No doubt. When I was a ticket scalper, I used to pay people $25 just to stand in line for me. I couldn’t even get these homeless people to do that! It’s like dude! You just gotta stand there and do nothing! It doesn’t get any easier than that!
I did have better luck at homeless shelters though.
It depends on who it is.
I don’t give to any of the ‘regulars’ - those who have been sitting at the same corner, spinning the same hard luck story, for as long as I can recall. One woman at Wynyard station has been approaching me for the fare home to Goulburn at least once a month for the last twenty years.
I do sometimes give to other beggars: generally a one or two dollar coin. I know that I’m probably being taken for a ride in the majority of cases but I’m sure there are times when the person is genuinely needy.
Back when I lived in NYC, I used to pass the same guy every day, on my way to work. One day I gave him a roll of pennies (50 cents). He looked at it and threw it at me, narrowly missing my eye. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
I work the night shift in a service industry. Over the years, I have formed the opinion that a majority of the homeless people I encounter have been mentally ill. If you classify addiction as a disease, then nearly all of them have been mentally ill. Giving them a few bucks does not fix the underlying problem.
I never have and I doubt that I ever will. I have no problem supporting organizations that help those in need, but I’m not giving anything to random folks who could very well be scammers.
I remember one time at a hotel near a freeway interchange I saw 2 guys pull into the parking lot in a decent vehicle, pull bedrolls and cardboard signs out of the trunk, and head for the exit ramps. Definitely scammers.
I don’t give to panhandlers. I don’t believe that any quantity of money that I’d be willing to give would make any difference in that person’s life; it’ll all get consumed and they’ll be out again the next day anyways.
In general, no.
The vast majority that I see walking through a line of cars at traffic lights aren’t homeless. They have a drug addiction for the most part, and might be on the road to homelessness, but they aren’t.
You can give these people a few bucks, or a business card to a shelter, or a drug treatment center, but unless they are ready, it won’t help them.
It is easy to spot a person who has been sleeping under bridges, they are very dirty and torn down. Some of the genuine street people have serious mental issues, and are in desperate need of help; however, handing them cash does little for them.
Getting them to a shelter doesn’t really do much for them either, it’s a sad situation.
I used to volunteer at a ministry that helps street people, and I really wish I could go back to not knowing how bleak it is for some of these people.
A couple of years ago, I bought a breakfast sandwich for this old man, every day for a few weeks until he stopped showing up at his corner. I don’t know what happened to him for certain, but I’m pretty sure he died.
There is a big difference between the 20 something junkie on the corner, and the mentally ill person living under a bridge, most of the really bad off, mentally ill don’t panhandle in the same manner.
Those people out canvassing a long line of cars at the stop lights are junkies for the most part, and they most often have a place to live, and access to food.
If you decide to hand money out the window to someone, be careful, don’t roll your window down too far, and if they launch into a complicated tale of woe, politely break contact ASAP.
Yes, I do.
I try very hard not to judge their ‘worthiness’, and only hope it will ease their suffering. Even if only for a few hours.
Which is not to say I give to everyone, every time. I don’t.
Almost never, but I chose “it depends”.
There have been a few times where I felt intimidated, and figured a sawbuck was the easiest way to extricate myself. I’m not going allow myself or family to be endangered over a few bucks. On the rare occasion I’m afoot (in the city) I carry a five or ten in a front pocket in case I decide to use it. In these few cases I will alert the local cops with description and the fact that I was intimidated/threatened. If they’re hanging in front of a business, I let the owner/manager know I’ll no longer patronize them.
I find myself being panhandled more for gasoline than anything else. Large fuel stations along the Interstates frequently have a group of “can you give me 10 bucks for gas?” denizens. I usually offer to pump some in if they’ll pull their car up. I’ve only had one taker so far (I assume the rest are lying in order to get cash). Again, the establishment is informed that they’re losing a customer over it. I figure it’s their job to run them off if they want to see my wallet in the future.
Interestingly, I went to a tractor and farm store this weekend and was hassled by a panhandler for a “good cause” (that apparently was allowed to set up shop at the entrance.) Again, I informed the store they’d lost a customer over it. I don’t want to be hassled for donations when I go shopping. I don’t care how good the cause is.
I support our local food bank. I rarely encounter panhandlers (rural location) but if I did I’d encourage them to contact the food bank if they were hungry. The food bank doesn’t provide alcohol or drugs though. I have bought a few beers for thirsty broke folks.
Well said. I give if I have the cash on me (I often use plastic). It’s not about “deserve”. Even if some other judge would say that the asker doesn’t “need” my contribution, it doesn’t harm me any to give it.
How would you feel about handing out bottles of liquor instead of cash? Do you think that would be helpful?
Never mind that, how would you feel about handing your hard-earned cash to someone who is collecting $182 per hour? That’s several times my own hourly pay. Maybe it’s time for me to rethink my career choices…
If I give you my PayPal address, could you find it in your heart to send me some money too? I promise I won’t spend it on liquor or cheeseburgers, and I really need it. Honestly.
I have given money on occasion, usually to a street musician who is at least trying to work a bit for the cash. The ones that really put me off are the people who are at interstate highway rest stops with signs saying they’re broke, busted, need gas, etc. But you got to this rest stop somehow, right? And you’re out of gas and plan to buy it. . .where, exactly? So you left the last town without enough fuel to get to the next town: doesn’t sound like a solid plan to me. And you want me to help you get closer to where I live? No thanks.
We help out legitimate charities and do volunteer work for food delivery. I’ve given money to Kiva, which goes to people around the world trying to set up their own small businesses, and it’s always been paid back in full. Giving money to a stranger without knowing his real circumstances seems rather foolish.
I always give money to a street performer, musician, magic act, etc. I will always give money to a woman with an infant, too.
My advice to cardboard sign people is, learn to play a instrument. Harmonicas are cheap and easy to learn.
I always give money to street performers. I don’t consider them panhandlers since they are attempting to work for the money.
Not in Thailand. Beggars are common, but I never give to them because they are not allowed to keep it themselves. It’s straight out of Dickens. Highly organized and they all have minders. They turn in their money at the end of the day. I mean really, doesn’t anyone wonder just HOW that man with no arms and no legs managed to get up to the very middle of the street walkover? That’s if they really are an amputee. I’ve seen supposed double amputee who were not very skilled at concealing their arms behind their backs. A genuine beggar would be seriously injured or even killed for muscling in on the gang’s territory. I’ve given to people whom I judged to be real beggars-in-need in countries such as Nepal and Cambodia, but in Bangkok forget it.
And they’re not even Thai for the most part! They actually bring in beggars from Cambodia to work the streets for them. There are roundups from time to time, and the authorities in one instance put all of the Cambodian beggars on a plane and flew them back to Phnom Penh for that government to deal with. Talk about a treat! It was their first plane ride ever, and they were reportedly like giggly tourists. I’ve no doubt many have been brought back.
The beggars here tend to work in regular themes. Some months, it’s young women with babies. Sometimes with puppies. Sometimes amputees. Changes from month to month. The babies are often borrowed or rented. In Pattaya, they once arrested a transvestite beggar who was working the crowds with a baby. He had rented the kid from a friend for 500 baht a day. (500 baht is about US$15.50 at the current exchange rate.) At one point, I was on nodding terms with a lady who was stationed for years in the same spot with the same fake gashing leg wound. Another I came to know on sight sat in the same spot for years at Victory Monument with a sign in Thai saying he needed money for bus fare to get home upcountry.
In the lower Sukhumvit Road area, there have been gangs of small Cambodian children, about 10 or 11 years old. They’ll hit a farang (Westerner) up for money (lots of farangs in this area), looking all sad-eyed, will even make hand motions to his or her mouth about needing something to eat. If the farang foolishly pulls out his wallet instead of some change from his pocket, another of the urchins waiting close by will race past and grab it, or even a cellphone if it’s now exposed.
I remember a family of Indian beggars who worked Khao San Road. The mother could be seen picking the kids up around 1 or 2am. A time or two I offered to buy one kid something to eat rather than give money, but he only wanted money. Had to keep working the crowd or else get beaten by mommy and daddy. A similar family used to work near Nana Plaza.
Most pathetic of all are the farang beggars. I cannot imagine coming to a Third World country to beg on the streets. They are rare, but I always simply advise them to contact their embassy if they need help. Some are flat-out con artists. There was a Frenchman who appeared at different Skytrain stations for at least a year with a sign saying he needed airfare to return home. He’d run if you tried to take his picture, but it was taken and posted online, and then he disappeared, I guess after seeing that the jig was up.
There was one lady who used to hang out in the airport. Claimed to be South African. Would approach farangs and say she’d been robbed of everything – money, plane ticket, passport – and she needed money. She would have some ready excuse for why she could not contact the police, not even right there at the airport. She disappeared after becoming too well known, but later a lady of similar description hitting up farangs near the Royal Plaza.
Another Frenchman would do the same at different bus stops along Sukhumvit Road, which is home to many farangs. Had a tale of woe of being robbed of everything but could not contact the authorities for this or that reason. One farang reported that he gave him some money once, and then the guy hit him up with the same story again about six weeks later! The con man failed to recognize him from before.
Then there was a Brit who would work the train station in Bangkok. One backpacking couple said the guy’s story sounded very convincing. They gave him some money, then when they returned from Cambodia later in their trip, actually saw him again in the Khao San Road area, where the backpackers stay. He did recognize them but persisted with his story, said yeah, he was just waiting for his new passport to come through the embassy and he was making it okay, blah blah blah, but could they slip him maybe a 100 baht or so more. They said he was usually slightly drunk whenever they saw him. One couple in the train station refused to believe his story, and apparently he became obnoxious, following them around persistently. He was spotted, too, in a nice restaurant with an expensive-looking Thai lady, and he paid the bill.
No, I never feel compelled to, because if they’re approaching me, I HATE that and so I won’t help them, and if they don’t approach me, I don’t know what their story is, or even claims to be. Besides, I usually encounter them after work when I’m tired and grouchy and I just figure they might make more hourly than me, so maybe they should be giving me money.
It’s not impossible that I would ever give money to any of them, but the ones I always see do not inspire me to give them money. The last time I did, years ago, I ran into the woman again in a different parking lot a couple weeks later and she had another bullshit story.
I would give money to a panhandler who was just sitting quietly with a sign saying he needs money for crack before I’d give a street musician a penny. I hate those bastards.
That’s the most common story I hear around here. “Came from [local city] to visit Mom, no gas to get home”.
When you hear that story several times a week for months on end, you kinda figure out it’s false. 
I don’t carry cash but I’ll offer to buy whatever someone is asking money for. It’s always turned down.
I had one woman take me up on the offer to buy her some food from the supermarket deli.
Like others have said, I used to give to street performers.
There was one poor bastard in Cairo who none of us could refuse. The guy had no arms and only one leg. Being military, someone nicknamed him “Pogo”. He was clearly either a war victim or something else horrific, and none of us had a hard enough heart to refuse him what amounted to a couple of dollars.
The children in Romania were of the type described above, who worked for the taxi drivers. The drivers would supply the kids with glue to huff as payment for begging. They were relentless and you really had to watch your wallet.
There was one man, probably in his early 60’s, near where I used to work whose ‘job’ was to beg. He was out there on a regular basis & was groomed, clean, & had different clothes on different days. Whatever he was, it wasn’t homeless. I really think he was retired & this was a way to supplement his income.
I work for my money & I don’t necessarily have an issue with helping out someone down on their luck but scammers like this ruin it for those who are legitimate.