I was recently robbed. It occurred to me that I should support the homeless people I encounter who are merely begging, and not trying to steal my stuff. But what should I do? Cash is nice, but may go to abused substances rather than food. Any better ideas? I come across a few homeless people on my car commute to work, and sone when I take Metro to or through DC.
Volunteer at a shelter/food bank. Lets the professionals be in charge of the decision making but you give them much-needed help.
An existing organization is the way to go. They all offer options for financial support and volunteering.
A few from the Washington area:
“You give to the homeless? Aren’t you worried they’ll spend it on drugs or alcohol?”
“I hope they do. Most of these guys aren’t a hot meal away from turning it around, so if they are able to get something that helps them through the night, then isn’t that helping them?”
This fall and winter I plan to carry plastic bags in my car with items they might need. Wool socks and gloves for a start.
Talk to them, get to know their name, look them in the eye. Whether or not you give them a few dollars is up to you. After you get to know them you may feel more obligated to give them a few $ but that is still your choice. Interacting with them as a fellow human being will help them, for, they get shunned regularly. If they seem somewhat coherent you might let them use your cell to call a family member and say hello. You might ask them if you can help them check into a facility somewhere.
I think volunteering with an organization is the best way to help. If you can’t, giving to a local organization in your area is good. It can’t hurt to carry water and granola bars to give to people who are out in the heat and might be hungry, if you want to be able to give them something directly.
I disagree with this approach. Offering food, rather than cash that might be used for drugs, might be helpful and can’t hurt. I sometimes gave out food on the streets, though I agree with ZipperJJ and SpoilerVirgin that working with an organization is best.
Unless they O.D. Another fix certainly isn’t going to help them turn it around.
I say this as someone whose nephew is a heroin addict who lives on the street.
same problem
if you give them a sandwich that just free’s them up to use that $6 tucked in their shoe to buy a couple of 40 ounces. most of them will by drugs or alcohol. that does not stop me from helping them. the ones with severe mental issues may not have substance abuse issues. really, you can’t tell unless you get to know them.
My “crack kid” (sorry if that’s offensive, but that’s how I think of him) begs in front of the convenience/deli store I frequent. I have him order a sandwich and I pay for it; I usually give him $5 as well, he’s in really rough shape and if I know he’s fed for the day I don’t care if he spends a few bucks on a fix.
This guy is probably about 19-20yo and is whittled down to a filthy little stick figure. I remind myself that, at least sometime in his life, he’s somebody’s little boy 
When I was homeless in 1984 what I appreciated the most was simply someone’s willingness to engage in conversation with me and talk with me as if I were an actual person. More pragmatically,
• someone offering me laundry services or offering to pay what it would cost for me to run my stuff through the laundromat
• someone taking me out for a restaurant meal and conversation: really special!
• someone willing to take phone calls on my behalf and/or let me use their mailing address to receive mail
•someone willing to hire me for a day’s work if there was something they needed doing and I could do it
Not that I didn’t appreciate donations of cash. That was always nice too.
Buying me food in and of itself— not so much. There were “soup kitchens” / charity food lines always available and adequate food was one of the things I could always obtain without it costing me money. With the exception of specialty items (winter coat, shoes), I could always obtain clothing adquate for my needs free of charge also. And I could always be sleeping indoors although not necessarily with any privacy or much safety from other homeless folk and from ill-paid & often violent security guards.
I’m not immune to an actual poor person standing in front of me. I carry spare $1 presidential coins that I will hand out to people I want to help. I’m also a sucker for the “could you buy me a sandwich” routine. Last week there was a woman sitting on the sidewalk complaining about how thirsty she was and asking for water. I went and bought a bottle to give to her.
I just know that those little acts of kindness don’t do much to alleviate the real problems, and that giving to organizations working directly with the homeless is the best way to make real changes.
One of the nicest stories I read recently was about how Bea Arthur left $300,000 in her will to create a homeless shelter for LGBT youth in New York. They broke ground for the shelter last week.
Have a job opening, even if it’s day labor? Try looking in a local shelter. Plenty of shelter residents are working poor between homes and some are between jobs.
I sometimes help homeless people by giving them food, whether it’s inexpensive food from a store or extra food that I have that I’m not going to be able to eat (such as if I buy a whole loaf of bread and the expiry date is soon and my family hasn’t been able to finish the whole loaf ourselves.) Sometimes I’ll give them drink cans (which can be returned to a store in exchange for money where I live) or dog treats if they have a dog.
Socks. Clean socks.
http://www.wimp.com/homelessbackpack/
A 3 min. video, showing how to put together a $20 homeless care backpack.
I try keep one in the truck to hand out.
They’re homeless. Invite them into your home. Offer them a hot meal and bath. Maybe you could clear a little space for them to live in your apartment or home?
This is about the only thing you can do to directly help the homeless, and even then it may not help. Indirectly you have to get involved in politics and try to get others to be more concerned. Still, I’m charitable, I’ll toss them some money or food occasionally.
This is a VERY nice thing for you to do. Bless you. 