran
    edited January 2015

    One person I know mentioned that his father took this approach. Rather than giving a homeless person a handout, he would take them to a local diner and buy lunch for them. This way he could rest assured that they weren't buying booze with the money. And he got to spend some time with them.

    In my city, I don't have to deal with them often. When I do run into the homeless, I usually give them a little something, even if it might be for something unskillful. Even addicts need to buy food.

    Tosh
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator

    And if you want to give but worry about how other people are going to use your generosity, you can always donate your time and money to homeless shelters, food banks, etc.

    EarthninjaRowan1980Tosh
  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    That is a good idea, to give when you feel moved to give - the thing is, if they catch you at a moment when you don't have anything much to give or you just in a mood that you don't feel like doing it, you have to have a pat response, and stick with it...when it's inconvenient, it's not a crime to say sorry, you don't have anything right now...

    there was a period of time a year or so ago when it seemed like everywhere I went, panhandlers etc., would walk up to my car and ask for change and I would invariably give what they asked for which usually wasn't much - I think they learn the skills of how much they can ask for where people won't be annoyed, and just hit people up for a small amount x _____.

    It's interesting how some will give a reason they need the money, like for the bus or one guy gave this long-winded explanation which I forget what, but he asked for a buck or two and I had a buck or two in change in my ash tray, so we chatted quite a while and I gave him what I could.

    BunksTosh
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    @zombiegirl‌ posted a video in the what-has-made-you-realise-there-is-more-than-one-view thread that touched on this exact thing @karasti.

    None of us can possibly know how the money is going to be used so best to hold judgement and just give with an open heart.

    lobsterkarasti
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran

    I finally settled in my mind that I have charities that I contribute to within my budget. Homeless panhandlers is not one. I prefer organized charities. Aside from contributions I send in, in most of major grocery stores here they have little slips you can pick up that they ring up and then donate the funds to the local food bank and soup kitchen; I do use that every once in a while.

    I do what I can, and I'm not going to let a panhandler make me feel guilty.

    ChazBunksmmo
  • Rowan1980Rowan1980 Keeper of the Zoo Asheville, NC Veteran
    I give them spare change in passing, and I also donate to my local food pantry when feasible. Poverty is incredibly complex, especially when it comes to mental health, drug and alcohol use, etc. I'd sooner err on the side of generosity if possible (I rarely carry cash, so I'm limited.)
    CinorjerTosh
  • SarahTSarahT Time ... space ... joy South Coast, UK Veteran

    A lovely girl has taken to sitting outside my local supermarket in the evenings. First time I saw her, I sat next to her to find out why she had a "homeless" sign by her as no-one in this country needs to be homeless. It is because she doesn't want to leave her dog. Dogs are difficult to home along with homeless people - perhaps absurd but it's the case. Very few landlords want pets in their rented premises and shelters don't offer space for dogs either.

    She is on benefits - same as me - but she tells me she gets less than me as she is not a British citizen. No idea whether there is any differentiation for other EU citizens. She has a truck she lives in, with a wood burner.

    As I am blessed enough to have a home of my own and have benefitted from a back-payment of my benefits, I have bought a few things for her - bananas, tinned sardines and some Christmassy things. But what she seems to value most is that we have a laugh together when I see her and we can talk about her boyfriend's battle with drug addiction and how her dog is (had been suffering from a bad leg).

    I have been so touched to see people passing and just giving her a packet of cigarettes as they have noticed she smokes or a hot drink to keep her warm on these cold winter nights. Every time I ask whether she has eaten, someone has popped into the fish and chip shop opposite to get something for her.

    I don't know whether she'd rather have money. I do know it should affect her benefits if she is given cash. But, where the language barrier is not too great, I will always choose to speak to people rather than just handing over my spare change (if any!).

    CinorjerkarastiToshmmo
  • I usually try to feed them. The Buddha was mendicant and supplied with food. Who knows if/when I may run into Maitreya :). We are all deserving of metta, charity, dana, whatever. If I'm too good to give and share, how dare I be grateful for what I have.

    Rowan1980BunksVastmind
  • My point of view, as someone who has been through a battle with drugs and alcohol, is that I am potentially harming them by enabling their drug habits. There is nothing harder than watching a beautiful being slowly deteriorate in the throes of addiction to meth and heroine, which are huge problems in Seattle right now. I've overheard people who have asked me for money for "something to eat" chatting with people later about their dealers and different ways to get high. It's not a judgement, in my mind, but an observation of sickness. A healer does not feed a sickness, he finds a way to treat it. So after some contemplation, when someone asks me for money for food I am going to offer to buy them food, as well as give them some information on the local social services available (Seattle is known for great social services; no one starves here). I just cannot in good conscience enable the awful disease of addiction. People OD in this city all the time, sometimes because they have no options, other times because they have no one to care.

    That said, there are many clean-cut, well kept panhandlers I have seen who will always refuse the offer of food and help. If this is the case, then I will assume they have no need of my generosity. I very seldom carry cash or even change, anyway, so it's not an abject refusal on my part when I say I have no cash.

    vinlynBunkssilver
  • I will buy them a meal as they are usually found outside of shops. I also carry extra water bottles with in the warmer weather to hand out.

    rohit
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    @Reborn said:
    I will buy them a meal as they are usually found outside of shops. I also carry extra water bottles with in the warmer weather to hand out.

    That's a great idea! I sometimes buy a couple of bottles of cold water and hand them out here too. It can get unbearably hot in summer!

    I was happy to see the local council here make a move to open cinemas and pools for free to the homeless over summer.

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/07/homeless-to-get-free-entry-to-movies-and-pools-to-escape-heat

    Rowan1980
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator

    wow, that's awesome that they'd do that, @Bunks. It's pretty much illegal to be homeless here, and they certainly won't let you into the pool!

  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    @karasti said:
    wow, that's awesome that they'd do that, Bunks. It's pretty much illegal to be homeless here, and they certainly won't let you into the pool!

    :\

  • Rowan1980Rowan1980 Keeper of the Zoo Asheville, NC Veteran
    Speaking for myself, I'm WAY more frustrated by the structural and economic roots of homelessness than whether the homeless are using spare change to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol. They may be self-medicating because of those issues or because the funding for robust, effective means of addressing mental health challenges or veterans' benefits is being whittled away in the States. I'd feel a tad paternalistic (maternalistic?) if I didn't give them spare change if I had it because of what I thought they may or may not do with it.

    Just my two cents.
    CinorjerJason
  • HamsakaHamsaka goosewhisperer Polishing the 'just so' Veteran

    Even drug addicts and con artists need a few bucks here and there. They actually DO eat. Sometimes. Give to give to the needy, cuz giving is the right thing to do :)

    CinorjerRowan1980
  • rohitrohit Maharrashtra Veteran
    edited January 2015

    I don't know how people become homeless in presence of proper warfare by govt.
    But it is very easy to be homeless now days due to recession....
    In poor and developing countires the situation is even much worst.

    But i enjoyed to read comments that showing kind and mercy in heart towards fellow unfortunate people and many of you are o:) really willing to help people.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @rohit said:
    I don't know how people become homeless in presence of proper warfare by govt.

    >

    If only it were 'proper welfare'.

    Let me give you an example.

    Couple one, apply for housing benefit.
    One person works, the other is on no benefits or jobseeker's allowance - because partner works (minimum hours, 16/week, minimum wage).

    • They have no children so do not claim family allowance or benefits.
    • Full health, so no disability benefits.
    • No tax credits, not other form watosever of an kind of allowance.

    So they do NOT qualify for housing benefit.

    Second couple apply for housing benefit.
    One person works, earns a reasonable salary, annual income 19,000.
    Second partner, stay-at-home parent.
    They have child benefit.
    They have tax credits.
    They have heating allowance.

    They therefore DO qualify for housing benefit.

    Because couple 'A' do not drain government resources, they do not qualify to have assistance.
    Because couple 'B' avail themselves of entitled Government resources - they DO qualify for assistance.

    This is no joke.

    But it is very easy to be homeless now days due to recession....

    Oh yes, even in First-world, so called wealthy and affluent countries, there are homeless people, who by rights shouldn't be homeless.

    (Well, nobody should be; but hopefully you'll understand what I mean....)

    In poor and developing countires the situation is even much worst.

    Actually, it's all relative.
    I cannot in all honesty agree with you, in a black and white way....

    rohitHamsaka
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Believe me, it will.

    Hamsaka
  • We have panhandlers everywhere in the city I live and honestly if I've got it to spare, I give it. They might be using it for drugs but they might not and if my one dollar will give them a meal then its worth the risk. I didn't need that dollar anyways. Sometimes there are panhandlers right next to each other but first come first serve sadly, wish I could do more but I can't.

    Bunks
  • That's a sad but too often told story @yagr‌

    yagr
  • In my opinion, there are three "classes" of people who deserve the most of our support; people born with a disability, seniors and veterans. Most of the people you see on the street fall into one of these categories. They need a lot more than your spare change. The best you can do is support an effective nonprofit or other agency that is effective at helping people with a disability. They are very few and far between.

    vinlynJeffreykarasti
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2015

    I understand that sentiment completely, @Tosh‌ , particularly as (and I attach no drama or request for kind or empathetic sentiment) it' still very much a possible reality scenario for my H and me....

    As the saying goes, "I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it left...." :D

    lobsterToshHamsaka
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator

    There are people who are homeless by choice. Not the majority, of course, but they are out there. Of course, there lives are different than the typical homeless person-often they usually have options: families, good friends, and so on. One of my sister's closest high school friends is homeless by choice. She lives in a box behind Sears in a suburb of LA. But she comes home to Minneapolis often to visit her parent, she has places to go in dangerous weather, and so on. I'm not sure what is behind her choice, but there is a whole community of them there. She quite likes her lifestyle.

    Hamsakarohit
  • HamsakaHamsaka goosewhisperer Polishing the 'just so' Veteran

    I don't know anyone personally who chooses this lifestyle but I've heard tell of them.

    As well, I've heard interesting social commentary (ahem) "If'n they wanna live like 'at they deserve it, ant no skin off me." (cue US back-country drawl)

    Hmmm. How we get from ______ to 'they deserve it' is one of life's most puzzling human false logics.

    Tosh
  • ToshTosh Veteran
    edited January 2015

    @Hamsaka said:
    I don't know anyone personally who chooses this lifestyle but I've heard tell of them.

    As well, I've heard interesting social commentary (ahem) "If'n they wanna live like 'at they deserve it, ant no skin off me." (cue US back-country drawl)

    Hmmm. How we get from ______ to 'they deserve it' is one of life's most puzzling human false logics.

    Russell Brand via Louis CK describes how the phenomena works beautifully:

    photo Tosh1_zps4b9d9317.jpg

    It's like we're trained - culturally - to view the homeless as deserving of their plight.

    Added: I found the Louis CK clip; it's very good (2.5 minutes long):

    Amthorn
  • ToshTosh Veteran
    edited February 2015

    Mrs Tosh and myself headed into our small town for breakfast this morning and on the way home we passed a bloke, in his mid-thirties, dirty, and bearded begging for money under some shelter (it was raining).

    I passed, then returned with the last five-pound note in my pocket and as I put it into his hat, he looked up and I checked his eyes. They looked surprisingly clear. I shook his hand, he thanked me, but I said nothing, and returned to Mrs Tosh.

    I told her I didn't think he was an alcoholic; his eyes looked really clear, but she said he was sat there with a bottle of something (which turned out to be an non-alcoholic drink). So I returned to let him know where the local meetings were. I explained that I was a member of A.A. and I know a lot of guys who were on the streets and if...

    He stopped me, smiling and said he didn't drink!

    I nearly asked for my five pounds back. O.o

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Or at least, some change..... :tongue:

    Tosh
  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    Y'all know the old saying..."A very kind man and his money are soon parted." <3

  • HamsakaHamsaka goosewhisperer Polishing the 'just so' Veteran

    @silver said:
    Y'all know the old saying..."A very kind man and his money are soon parted." <3

    If this statement is true, in order to not be parted from your money, would you have to be unkind? :D

  • @yagr said:
    I have been homeless before and while it may seem odd, often more than food or money - clean, dry and warm socks are awful sought after. I keep a six-pack of socks in the glove compartment to hand out.

    I haz cunning plan . . .

  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    I'd rather be a @Tosh than a Scrooge McDuck anyday.

    Tosh
Sign In or Register to comment.