[Jotapay]

NEVER. Here's why.

16 years ago a homeless guy was begging for money at the University of Texas at the main street crossing outside the Student Union. I offered to get him a job at the deli sandwich shop inside the Union where I had just gotten a part time job. He looked at me like I was nuts and said, "Sandwich shop? I used to work for the State of Texas! I'm not working there!"

About three years later, I owned my own small landscaping company. I was driving in my truck and stopped at a light with a beggar. I gave him my card and told him I'd pay him $15 an hour to work with me on jobs. I told him to call me at 8am and I'd come pick him up and pay him cash. No calls.

I never give them money. Ever. They refuse to work.

[Plantagenet]

We don't get a lot of street people or pan handlers here in central Alaska-----the -40° temps in winter
seem to discourage them.

When I'm travelling I ALWAYS give money to street musicians and other people who are willing to actually
do something to earn the money.

I NEVER give money to pan handlers-----they usually just want it for drugs or alcohol so you are essentially
being an enabler to their addiction and hurting them by giving them cash.

[dorlomin]

A large percentage of those in the UK are ex forces people. People who joined up at 16 and have spent their whole lives with a solution to every problem. In return they have put life and limb on the line.Society stopped caring about them the day they stopped taking the queens shilling.

Another large group are people who have suffered mental illness. Anyone who does not appreciate the 'there but the grace of god' nature of this has no soul.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', 'I') lived on the street (mostly by choice) from 1976-1985.

I used to panhandle before panhandling was "cool".

Sometime we got 200-300 dollars a day. Plus tons of food.

we had a joke, don't waste money on food. Food was too easy to get.

saw many, many killings. Its a very, very violent lifestyle.

I don't see any panhandlers where I live, but when I go to Austin, i see a lot. I always think, man, you got to the party late...

[JJ]

not

+1 to Jotapay

[Cloud9]

I help people when I can especially when I can avoid taking credit for it. Charity left up to the government enriches the likes of Goldman Sachs.

[threadbear]

If a man approached me in a dark parking lot, I would do what you did, Sixstrings. In other situations, not so much.
I've given money to people who looked very unhappy with the caveat that they not blow it all on food and shelter. I refuse to withhold money from people who are mentally ill and or just messed up in a way that stubbornly resists pat panacea "solutions". Sure, they could buy euphorics or narcotics to dull the pain of childhood sexual abuse, emotional or physical abuse, but who am I to judge, how and where they spend the money? You would scream in agony if you had to endure just one day of what these people have been sentenced to a life time of.
And yeah, most would find it hard to work in a sandwich shop, but there are many working homeless, don't kid yourselves.

There are panhandlers who do it for a living, a kind of career. They are pretty easy to spot and I wouldn't give them a cent.

[Cloud9]

I buy kids lunch on occasion. I shove a little money in their hands when I know their parents aren’t working. I give them school supplies all the time. We don’t give to a church so some preacher can build a bigger sanctuary. We give to people we know who are hurting. I’ve even contributed to a politician or two. I can’t make a huge difference but random acts of kindness never hurt.

If the premise of this website is correct, there are going to be a lot of hurting people. None of us are going to get out of this thing alive. When we are gone, whatever we have stored up and stacked up matters little. We come in this world naked and screaming. We go out pretty much the same way. It is what happens between those two points that matter if anything matters at all.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', 'N')EVER. Here's why.

16 years ago a homeless guy was begging for money at the University of Texas at the main street crossing outside the Student Union. I offered to get him a job at the deli sandwich shop inside the Union where I had just gotten a part time job. He looked at me like I was nuts and said, "Sandwich shop? I used to work for the State of Texas! I'm not working there!"

[Blacksmith]

The best one I have is when I was approached by a woman in a church who asked me for money. I gave her my lunch money and then recieved a series of curses on how it was not enough. The point is I went hungry and she wasn't satified. Last time, I ever gave anybody a handout.

[Ludi]

It used to bother me that homeless guys would probably spend the money on booze or drugs, but not so much anymore. If they need these things to get through life, they aren't that much different than me. They aren't going to magically pull themselves up by their bootstraps and become "productive members of society." And these days I'm not that big on the idea of "productive members of society." Maybe we all need to stop worry about being so damn productive.

[VZR1800]

NO! Never have, never will.

One day, during the 11 months I was out of work, while out riding my motorcycle, I observed a very nice Cadillac SUV drop a ugly rumpled looking dude at a local intersection. SUV was full of peeps, so I chose to follow it to see what transpired. The SUV dropped another six peeps off at different intersections, then proceeded to drive to a really nice house in the higher priced area of Oklahoma City.

End of the day, same SUV rounded up the same peeps and returned to nice house.

NO WAY, NO HOW DO I HELP THESE CREEPS!

And since there is no way to verify if one really is a "down on the luck" individual, or a fake, best to keep your money.

[hardtootell-2]

In India, begging has become institutionalized. It is something done by the same clan for many generations. It is always controlled by organized crime who will cripple children to make them "better beggers". The best corners for begging are owned. Pardon my cultural bias when I say-It is truly sickening.

OTOH I can see how some people can fall on hard times through a combination of bad luck and bad choices. They need to keep a sense of personal responsibility and the goal of getting up from where they are. If they have that, I would help them, without making myself vulnerable. I have to keep in mind that I can only help a little. Most of it has to come from them.

2 cents

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hardtootell-2', ' ')They need to keep a sense of personal responsibility and the goal of getting up from where they are.

[hardtootell-2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hardtootell-2', ' ')They need to keep a sense of personal responsibility and the goal of getting up from where they are.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hardtootell-2', ' ')I am not without compassion

[hardtootell-2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hardtootell-2', ' ')I am not without compassion

[drew]

I almost always give to bums, the poor, homeless, whatever, unless they are wasted or hostile where instead they get nothing.

Drew

[Rod_Cloutier]

Is it a genuine need or is it a scam. This is what I always ask myself if I see a panhandler.

I saw a man on the divider, sitting crying, praying for help, and I stopped my car to give him some money. I see some guy in good clothes, who looks well fed, standing in the same place every day- he doesn't get any money from me ever.

I see a guy with a sign that says 'need money for booze and a prostitute, but hey I'm honest'. He doesn't get my help. However, I regularily donate old clothing to the homeless shelter, where it will be redistributed for free. I often wonder from an ethical position am I doing enough?

What would I feel like if I was standing in his shoes? The answer I find myself with is that if I were him, I would take a job, any job, and not waste my time standing on a street corner. I would hold a sign that would say 'will work for food to support my family'. Instead I see signs like 'Ninga's killed my family, need money to get judo lessons'.

So is it a real need or a scam, that is the only question!

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hardtootell-2', '
')
Do you think it is useful or necessary to turn a point of view into a personal attack?