I can’t predict his future. It’s probably going to be shitty, whether I give him a dollar, a forty, or a ride to an AA meeting. Even if I take him to a residential facility and pay for an entire month’s inpatient treatment for alcohol addiction, chances are quite poor that he will give up alcohol and go on to have a wonderful life.
Even if he is not purposely committing suicide, I don’t see any need to protect him from his own choices. He will be the one to suffer or gain from them, not me.
Since most of them don’t have a long term, I have no problem with feeding their addictions.
Homelessness is a vastly complicated issue, with each person having their own story. Some could benefit from mental help programs. Some need a place to get cleaned up for a job interview. Some could use a place to store a second set of clothes. I’m not trained to deal with most of this.
This was one of the core values of the homeless outreach group I used to volunteer with. We provided a decent meal, some clean socks, and other assorted items. We did it somewhere near where they tended to congregate, and hung around as long as they wanted to talk. We developed relationships with the ones that were willing to talk. Let them know that they aren’t just scum, and that there are people out there that they can lean on for some things.
St. Paul has shelters that does not require sobriety. They won’t get your fix for you, but they will give you a place to sleep and food to eat - and if you can panhandle your way into being drunk or high - that’s fine with them. The one I know of is off the beaten path in the middle of a bunch of warehouses where the neighbors don’t tend to mind.
At the same time, I’d rather see my money go toward feeding kids, or helping domestic abuse victims - rather than given someone solace in a bottle.
The song goes, “Brother, can you spare a dime?” not “Brother would you like to be my sobriety coach and probation officer?”
Yes, as it happens, I can nearly always spare a dime.
No, it does not make me anyone’s mommy. Thank heavens.
In fact, I would cheerfully give two whole shiny dimes if the panhandler goes away and tell his problems to some other person.
There’s nothing worse than “generosity” from people who think it entitles them to be busy-bodies.
Who’s to say though, that not feeding you and helping you with your minor vices would have accelerated the process of making the decision that you didn’t want to live like that anymore?
I think for a LOT of people, that’s a big part of the thinking. It’s not so much lack of compassion, but rather a recognition that enabling these behaviors is ultimately not helping the person in the long run.
Fuck the long run. I’m not a preacher, social worker, life coach, or anything like that. Guy asks me for something to make his life a little better right now. If I can, I give it. I hope he enjoys the hell out of whatever he does with whatever I gave him. End of transaction.
This. I’m not feeding your addiction. I’m not NOT feeding your addiction. I’m giving you five dollars. It’s judgement free. Do with it what you will. Use it to buy a cheeseburger, or cigarettes, or a 40oz of Schlitz. I don’t care. You want to use it to turn your life around? Fine. You want to kill yourself? Ok.
Or you could just stab them in the head. Their life is pretty miserable, after all. You are taking away their misery permanently then, instead of just a couple hours.
I can’t agree with this idea at all. Sure, it’s nice and might give one a warm fuzzy to believe that a little bit of charity makes someone feel better, whether it’s food and a blanket, or a 40 and a rock. But the point is, charity isn’t an end in and of itself, it should have purpose to it, and that purpose should be to help people. How is condoning someone’s drug habit doing anything to help them? Sure, maybe they don’t feel pain for a few minutes or a couple hours, but if everyone who gives to that panhandler is like that, it all adds up to just an existence of numbness to their shitty situation.
Or remove the homelessness from it and imagine a family member. Let’s imagine a cousin or a sibling or a nephew or whatever who comes asking for money for food, but you’re quite sure they’re just going to spend it on drugs. Do you give them the money? Wouldn’t they be better off if you took a few minutes and took them to the store and bought them some food? Maybe if you cooked them a nice meal. Or maybe you bring them to a shelter and make a donation to them instead.
Yes, I’ve offered to buy food for panhandlers and, not unsurprisingly, I’ve been turned down every time I have. I want to help, and enabling is the exact opposite of that.
Well put and in line my own inclinations towards random acts of kindness. Besides, I can always use some good karma.
Because maybe their drug use is what they want out of life and they are asking for help getting exactly what they want? Maybe?
That sounds like something I said! Really!
My reasoning, like you mentioned, is that some small amount of money that people are going to be giving is not going to change the person’s life for the better, nor bring relief to their suffering. A dollar here or there, or change, is not going to buy a decent meal for a grown adult. So if they want to get drunk a little or get high, then ultimately its not going to hurt them that much. Would you rather be high or starving? Drunk or in pain?
This is assuming most people, myself included, are not going to take the time, effort, and money to get these people real help. There are few people who would do that, and good on them who take the time to do it, but I am not one of them and neither are most people. I’m not some saint, but I’m not choosing to be one. If I can be a slightly better person with little effort, I’ll do it. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to do a little good when you won’t do a lot of good
And I admit it, it does make me feel a little better to give money because I can afford it and I think I’m helping. So what if I get that guilty pleasure? A guilty pleasure for me is possibly a hot meal for him, so excuse me if I feel better about myself when giving money
Usually, the same people against giving out money are the same ones who offer unrealistic or no recourse. Get a job? How’s he supposed to do that with ratty clothes and no address? Would you hire him? Would any corporation take their chance on a guy off the street with no verifiable information? Add to that a significant percentage of the homeless have untreated mental illnesses, and the retort “get a job” seems more like an insult designed to highlight someone’s hopelessness rather than an honest attempt at improvement.
The alternative from these people who complain about panhandling is no money at all for the guy. Even if he does try to take your stupid advice, how’s he supposed to focus while starving? If you don’t give money to a panhandler, don’t expect him to take that lesson to heart and better his life. You’re not teaching him anything by refusing to give
And finally, these people all assume that the homeless are all or mostly addicts. But what if they’re not? I don’t know the percentage, but couldn’t you think that there is some guy out there that you ignored that actually just needed some money for food? Or money for his family? You’d take the chance at withholding your measly dollar or two and let him or his family starve? That money doesn’t mean anything to you but it may mean a lot to him. It must be nice to mentally roll the dice to assume that he must not be one of the starving ones but one of the druggies. So that’s why I give, because there’s a chance he’s actually hurt for cash, and if I don’t need it, I’ll take the chance that he’s desperate and not an alcoholic. And you should too
Or maybe they will just start robbing people or breaking into homes to feed their addictions. If you show people that you don’t care then don’t be surprised when they return the feeling. Scrooge would be well respected and admired these days. 
I wonder why you equate not giving to panhandlers with not caring? I don’t think that works for some of us.
Because illegal drugs and alcohol are harmful. By supporting someone’s drug habit, I’d be contributing to their health decline, possibly death as well.
Maybe they actually were trying to get something to eat. And a beer. So what.
We are all going to die, some with good jobs will die from alcohol or tobacco related illnesses. Some well respected people die from drug overdoses. It’s about not judging other people; doing unto others what you would want people to do to you in a similar situation. WWJD?
Jesus fed the hungry and healed the sick. I don’t think he handed out drug money.
(although he did give free booze to the drunk people at a wedding) 
But you don’t know they are going to buy drugs, you would be judging, which is something Jesus said not to do, least you be judged. All men are sinners, every single one of them. But people like to wag the finger at the poor and destitute because it makes them feel better about themselves. They should be more like me and not be a burden. I have to work so they should have to work to. It’s called be self centered and hypocritical when people do turn there back on someone in need.