Given money to the homeless people sitting on the streets? I have never done it because you never know if they are using the money for alchohol or cigarettes, or if they are well off and just doing it for extra money, or if they really need it. The people who really need it, that is sad.
There are a bunch of people who sit on the corner of the interstate and a main street that I get off of to drive home from work who are holding up those signs and are smoking.
I heard on the radio of this guy in Denver who was doing it, he was well off, but he pretending to be homeless to get that money for his child's college education. Then I have also heard stories of those people who get pulled up in nice sports cars to their destinations to pretend to be homeless.
I think I am just going to go to McDonald's and pick up some applications and hand them out to those people.
Re: Have you ever...
Yes, I would give them food, but never money...
I do. I just think that if someone is sitting quietly on the street begging for money than they need my $1 (or however much) more than I do. I have also offered to buy them a meal nearby once in a while.
Do you really think McDonald's (or anywhere else) is going to hire a homeless person who doesn't have a place to clean up before work & hasn't had a job in many years? I don't. Also, a large portion of the homeless population is mentally ill.
What is with these posts lately lacking any compassion for others?????
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I do. It came up in a post the other day on 6-9. I really believe that I would rather be out a few bucks than to have denied a few bucks to someone who really needed it. Now I'm not the bumpie who is well off in the post secret but a couple of dollars won't make me or break me so if I helped someone who is need, that would really make my day.
I don't mean to be patronizing but your naivete is really funny! You are going to hand out applications at McDonald's to the homeless? REALLY?
Do you understand that to get a job anywhere, even in McDonald's, you need an address?
I do.
I honeslty don't care if they chose to use it to buy alcohol. If I was homeless, I'd probably want a drink, too.
This.
I'm doing the right thing, it's none of my business if they are or not.
Amen! Honestly, if they have a drug or alcohol problem, I'd rather they spend the $1 I gave them than rob someone for the money.
I would have given him money, but I had deposited my check into my bank account and only had my debit car.
I'm referring to the ones that don't need a job, that are well off, if you knew which ones they were, just to be a smart .....
I would give food though if I had it in my car at that point.
Where did that come from? The homeless rarely rob and hardly contribute to the crime rate so why would you think if we didn't give to them then they would steal it?
I was going to let that go in your OP but I just can't. What people are well off but panhandle at night? Lawyers, doctors, judges? Do you think day traders are panhandling at night to make some extra cash?
Have you spent a lot of time working with the homeless? Because it sounds like you are making assumptions just by what you see out your window. I used to live on a very "bad" corner of one of the most dangerous cities. I had tons of homeless around. Yes, some were druggies (we had needle issues too) but I would never make broad generalizations based on a few that stand out.
Really, its a few dollars. If it happens to go to someone who would use it for "bad" things, then so be it. I'd rather take the risk and end up helping someone.
I'm not saying people need to give homeless people money. We all have our different ways of helping. I just don't like the assumptions and generalizations being made here.
It's actually not all that uncommon to hear stories of people that for reasons of mental illness, drugs, or other reasons, gave up their life of wealth and live on the streets. There is a guy on the corner across from my house that was a doctor, got hooked on drugs, and now lives on the street. I know this because he was friends with my pastor in his "previous" life. He told me he even offered him a place to stay, get cleaned up, etc. and he turned him down because he preferred to live on the street.
There are people who do that, there was a a special on tv on it, disgusting in my opinion. I feel really bad for the people who really do need help, it isn't fair.
I work downtown & the homelss people here are balls-y. I usually tell them I don't have cash when they ask. I had one guy say thats okay, I'll take your credit card! I also had a girl stop me and tell be her purse was stolen and she needed money for a bus pass so she could get home. I saw here the next day in the same spot. She asked me again with the same story! I called her out and havent seen her down here since.
I will give them food or water if I have it but I won't give money.
When I see the same people begging for money that also use drugs behind my house, it's not a generalization. When my dog narrowly misses stepping on a needle when I take him outside to pee, it's a very real concern. And when I see the same people begging for money that also deal drugs and hide their "stash" in my drainspout, it hits a little close to home. It's my choice not to give money to those people, but to the others that I see that I have built a personal relationship with. Those that I have chosen to give money are the ones that aren't doing these things and are very nice people who happen to live on the streets. Trust me, it's not a broad generalization, I know everyone has their own unique situation as I used to be homeless myself.
I'm just saying, I would rather they use my money than look for it elsewhere (such as rob someone or a store). My mother worked at a liquor store when I was a kid and homeless men did indeed come in the store and try to steal the booze. So, in my experiences, they did steal. I don't think they all do, but it is possible and therefore, I'd rather give them some money to avoid that. I see nothing wrong with what I said. Other than maybe I shouldn't have said "steal money" and said "steal the booze".
Mirage222, how will they fill out the application?
What phone number will they be called at so they can make the interview? Or does McDonald's hire on the spot?
They need an address if they want to get paid. McDonald's does not issue payroll checks without a valid address. And please don't say shelter. Shelters do not provide even 10% of the space the homeless need.
How about clothes? Should they just go in wearing what they have on and where can they wash it?
Assuming they overcame all of the obstacles above, how will they get to work?
Yes, people who are wealthy at times become homeless or panhandle - for many reasons, including, as you listed, mental illness or drugs. This is very different than someone who is wealthy earning extra money on the side by panhandling. The person you are describing is a drug addict as you said. That's not the same as if he just came home one day and decided "you know what? I want to earn some extra money and I heard this is a GREAT way to do it," which is basically what Mirage is implying happens.
yes, amy#'s most everyone's preferred method of "well off" is to ask for money on a street corner...you should not be adding to their 401k with your spare change...
For what its worth, I have read articles on young people doing this...instead of getting a job, they sit on a street corner and ask for money.
They aren't doctors or lawyers seeking additional money. They're lazy young adults who think this is easier than working a full time job.
Amy#'s isn't the one who said that, Mirage22 is.
Really? They choose to live on the streets because they are young and lazy? It doesn't have anything to do with maybe mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction, domestic violence or maybe they were war veterans?
Lots of social and economic factors come into play but being young and lazy is not the predominant one for homelessness.
So you want to hand out job applications to the homeless just to be a smartass? We have moved on from having a complete lack of empathy for the homeless and have now graduated to taunting them.
Nice!
This!! Thinking that they can just get a job is crazy
"Hate on the Homeless" day. See, Yankee, just give it a few hours and Voila!
Dude, you need to relax a bit. I feel like you're on the attack and I don't like it. Please read what I said. I said I have read articles where young people are CHOOSING to panhandle, not live on the streets or be homeless. There is a difference. They are young and lazy and see it as a quick way to make money. They PRETEND to be homeless, whereas in reality they are not.
I am not making this up. If you have an issue with what I'm saying, sorry. Its something I've read.
I am at work so I didn't have time to read every post on this, sorry.
But here's my take. I work in a mental health clinic and a good number of our clients are homeless. Many of them have addictions of all kinds. So I don't normally give money (I don't give anything to client's, that'd be inappropriate, but I'm talking about people on the street). But I do pass by a homeless man every single day on my way to work. I usually make two extra sandwiches in the morning and pack him a bagged lunch (2 sandwiches, a pop, some fruit, whatever snack-y kind of thing I have around the house). If he's there in the morning when I pass by (usually is) I give it to him. He is SOOO grateful. In the winter months, I'll go to the salvation army and spend $5 on a winter coat and give it to him (he and several other homeless people have frequented this same "spot" for years). I pass out blankets when I have a couple extra lying around that I'm not using. I offer to do a bag of laundry for them once in a while.
These are the things I know they NEED. It's not my place to judge whether they drink or use drugs, but I also feel like I don't need to enable that. But if I can help them be fed, warm, and clothed, I'm doing my compassionate duty for the world.
Carney, I am not on the attack unless you think question marks are agressive.
I have a hard time believing people panhandle and pretend to be homeless when they are not even though I have read it too.
I have said it before. I would rather give money to someone who faked being homeless than risk not giving money to someone who really needed it.
And if he uses it to buy a MD 20/20, I don't care one bit.
um, yea I realize that....
I'll take your word for it, but the way you phrased your questions sounded aggressive to me. I was just posting what I've read, and you say you've read it too. There's really no argument then is there? Other than to say "yeah, I read that too, but I have a hard time believing it"
The more I read drivel like this (panhandling for extra dollars! Just get a job already! No tax dollars for fritos!) the more I think it is just a mindset that lets people off the hook. If the homeless haters took the time to understand the problems that underlie homelessness, and the welfare haters took the time to understand the cycle of poverty, they would be compelled to be a bit more charitable both in mindset and in action. It's much easier to make rash, off base assumptions so you can continue to dismiss actual problems whilst simultaneously whinging the petty, irrelevant topics that take up much more of your time and energy.
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
Then come on down to Tucson's 4th Avenue and enjoy stepping over all the gutter punks as they loll about on the sidewalks with their multiple dogs not on leashes that try to attack your dog. Ugh, they drive me CRAZY. There is homeless and then there is doing it as a lifestyle choice and let me tell you, these crazy junkies do it as a choice. They all flock to Tucson because it's warm at night. The truly homeless do as well, but the gutter punks, ugh, they drive me CRAZY. And if you don't give them money they mouth off and tell you to go Fvck yourselves, or if you get upset that a leashless dog rushes your own dog, they call you and your dog a bunch of "yuppie biitches" (lol yes, this truly happened to me).
Charming!
Please don't refer me to her, her posts get me upset most of the time.
My post came across the wrong way and if you read further into this you will know what I am talking about.
I have a heart for those who are homeless, it is the ones that have plenty of money and pretend to be homeless. Those are the ones that make me mad!
Oops. My bad. Sarcasm over the interwebz sometimes alludes me.