he might get crack. he might buy a pizza. do you give the homeless dude money?

Answer 1

I do, I know he may buy beer or smokes or w/e or he might actually try and get out of the mess he's in, who knows, but just the fact that he/she MIGHT try and turn their life around makes me shell out the cash. Who knows, maybe giving them the money today... they might give someone else in need tomorrow

Answer 2

You never know what they will do with the money, but you do what you feel in your heart to do. When you help someone like that you go on blind faith that they will do what is right. Even though you may not know the outcome, your helping someone is what matters on your part. Even if they do use it for booze or drugs, that's their own decision because us folks that aren't homeless even need ways to relax sometimes! Whether we smoke cigarettes or drink beer. Just because they are homeless doesn't mean the folks that don't live on the street are better. Maybe to ease your mind, you could invite him/her to do some handy work in return for money or food. This way they have earned what they have been given. I would help someone just to be helping them if it were me because any one of us could end up in the same situation. No one knows what could happen in the world today! And not all homeless people are drug users. This is a good question and it's great to see someone who is concerned about these issues. Sure, the homeless could have made wrong decisions in their life to put them in the situation they are in now, but that can't be changed. It's really hard for homeless people, it's hard for folks that aren't homeless! Help them, even with kind words and that may be encouragement to make things better!

Answer 3

I just read that Denver panhandlers received over $4 million last year. This money helps homeless people get by but it does not help them out of the lifestyle. I feel like $4 million could have been put to better use. You are right to wonder where it all goes.

It is my opinion that the ones who want out of the lifestyle are not panhandling, they are hitting up the many nonprofit organizations that help homeless people get on their feet. That is where I believe you should give your money. Religious organizations, The United Way, Job Corps., Habitat For Humanity just to name a few.
I believe giving to panhandlers should not be done. Give your money to a responsible organization dedicated to helping the homeless people who really want a better life.

Answer 4

I didn't because I was taught that they would "waste" it on their vices or they could have helped becoing homeless and just didn't. Then i almost became homeless when my ex husband took off to start his new life and left me with the bills and 2 kids and a lease almost up. Now If I have something on me I give a homeless person some money. If they are that bad off to have to ask for a handout, I remember that it coulda been me.....

Answer 5

I try to look for the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes I will take take him or her to get whatever they needed and once in a while I will give him or her money.

I keep tabs on the local homeless shelters so I can offer them a place to get back on their feet if that is what they want to do. But I don't push it.

Over all I think when you give from your heart and you feel at peace with what you have giving, regardless of what he or she does with your gift, you have done the right thing because love never fails.

Answer 6

It depends on how he asks and what kind of interaction we have. If he treats me as a human individual and looks me in the eye and tells the truth, I might treat *him* as an individual and give him money. If, as happens more often in my city, he walks up to me looking like an eye-glazed automaton and says in a monotone "Got any spare change?", the same way I've heard him ask the last 6 people at the bus stop, he gets nothing. You have to *earn* your cash, no matter how you earn it.

Once, a man walked up to me and said, "Hey, I know I'm black, but can you help? (points to supposed injury to leg) I need to pay for the bus to get to the hospital)" Great way to get my money-- assume I am a racist and afraid because I am a white woman and insult me, as if I will decide based on the color of his skin, not on the fact that he was standing over me in an intimidating way (which he was.) At that point, because I was curious if he was telling the truth, I offered him a bus ticket, since I had more than I needed. He refused and said, "Don't you have any cash so I can get something to eat?" I said no, and in fact, I didn't have any.

I am more likely to give money to someone who is particularly creative in their methods and makes me think of things in a new way, or to someone who makes me laugh, because that is a service they have performed, the same way I might put a dollar in a street musician's case. They have made a human connection with me.

I will also buy food for *anyone* who tells me they are hungry, especially if I have eaten out that day. It's a crime that anyone should go hungry in America, and if someone is a drug addict or an alcoholic, then they especially need nutritious food.

Most importantly, it's my *choice* to give them charity. People who act like I owe it to them get zilch.

Answer 7

Unforunately it depends on how busy I am at the time. If not in a rush, I often buy food and give them, but if I'm rushed, give some money. I live in rural area, so it's different than homeless in a big city.

Answer 8

I give homeless people food. Never money. If you bought a pizza, give him a slice. But don't give him money. Too many of them spend it on crap they don't need (like booze or crack). If they're really that desperate and hungry, they'll accept the food with gratitude.

Answer 9

Sometimes. It's not my responsibility, and it may be enabling a drug habit or rewarding him for bad choices, but I have hope that it somehow helps in some small way, even if it's only to keep withdrawl symptoms at bay until he finds his way to something better. I know some people take a really dim view of that, but I really don't care -- I know my motives are pure and positive, so yeah, sometimes I do give a little.

Answer 10

When I see someone homeless that is asking for food, you know, like holding a sign up that says, "WILL WORK FOR FOOD" or the like, I will usually run by a drive-thru and buy a meal and give it to him/her. That way, you know they can't use the money you'd give them to buy drugs or alcohol, and if they truly are hungry, at least you know you've given tem food to eat.