Giving Money To Homeless People

[dairygirl4u2c]

everyone should have access to food stamps. i don't think being a criminal bars ya from that. i've lived in a ghetto-y area before, and the advice was to say 'go get you food stamps', and not make eye contact. if you do, or if you entertain them, it can make them aggressive. and they are aggressive to wear you to submission, scare you to it etc.
people who work with the homeless say that most have substance or mental problems, that's why they are where they are, not because they are hungry. people don't die of starvation in the US (malnutrition, sure). peple in the know also say like 90 percent of it is substance related, not largely mental illness or tough luck. the last thing it is, what people fear, tough luckm it aint. at least as far as eating goes.
there are some though, under the radar. they are people evading the law, cause if they apply for benefits, they get caught.
a lot of the people might be hungry, if htey sold all their food stamps for substance... but.
these odds and ends are eople who food shelters chater to. perhaps there aint a food shelter, but at the end of the day, it's mostly something htey should be able to deal with.

[Catherine Therese]

Here's an idea. If there are a lot of people around and you have a little bit of time to spare (say its your lunch break and you're getting lunch anyway) - take the time to show the person you care about him as a person and not just a charity case. Invite him to have lunch with you!! Spend the time actually having a conversation with him, ask him what his opinion is on things.

Try and take him somewhere OTHER than McDonald's if possible - make sure the food you provide for him is wholesome and hearty!

Giving him your time and your interest as well as a good, wholesome feed AND showing that you're not embarrassed to be seen with him in public. Wow, that simple gesture could really turn someone's life around. AND you haven't contributed to perpetuating any drug/alcohol/smoking/gambling habits.


If you really don't have time to take him to lunch, or the circumstances make that unsafe, I agree with the protein bar suggestion. Great idea. But make sure you at least take a minute or two to find out the chap's name and maybe hear a bit of his story. 5 minutes GENERALLY won't kill you, but it will make all the difference to him.

[MIKolbe]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1298430089' post='2214810']
The way I approach these things when asked is I give what I can afford. I do not care what they use the money for, if it brings them some comfort or joy its money well spent. Sure cigarettes or booze can kill them, so can a chesseburger. The person asking has either no other way to make money, or they have given up on trying, either way if I can help them out I do. I hope that if I am ever in the same position I will get helped by a person who only thinks of helping me, not judging my intentions.

ed
[/quote]
yes..i can see what you are saying.. as I was reading what everyone said about food gift cards or this and that...a part of me was like..'the guy just wants a few bucks'...I spend my whole like analyzing and replaying things in my head: whether it is work, stock portfolio, children, family, mother-in-law issues, politics at work, rubric counting at Mass...whatever... maybe sometimes it's not worth the analysis? not sure... someone needs help..someone needs $..give them a few bucks. Of course, I am not trying to say the food gift card thingie isn't a good idea, it's a great one AAMOF.. I guess a part of me see, understands, and agrees with what Ed is saying.

[HopefulBride]

No reason to feel guilty. Everyone has pretty much said what I was thinking (give food instead) I have been in situations when I gave money but only when I could not go buy the food myself.

.....Never a 20 though.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1298430089' post='2214810']
The way I approach these things when asked is I give what I can afford. I do not care what they use the money for, if it brings them some comfort or joy its money well spent. Sure cigarettes or booze can kill them, so can a chesseburger. The person asking has either no other way to make money, or they have given up on trying, either way if I can help them out I do. I hope that if I am ever in the same position I will get helped by a person who only thinks of helping me, not judging my intentions.

ed
[/quote]
yup. me too.

[Ice_nine]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1298473953' post='2214920']
yup. me too.
[/quote]

thirded

I try to handle it as a case by case situation. I'm sure I've been conned before, and probably gave someone their drug money, but I can't just do nothing. Sometimes I don't have the money/time/sensibility to help in the ways y'all mention so I may offer a beggar a few bucks and a smile and a quick prayer.

I dunno

[God the Father]

Help beggars if you are willing and able, and if not, don't, but there's no call for passing judgment

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1298430089' post='2214810']
The way I approach these things when asked is I give what I can afford. I do not care what they use the money for, if it brings them some comfort or joy its money well spent. Sure cigarettes or booze can kill them, so can a chesseburger. The person asking has either no other way to make money, or they have given up on trying, either way if I can help them out I do. I hope that if I am ever in the same position I will get helped by a person who only thinks of helping me, not judging my intentions.

ed
[/quote]

While I do see where you're coming from, and I dig it, enabling an alcoholic isn't helping him. While the kind act of giving him money may be a turning point in his life, in a way, it might be likened to giving an unemployed alcoholic a job in a bar to "help" him. Then, giving alms is in part about breaking one's own attachment to worldly goods.

~Sternhauser

Edited February 25, 2011 by Sternhauser

[missionarybelle]

I like carrying gift cards in my purse or car for those situations.

The best thing I ever heard though was to always ask their name, smile at them, and call them by name. It helps them to retain their dignity as a human person. It's so easy to think of the homeless as people who've lost their way and are just not really working hard enough to get out of that loop. But if you call them by name and show them even some small piece of dignity and love you can give them so much more.

Here's a beautiful quote from the very end of the 1947 movie "Monsieur Vincent" about the life of Vincent de Paul the saint says, "The streets will be mostly long; the stairs will be steep, and the poor sometimes ungrateful. Jeanne, you will soon realise that charity is a much heavier burden to carry than the kettle of soup and the basket of loaves. But keep on smiling and being kind. What matters is not so much that you distribute soup and bread, for that the rich can do as well. But you are the humble servant of the poor. They are your masters; masters who can be sometimes very exigent as you will soon experience. The more disgusting and dirty they are, the more unjust and rough, the more love you should show them. It will be on account of your love, only on its account, that the poor will forgive you your offering them bread."