Does giving money to homeless people help them?

Great Debates
21

I have had a bit too much experience with homeless people. I hit a bad spell a while ago and actually had to spend a few months in a shelter - why is a long story that is not relevant to the issue at hand. But there are essentially three types of homeless - the acute, like myself, who only needed assistance to get back on their feet and the chronically homeless that are mentally ill, often exasperated by alcohol and other substance abuse issues and cannot get back on their feet and stay there without case management. The last category are the chronically homeless that I classify as the ‘dropouts’ - they could get back on their feet, but for whatever reasons, decide to remain homeless. Many of these have alcohol/drug issues also, rarely have a mental illness, unless you decide that wanting to be homeless is a mental illness

And ironically, it is not that hard to be homeless. It is very difficult to** not** find enough assistance to get you by on a day to day basis - there are plenty of groups in nearly every community that help the homeless providing meals, clothing, grooming supplies and other necessities. It can be difficult to get enough assistance to get out of the system once you fall into it though, but it is possible. I cannot find any decent stats on how large each group is though, since it is notoriously difficult to compile accurate stats about the population - too much mobility, too many that dont want to be counted, etc., etc… My best guess is about one half are mentally ill, the other half divided between the acute and the dropouts.

I have found that the most common beggars are from the last category since they have decided to forgo all the real help available. Before I was homeless, I believed that one is better giving to the ‘office’ rather than the person on the street, and after being homeless, that belief has only been reinforced.

There are plenty of agencies that do real substantial work in helping the homeless, especially the first two groups that actively use those agencies. Donate to them, not the beggars.

If the dropouts need money for cigs and beer, that can go do day labor (and you would be surprised by how many have enough ID to get a job - they really do choose not to.) And the ‘professional’ beggars really piss me off. There were two who constantly road the El in Chicago that I wanted to deck everytime I saw them after I realized they were regulars.

22

It might be worth telling some of you soft hearted people that in most places (certainly here, I assure you) there is plenty of food for the homeless. There is no reason, in most places, for somebody to go hungry. Now medical care, appropriate medication, facilities for the mentally ill, liquor, job training, what have you - that might be in short supply. But there’s food. Are there people who don’t take advantage of it, for various reasons? Sure, of course. But lots of people feed the homeless. Give them your money; they’d be thrilled.

23

It depends. Most homeless are that way due to temporay circumstances- a woman who’s left her husband and is now living out her car is a good example. In that case, a one time hand out can really help. Your $5 or $20 might well be the gift that allows them to get back into “real” life.

However, you’re much more likely to be panhandled by what we used to call a bum- one of those persons who has chosen the homeless life. (Not all of them have made a sane choice, I’ll concede). In that case, you’re just buying their next fix, bottle or even meal, who knows? But you’re not contributing to a long term solution. Why not just buy them a slice of pizza instead?

Others are scam artists. Giving them money just makes them work harder.

24

Umm, sustenance does (or can) mean food, doesn’t it?

25

No, it isn’t even close to being a valid comaprison.

A beggar who lies and says he wants $5 for food then spends it on wine is cheating you out of $5. Even if you believe him, you can’t claim you didn’t know what you were giving up.

When Barrister Mohammed Abacha lies and says he wants you to help him unfreeze his ill-gotten oil money, he wants your personal info so that he can empty your checking account and rob you dry.

For this to be a valid comparison, the beggar would have to beckon you over, ask for a dollar, then hit you over the head and take your wallet. And that isn’t a beggar, it’s a (wait for it) thief.

26

I understand the point you make here, but in every major metro area I’ve lived in, I’ve known of agencies and shelters that will help anyone who is actively seeking work, and once they find a job, will help them with clothing, laundry, sack lunches, etc, to get them through til the first paycheck - and usually the first six months after that, since we both know one paycheck is not nearly enough to end homeless. They will often help them set up a savings account also. Two agencies I worked work (one as a client, another as a volunteer) required that X amount of each check had to go into savings if you wanted their assistance, a requirement that I did not find particularly onerous, but those that wanted to blow their check on beer often did. I have no more sympathy for those types.

27

This is all true, and it really answers the main question of the OP, which is, does giving money to homeless people help them? Well, I suppose in the short term, it does. But in the long term, is it helping or hurting them? Considering that their other option is to take advantage of these kinds of programs, which could lead to hem turning their lives around, I have to say that, no, giving money to homeless people does not help them.

28

Handing money to “someone on the street” is not equivalent to helping the homeless. You have no way of knowing whether any given panhandler is homeless or not.

29

I can’t say I’m necessarily onboard with his philosophy, but long-time SF columnist Jon Carroll is pretty unambiguous on which side of the issue he lies.

30

“They’ll just spend it on booze/drugs.”

This comment always makes me shrug. if I had their life, I probably would, too.

I give to beggars when they’re not aggressive. If they accost me in any fashion or make me feel uncomfortable, I won’t.

31

At a Del Taco Drive through SECONDS before I order:

Del Taco Employee: Welcome to Del Taco, Sir…May I take your order?

Me: Yeah, I would like to have…

Beggar (Walking in front of the menu board and speaker): Hi, could you spare a few dollars for some food for my kids? They’re waiting over in the car…

Me (To Del Taco Employee): Hold on just a second…

Me (To Beggar): How many kids?

Beggar: 4.

Me: I could buy a dozen tacos and a couple Macho Fries…would that do?

Beggar: Actually, I need the money so I can buy a sack of potatoes at Vons (3 miles away!).

Me: Well, french fries are potatoes…are you just gonna give your kids potatoes for dinner? How about some burritos instead of tacos…would that be a better choice?

Beggar: I just need the money for my kids.

Me: I just need to know that your “kids” will actually have something to eat. May I recommend a shelter, church, or organization to assist you in your need? (flipping open my console that contain the phone numbers)

Beggar (Looking at the car behind me): Well, thanks anyways.

Me: You’re welcome.

Me (To Del Taco Employee): Ok, I’m ready to order now…

Refusing $10-$15 in food for $3 cash for a “sack of potatoes” = SCAMMER

32

hence the term “exaggerated in proportion” - the comment was made regarding someone not caring what the beggar/panhandler did with their money after giving it to them. If you allow the honorable gentleman access to your bank account - you’re giving him money and not caring what he does with it.

33

Anyone who wants to seriously understand something about homelessness in modern America should read Travels With Lizbeth, an autobiography of Lars Eighner’s life of homelessness and travel back and forth between Austin and Los Angeles. Eighner is sort-of typical of a large class of homeless people who are in this state through a combination of lack of skills and/or credentials for employment, an unwillingness to be dependent upon religious charities who demand fealty and provide little in the way of upward mobility, and a desire for personal freedom versus a more comfortable but structured lifestyle. Eighner’s own homelessness stemmed from his unwillingness to part from his dog, Lizbeth (about whom he is both very fond and unsentimental), and basically parallels the film Umberto D. Eighner details other homeless and marginal people he meets, including junkies, alcoholics, petty theives, and clinical psychotics. Eighner is both intelligent and literate, and by his own admission largely responsible for his plight.

As someone who was very-little-h homeless in the distant past (strictly speaking, I lived out of cars or, in one case, someone’s garage, so not homeless in the sense of sleeping under an overpass and rummaging through Dumpsters), I think it’s both facile and unfair to class “homeless” people in one general category. There are people who are homeless because of drug or mental health issues, homeless due to unemployability, runaways or kids who have been turned out, and people who simply enjoy the freedom that being “outside the system” grants, including Irish Travellers and (in Europe) the Roma peoples who historically have no home or lands.

Generally speaking, you are doing no good by giving cash to homeless people; even in the case that they don’t spend it on drugs, booze, or cigarrettes, they will use it to maintain the marginal lifestyle and delay seeking any kind of assistance for permenant change. (And if you come up to me while I’m pumping gas, begging money and smoking, don’t be surprised if I give a blunt “No, and get away from me.”) If you want to help the homeless, donate to a shelter, preferably either one that is nonsecular or at least doesn’t make its mission to preach and preservere. (Don’t even get me started on Missionaries of Charity.) I’d say that the people most in need are single mothers and children, particularly those who are victims of domestic violence. The people begging on the side of the road? Gimme a break.

That said, the guy on the Los Feliz off-ramp of I-5 with the “I need skunk weed and beer” sign gets a chuckle from me, and I might toss him a $5 some day just for the entertainment he has provided me. Ditto for “Bebop Man” and his husky dog who I see now and again in Old Town Pasadena. And one guy in New Orleans got my pocket full of change for admitting how much he took in a year (“About thirty grand.”) Not bad for hanging out in Jackson Square for a few hours a day.

Stranger

34

Oh, if they’ve got a friendly dog that they let me pet, I give them money then, too. If they have an unfriendly dog, I probably won’t get close enough to give them anything.

I can understand the reluctance to depend on religious charities. I would very much not like to have to depend on a Christian charity, especially if part of the deal was that they could proselytize to me.

35

The police (and the police chief) in our community is on record recommending not to give money to street people. Instead they advise that you give your money to the Salvation Army or the local rescue mission.

Mind you, our local mission is run by a heck of a manager (I support it and get the monthly newsletter along with the monthly request). In addition to a meal, a shower and a bed the local mission provides medical attention and job help. In fact, they turn out “Shelter Furniture” constructed by their people.

Back to the local police statement. They’re of the mind that $5 in the hands of the street person buys (too often) something illegal that won’t help that person while $5 in the hands of the shelter could feed a couple of people and help them in a positive direction.

36

I give money to homeless people quite a bit, but I don’t really do it for them. I do it to remind myself that money isn’t what my life is about.

37

I like this thread because I think about this and deal with it fairly often. I believe there are scammers who make a decent living being professional beggars. Where I used to work I saw beggars with shabby clothes and signs {that always included “god bless”} changing shifts. I’ve talked to people who said they were chastised by beggars for bringing them food instead of money. {Like the story here}
I’ve heard lots of stories about car break downs or out of gas etc etc which I’m sure is 99% bullshit.
I’ve pondered the verse in the Bible when Jesus says “Give to those that ask of thee”

So I decided I’ll give when I can and it’s up to that person what they do with my kindness. I had one lady ask if I wanted to know why she needed the money. I said “No that’s not necessary” and she still had some compulsion to tell me about her plight which I think was BS. funny.

Sometimes it’s too easy to give a few bucks to a charity so that we are not face to face with some of society’s problems. Here in Nashville they have talked about a law making panhandling illegal because it was hurting downtown businesses during tourist season.
I really do see the logic in giving to a good shelter instead if you take the time to find out about the shelter and what they do. Give out cards with the shelters number and address. That doesn’t really help the , “my car broke down” bunch and according to another poster that person might be telling you the truth.

I will spend five bucks on snacks, or renting a few movies, or much more on a few drinks with my friends. So when someone comes up to me and I have a few loose dollars in my pocket I give and the rest is up to them.

38

Does it help them? Maybe.

Does it help the giver? Definitely.

If you have your basic needs met, have food in your belly, some more in your fridge, and a safe place to sleep tonight, your are blessed.

People who beg have come on hard enough times that they are willing to sacrafice their dignity to assume one of the lowest rungs on society’s ladder - begger. Are they lazy? Unlucky? Disturbed? Who knows? But somehow they have come to this unfortunate place. For us to share with them from our excess, our largesse, is right.

Perhaps they will use it only for “self medicating”. What gives me the right to judge them for that? I love a good buzz myself, and I am fortunate enough to catch mine in the safety of a pub or my living room.

There is a serious perspective problem within our society when we can see a homeless person and complain about how they spend their beggings, instead of complain about the fact that people are living without food or shelter. We care more about defending our own opinions than defending the dignity of our fellow man.

39

That’s the part that drives me crazy with most of the comments. People donate money not really caring what the beggar does with it but instead to make themselves feel better. Like they are guilty of having the extra $$ in the first place. What they don’t think is how much better they could feel for helping multiple people by donating to the Salvation Army or insert organization of your choice here. That $5 or $20 going to very unknown ends with the beggar could help feed, clothe or house an entire family through the organization - that’s what makes me feel good about donating in that manner.

40

I disagree. The problem is the uncontrolled dispensing of aid. Unless the beggar is a professional, which then they wouldn’t qualify as needy under you own description. If not a professional this person needs more help than a simple donation can provide. In fact giving that donation prevents them from receiving that very assistance.

Like I have already stated, if you want to feel good about helping the homeless, donate to an organization. If you can’t donate money, donate your time and help out at a shelter. Better yet, do both and feel like a saint.