Where I live, most people I see begging are genuinely homeless and desperate, having fallen into the no job=no home, no address=no job trap; most often they will be selling The Big Issue - a magazine (quite a good read) published exclusively for sale by homeless people as a source of income for them.
I buy the magazine and if I can, I buy them lunch.
While walking a friend’s dog tonight a man asked if he could borrow 30 cents. He was very courteous. I gave him a dollar, but wish I had given more…
When I went to university in TO, I often had to walk past Covenant House to get places. There were always kids outside, begging for spare change.
I more often than not would shake my head at them, then on my return trip, head into the McDonald’s a block up from where they hung out, get a few burgers and fries, and drop the bag off to be shared. I learned to announce how many burgers were in the bag, so that whomever grabbed it first would have to share, but by and large, it was greatly appreciated, and they made sure I knew it.
Just before I graduated, I had to make a run past them. There was a new kid there, who got right in my face and very aggressive with me when I shook my head to their request for spare change. He was more than a little lit on something, and I was getting a bit freaked out. Another guy, who’d been there most of the times I’d dropped off food, sat his skinny ass back down and told him, “Not this one. She’s one of the angels.”
God, I felt lucky that day.
The other week I was in NYC passing a church around 11pm with a guy lying down outside it, dressed in old clothes. He looked like he was in need of some assistance to me so I offered him some money, not that I have alot but when I do have money I try to help others out, and he turned it down.
I react to different panners/beggers/squeegees differently depending on the situation and if i have money. Panhandlers I rarely give money too, those ppl who wash your windshields I hardly give money too. But I do feel fortunate, and if someone is legitimately in need of assistance I will hand over what change I have. Living downtown I do come accross the regulars and there are just so many. One time walking home late of night in a cold Canadian winter, this man was walking beside me and explaining he needed x amount of money so that he could get a bed for the night. I did give him what I had. And I felt good. Or even buying food, which the guy almost turned down. There is a panhandler near my work, he has a dog and this bothers me, and he has a cell phone…go figure. I cant even afford a cell phone plan.
A newspaper did a bust on a famous beggar from toronto whose leg twitches… and she cries for money, she sure does have a nice apartment, lots of computers, big tv. She wasnt pleased that she was followed.
Beggers in third world countries have more of an impact on me because they carry their babies around… I give more freely too them also because of the currency, and I see the garbage pile dumps they call home.
MANGETOUT, they have a similar magazine in Seattle – Spare Change. I buy it but don’t read it because it’s so left-leading that it often aggravates me. (Borderline socialist philosophy – perfectly appropriate for homeless advocates, of which I am not one.)
I do not give money to street people, ever. I don’t ignore them, either; if they ask, I smile apologetically and say, “No, sir (ma’am), sorry.” I can’t control how my resources are used if I give them away in that way – maybe for a hot meal, sure, but maybe for booze or drugs. I contribute in other ways, though.
Living in New York, I see the homeless pretty much every day. I very seldom give, mostly because I don’t want to spare the money to give to everyone, and giving to some but not others would force me to make a choice I don’t want to make.
However, it bothers me that so many people completely ignore them, as if they’re not even there. I simply give them a smile and say “No, sorry.” To walk past them without looking or acknowledging their request in any way is extremely rude (and, in my experience, much more likely to lead to an incident – it amounts to picking a fight.). It’s hard at the bottom, and smiles don’t cost you a thing.
I can’t believe that no one has commented on the irony in don’t ask’s post. “I won’t give you money to support your drug addiction . . . unless it’s the same drug addiction I have, in which I case I’ll just give you drugs.”
Many people I know (and some in this thread) say they don’t give to the homeless because of the likelihood that it will go to alcohol or other drugs, but I don’t think this a valid objection. Whether or not you give them money, they’re still going to be addicts – and, in many cases, they’re going to choose drugs over food. Giving to a homeless drug addict can be the difference between an addicted but relatively healthy vagrant and a starving vagrant in withdrawal.
Regardless of what the money goes towards, though, you can be sure he needs it more than you. If you don’t want to give, then don’t. Just don’t pretend that it’s for his benefit.
Aside: About a month ago, I was riding downtown on the 6 train when two panhandlers entered the the car – one was crouched over and wearing a makeshift horse costume, and the other one was riding him. The rider then proceeded to sing “La Bamba” fom beginning to end, while the “horse” walked up and down the subway car, occasionally stopping to shake his tail in front of a passenger. I gave them a buck – it was definitely amusing, and the guy in the horse outfit was putting in a lot of effort.
A few stops later, a homeless woman came on the car and gave the usual spiel (recovering drug addict, very sick, etc.), but she didn’t have a horse, and the “La Bamba” guy was a tough act to follow.
I remember a memorable one in Manchester (UK), he approached me on a bus and gave me a long story about how he had come over from Australia to work, then lost his job and was sleeping on the air conditioners behind a hotel. He then claimed that his grandmother was ill, and he had no way of getting back to Australia as he couldnt afford the ticket and could i help him. My response was to get him the pnone number for the Australian consulate.
What really gets me is the way some of them have such convoluted and obviously made up stories, does anyone fall for them?
That’s interesting; thanks.
The Big Issue tends to be quite a mishmash of stuff, certainly at least leaning to the left and including a wedge of mild anti-establisment writing (although usually not phrased at all aggressively - it might be an article mocking some vapid aspect of pop culture, for example). It often contains articles donated by well-known public figures and celebrities.
One thing I meant to add in my other post:
Giving to beggars does nothing much to help them in the long run; the spare change you give them will be quickly spent, the meal you buy them will only fill their stomach for a few hours, holding back money that they might spend on drugs or alcohol is unlikely to contribute to their recovery from addiction.
With this in mind, what I’m really aiming for in these situations is just to shine a little human warmth into their lives. Exchanging a handshake, a look in the eye, a friendly smile and a moment or two of conversation costs nothing and may be the only thing that will remain with them for any appreciable time.
Almost every time I go into the Civic shopping centre I get pulled over by a beggar. Last Friday night I got stopped by a lady asking for a “donation for the homeless people in dire straits”. Another time a guy asked for 40c for a phone call. When I pulled out my wallet to give him the 40c he told me, “actually, it’s for a mobile call” and asked for more. I didn’t give him anything in the end.
The worst experience I had was in Geelong. A guy followed me into a bakery and he saw me get change, so I couldn’t tell him I didn’t have any money on me. He asked for a money for a train fare and I said no. Then he said he was going to follow me around until I gave him the money. He followed me around and verbally harassed me for a few minutes before giving up.
I honestly don’t know what to do when I’m approached by beggars. I usually just say I don’t have any money, or just say “sorry” and avoid eye contact.
I lived in Brighton (UK) as a student for three years and at the start of my time there, I used to say the usual ‘Sorry, I’ve got no change’ to the beggers and ‘No thanks’ to the Big Issue sellers. It only took a few weeks of being asked for money about every 10 minutes whenever I was in town to just completely blank them. I’ve started to talk to them a bit more now as Norwich has a lot less homeless than Brighton, but it’s very rare for me to say more than 2 words to them.