I give occasionally. The grateful words of thanks and exhaltations to the goodness of God I hear from them make it hard to believe I’m being scammed… many of them are missing half thier teeth, are filthy, have ripped fingernails, etc. Also makes it hard to believe that they aren’t truly in need. In any case, the money is immaterial to me, and a treasure for them. Its a real shame to deny those who are really in need because there are scam artists out there. Better to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The “money is better spent at shelters” argument is valid. But you should consider that homeless people probably don’t spend all their time there. Imagine yourself in thier position - I bet it can get pretty oppresive spending all day there, especially if you have problems socializing and interacting with others. Remember that many homeless people are mentally ill or have some sort of behavioral disorder. Problems such as these result in more than just a lack of money or job, but make it very difficult for them to function within a group of people or even deal with the daily demands of interacting with or trusting those around them. They may prefer to be more independent because of this.
I always give to beggars i run into in the suburbs or a smallish city. I give pocket change, a buck, or whatever packaged food i have on hand. It is not as easy to get a free meal there. I know. I have been hugry in small cities. Also in support of this is the ppl i have given packaged snacks to seemed pleased and chowed down immediately.
I will give pocket change or a single to the first non-cursing beggar i see in the city. I always tip beggars that give me reasonable advice in the city. They often give reasonable answers to questions like “how is the easiest way to get to union station from here?” or “Where is best near here to hail a cab if i want to go north?” They provide a service they get paid.
I treat the damn charity beggars selling candy much the same way as any other beggars. If they annoy me, i give them nothing. I have given them change and gave the candy to a woman who said she was hungry.
White guy in China is an immediate beggar magnet. It drives me insane when I walk down the street and the beggar comes after me like a heat seeking missle ignoring the hundreds of Chinese around.
Foreigners have a reputation for giving to beggars.
As a parent, it’s pretty heartbreaking to see someone exploiting an infant or small child. I know if I give money it will translate into more kids being exploited.
I never ever pay.
Whether I give or not depends on the situation I’m in. I met the most beggars as I walked home from work in a downtown office last summer. As a young, solitary female, I didn’t feel safe prolonging any situation where some middle aged man, homeless or no, put himself in my path and tried to get my attention. If I was walking with friends, I might give ( though I don’t usually carry change). If it was a woman, I might give. I know it’s an awful double standard, and shameful to assume that a homeless man might be dangerous just because of his appearance and situation, but if I didn’t feel safe stopping or answering, I darn well didn’t.
I have seen people scamming the same hard luck story at the same location week after week, you know the ones. “My car broke down and I am trying to get enough money to get back home.”
I read a letter form a woman begging people not to give her daughter money when she begged for it so the daughter would eventually get help for her drug problem.
That being said, I give money based on how I feel at the time and whether I can spare the money. I also gave $1.00 to a guy when it it was about 90 degrees at midnight and incredibly humid, I stopped at a gas station/convenience store for some bottled water, a guy in the parking lot approched me as I was leaving and told me “my baby does’t need diapers, my car isn’t broken down but it’s hot and I want a cold beer can you spare me a dollar to get a beer?” I told him I appreceited his honesty and certainly understood the need for a cold beer.
And yeah, I expect someone begging me for money to be greatful forwhat I give them. I may have been blessed to have the money I have but it is mine and no one has a right to it but me. I am thnkful I have a job, I am thankful I have had some breaks that wnet my way in life and I am thankful when someone does something nice for me. Being treated like crap for giving someone my money doesn’t make me want to give more.
China Guy, was it really necessary to bump this 3-year old thread when there is a perfectly viable, current thread on the very same topic in this forum right now?