Serious What Do You Do When Encountering Homeless People?

Yes, that also means that they can come to you and ask for help as well. I personally don't like it when I see them on the side of streets which makes me sad inside, but anything is possible after all.
Even if it's not enough help for those of the homeless, what is the least you can do for them? Which of the choices above best suit your decision? Otherwise, If you chose Other, I want to hear your own suggestion.

There's actually a homeless man living in the park across from me. I'd love to be able to help the poor guy but right now I can barely help myself. I see other people sometimes leave him food though which is good... although the jar of olives was weird. The council took down his shelter he'd set up recently though the assholes, so idk if he'll be there much longer.

I give them a dollar or two if I have it on me. I pay for things by credit card a lot, but I try to keep a little change in my purse just for the homeless. The homeless population is significant enough that I have come to expect seeing someone in need holding a sign out in the cold whenever I leave the house I am not happy to say. I only wish that I could give more to others than a few dollars. If I ever come into money then properly funding causes that combat homelessness and hunger would be one of my first priorities.

I don't have much to live on myself, but my situation could be worse. I'm not hungry and I have never been out on the streets, so I count myself blessed. An extra dollar won't improve my situation significantly--it won't pay the electricity bill, but it might really help that person on the corner, and at least for that day put something in their bellies.

if i have cash on me i tend to give whatever i can. i also give away gift cards for food places that i havent used just so they can get a bite to eat.

While I'm extremely sympathetic of all people and what may have happened to lead to their homelessness, in the city where I am from the homeless population is generally dangerous and better not being approached. This is mostly due to the city's inability to properly assist people with more severe mental health issues that may need support, who eventually end up on the street because of that or drug abuse (or both). Most of our homeless population is one of the two. While I understand it's probably anywhere, especially in a city, there are quite a few stories of homeless slashing those who give them money because 'it was only a dollar' or attacking unprovoked entirely. Especially in subways, where most homeless tend to go for shelter.

As much as I wish I had the ability to help everyone get off the ground again or at least introduce better programs to rehabilitate people (instead of just throwing them into mental health wards or the street like here), even offering them some money or food is a risk that I just can't take. /: So I will often say I don't have cash on me...which is usually true since I mostly use my card, lol.

i'm in the same boat as janna, here.

around my city, you'd be better off not approaching the homeless. i feel like a big jerk in a way saying this, because they must've been dealt some really shitty cards in life to be out in the streets, but as janna already stated above, not all of the homeless people are kind souls that would appreciate the little things you give them. some of them are actually quite dangerous and from what i've seen in the many visits downtown in my city, a lot of them seem to be really mentally ill and im honestly just one person who has enough on her plate as it is; i am not equipped in any way, fashion or form to help someone else when i can barely help keep myself afloat. downtown in my city is also kind of a scary place if you're not overly familiar with it and i don't want a risk being attacked or w/e by a weird homeless person. it's just not a situation i want to see myself being in, so i avoid them altogether.

Not only am I in the same boat at the two above posters, where the homeless around my location can be dangerous, but sometimes you really don't know if they're actually homeless. We've had several people in just my area that have faked being homeless. You'll feel sorry for them the first couple of times, but then you'll see them with oddly clean, expensive shoes, or, in the case of one guy, I saw him at like 10 am switch with a woman who took his place and he took their van and drove off while she walked up and down with the sign. I don't know what the hell their story is there, but I've been distrustful of 'homeless' people ever since.

So I do nothing.

It really depends on where I am. When I was living in Spain and DC I'd give out money or food since generally the homeless populations in the places I was living in weren't very dangerous. But in my hometown, you need to steer clear of the homeless if at all possible. I sympathize for them and want to help, but I've been accosted by them at the post office too many times to want to stick around them anymore. They've gotten to the point where they borderline mug people at the post office and try to break into the cars while people head inside. It's just not safe for any involved.

If I have something to spare i'll help.
But I'm also poor so I usually don't. I may volunteer somewhere though.

I get really sad. Sometimes I give them spare change, but not often. Not because I don't want to, but because it doesn't make sense to help one over the other. There are so many. The right thing to do is volunteer at a soup kitchen.

I donate when I have the money and when I want to, ie when I choose to encounter them and not when they encounter me.

Besides, I donate regularly to charity organisations anyway, so ofc I'm helping in another way too.

Dunno but I do think that people who film themselves being nice to the homeless to post it online are seriously fucked up

So I'm the past I've given money and offered food but most around my area are scammers. There was one time a couple on Facebook said that they got robbed and had all their food stolen so I used my last $60 to my name to take them to a nice grocery store for some food. Turns out they were full of crap and scammed people constantly like that. For the most part, I just tell them I don't have anything to give nowadays because of my negative experiences.