How do you deal with Beggers/Panhandlers?

Question

Don't ya just love it...out of the blue here comes the scruffy patrol saying..."excuse me, do you have any spare change"
-hey, in my world there is money or no money & never enough....what do you mean spare money...oh-please !
I have met beggers who were making more than I do on a regular job....then again I have met & funded some who were waaayyy worse off than I-
-and how about you...?

Answer 1

Sometimes I give them money-sometimes I don't.What I never do is to be rude .These are all human beings,no matter what their currant state is.And I will always look them in the eye.Sure many of them want/need the money for drugs or booze.But I doubt a single one them said when I grow up I want to be an addict . Sometimes I have conversations with them and have been able to help in a meaningful way.Some times I get cursed at.I still have hope for mankind that someday we can all work together and solve the issues that cause this in the first place.

Answer 2

I will take them in to a store (I live right off the Navajo and Hopi Reservations in northeastern Arizona and most of the panhandling here is done by native Americans with a drinking problem) like a Circle K, or AM PM etc. and buy them either a container of milk, orange juice and buy them a hot sandwich or microwave meal and tell them to sit down and eat it or I will call the cops because they can be arrested for panhandling. There is no way I will give them any cash. Sometimes right off I-40 there are people who make quite a good living holding up signs that are begging for food, money etc. I overheard 3 of them bragging one night at a fancy restaurant they cleared over $400.00 that day alone. So I refuse to give money to anyone.

But what do you think of people who rent U-hauls to move from , say Modesto, CA to Okie City, OK and go from town to town begging for gas and food vouchers instead of having the money to move on? Kinda the same thing, right?

Answer 3

I understand the thought regarding "spare change", however I also think it's not my place to decide whether someone truly is in dire straits or they are just too lazy to work.

That said, if the person in question says they need to get something to eat, I offer to accompany them to a pizza place or somewhere inexpensive and within walking distance. (I never do this alone) If the person says 'yes' then we walk and I ask them how they got to be in their present state. I then buy them the pizza and we sit for a few minutes while they eat.

I'm not trying to be Mother Teresa, but I have met some interesting people this way, and I'm certain they like being treated as human beings.

Most of the time, however, the person in question doesn't want me to buy them food, and is insistent that I give them a dollar. Obviously, they're trying to scam, or trying to buy drugs. I simply say, "Look man, I need my money more than you need my money. I'll buy you a slice, but I can't just throw my dollars away."

That usually settles it, and they leave me alone.

Answer 4

When I am driving in my car and have to stop at a light where there is a begger, I just don't make eye contact. When I am walking down the street and someone asks for money, I just politely say "I'm sorry, I don't." In my oppinion, instead of giving beggers money, we should be giving them job applications! There is no excuse where you cant work at Mcdonalds or for a construction company or clean tables.

Answer 5

I know it sounds rude but you have to ignore them. I work downtown and am confronted by them all the time and I know people who have made the mistake of giving them a little change here and there and now everytime the beggers see my friend they go right up to him cause they figure if he gave once why not again. I never give just so they dont bother me when I'm walking down the street.

Answer 6

If they come up to me and ask for change or a cigarette then I give it to them. What is a few cents going to do for me! Now if I see them on a daily basis panhandling people then I usually just tell them I don't have any money on me at the time. There have been times that I have ran across a couple of them that just gave me bad vibes so I didn't say a word I just walked off.

Answer 7

I tell them i don't have any money, but would love to buy them some lunch (breakfast, snack, whatever)
I live in the city (for the past three years) and walk everywhere. I see probably ten to twenty panhandlers a day. I have had one person take me up on the offer. Everyone else just wants money.

Answer 8

I read through some of the answers and i was so upset at some of them. I left my abusive husband an returned to my home state to get away from him well having no friends or family i was left to live at the shelter pregnant with 2 children under 4 after i realized the shelter wasnt going to help.I took to the street. I couldnt get a sitter because i had no money i couldnt get a job because i had no sitter, car to get there, change for a bus i had no address or phone number to give i had no place to shower so i looked a mess. Thnk god for one man who seen me and little ones sitting under some shade next to a gas station he said god bless you and he gave me a twenty dollar bill. I didnt use it for drugs i bought us something to eat and then i got the bus to a local agency that helped with utilities and things they pointed me to a domestic violence shelter who then helped me me sign up for low income housing and assistance.And the rest is history i am succesfull, married i have a house full of children and i give whenever i have change in my pocket.Sure there are crooks but thats in anything you do and wherever you go you just gotta have some faith.

Answer 9

I used to try to give them a little money even though I don't have any to 'spare' because I figured I'd rather be taken advantage of than be cold & heartless. Or - I'd direct them to the city mission where they could get food and a place to sleep. I don't give money anymore because some lady YELLED at me for not giving her money and it pissed me off. So I said, "If I have any money it's for my family. That's why I'm working two jobs!" Now I just say sorry or direct them to the mission!
Sheesh!!

Answer 10

"I have met beggars who were making more than I do on a regular job"

????? And you discerned this how?

Like most people, I find panhandlers to be a bit of a nuisance, but if I have some change in my pocket or a single or two, I've given it if they weren't too pushy or aggressive.

But I always remember what a elderly woman once told me when she asked me what I thought of the homeless and panhandlers. She said "How do you know that one of them isn't an angel?"

Her point was, could God be testing us to see if have compassion for our fellow man? It may be nonsense, but that has always stuck with me...and helped me remain humble.

Answer 11

I'm a chef, and I offer them a job washing dishes. Most laugh at me, which makes me feel better, because that's how I started off, and this is where I ended up, and I don't want for anything now. But, I'm never rude, and two of my favorite hardest working dishwashers have come from the streets, so they aren't all in the same boat. Try to help your fellow man, when you can.