"Please help me. I am homeless and have no money."

Yeah I usually give, even if they do spend it on their addictions, I'd rather be the person who gave them money unsure of what they were gonna do then the person who didn't give money at all.
 
I never do. This may sound rude but it's quite possible for them to make money by doing other things besides begging on the streets. Volunteer for events or something and then build up your resume to apply for jobs like the rest of humanity. If people could just sit on the street all day and get money, a lot of people would. It beats working hard.

If there needs to be another reason, there have been so many working people spending weekends begging for money while dressed up in tattered clothing when they didn't really need money. It's just sick and it's sometimes hard to tell who's faking it and who's not.

There are places to give them free food, shelter and clothes so there's really no need to give money. If anything, you give them money and they'll spend it on booze or something.

If you must give them something, give them an actual item like mitts in the winter or something.

That's just how I see it.
 
I rarely give to little children straying on the streets because there are a lot of swindling children like that here nowadays. It depends really. I give alms to old people especially when they seem to be asking with their heart out.

I don't know why some others who seem strong enough don't strive enough and look for work. I went back to my university one time to clear an accountability and ran across an old woman who sells bread (I saw her a lot when classes were on because she sold bread near the cafeteria). She asked me to buy bread from her since there's few people around the campus (people are out for the summer vacation). I bought bread from her and it made me see how hard she's working to support herself (and her family).
 
I've had people come up and ask me for money a few times, especially when I was in Cincinnati. I do realize that they are people who fake it, but regardless I will give them maybe 1 or 2 dollars. Being a kid in high school I don't have much money to begin with, so I'll give them a little if I have some extra cash. Really I would prefer to give them some food or clothes, so that way they couldn't spend the money on drugs or alcohol.
 
I have regular homeless people that I pass most days to and from the train station to my office. I feel guilty to ignore them but I do believe it is best not to give them money. If you do feel guilty, donate to the charities that provide food vans for the homeless, or a knitting community for the homeless or something. There are programs that governments run to assist homeless people getting off the streets. Those that stay there long-term generally don't try to improve their situation.

That being said, if I walk past one and I have some food in my bag, I will give it to them. I gave a banana to a homeless person last week (one of the three regulars). You have to be careful though. My father-in-law took a homeless man to McDonalds once and bought him food. From then on, every time he saw my father-in-law they expected to have meals bought for them and would approach and hassle. I would advise, if you want to give them food, buy the food and then give it to them, don't take them into the store with you.
 
I rarely encounter homelessness in my part of the state, so I don't usually have to worry about it. If I did, well, I don't know. I'm sort of compassionate so maybe, but tbh it's hard for me to pass up a dollar. I'm really stingy. If they bribed me with a cute dog or teary eyes then I would because I'm a straight up sucker for that stuff.
 
I've never given homeless people money because I've never actually seen any just sitting down asking for it :x I mean I HAVE seen some homeless people riding their bikes with stuff piled on top but never have I seen them asking for money. Small town, I guess. It sounds like it's mostly in big cities.
 
There's a major problem with lying panhandlers in and around Grand Rapids. Local news media have actually investigated their signs that say "homeless vet" etc. and found that most of the people holding up signs like that are neither homeless nor have they ever served in the military. I also know first-hand that many panhandlers simply spend that money on frivolous crap, like alcohol and expensive electronics.

I would never give money to a panhandler. I have, in the past, offered to take a few to McDonalds or something for food, and have been universally turned down. My dad did the same and actually got taken up on it once, so it's not like there aren't panhandlers in need out there, but many of them are full of it (especially around Grand Rapids).

Keep in mind that many, many people who end up homeless end up that way because they're very poor at managing their money. That's a group that's apt to spend a $100 windfall not on bettering their situation in life, but on booze for them and their friends.

Also, the government offers food stamp programs and other programs for the truly disadvantaged (social workers can help people find these), and there are a lot of charity-hosted soup kitchens out there, as well. It's not as if these people are starving.
 
I do give them money, at least a small bit, because why not?
They can fake it but I would help them out anyway. I'm just afraid they will spend it on alcohol, drugs or something like that because that's one of the reasons most people are homeless. I just want them to spend it on getting themselves fixed up so they can get food, a house and the essentials.
 
I've only seen a homeless person twice in my life and they were just sitting on the side of the 55 with signs saying "Work for food". So I never really been in that situation before. If I ever did, I might give a few dollars, if they spend it on things they don't need then it's on them, not me.
 
People in those positions are not always people who lived life carelessly. Maybe I'm saying that because I live in New York City, a city where you could be living in a house one week, and on the street the next with relative ease. But I find it very ignorant to assume that the people begging for money are trash. You don't know their story, so don't be a know-it-all moron and assume you do.


That being said, I only do when it's very obvious that the person is indeed in need of help, and even that's risky. In NYC, it's just as likely the decently dressed fella is indeed homeless, whereas the guy who looked like he ♥♥♥♥ himself just wants some easy money for the day. I was fooled once, and that left me a little more cautious. That's panhandlers, though. There are also performers who do some crazy shenanigans and ask for money. I usually don't give them money, but I have nothing against their 'business'. They are, afterall, working for their money.
 
I'm curious about all the people that are like "use this money to better your life!" If they get maybe 20 bucks a day from generous people, I'm not sure what they can even do with that kind of money - that's barely enough for rent in the super-cheap area I live, and they wouldn't get that kind of money here just because there are less people. And that's assuming they get 20 dollars every day and are out begging every day of the week, never at a shelter or a food kitchen or something. Considering there's no way they can pay rent with it, they have no house so they can't apply for jobs which require a home address, i.e. all legit ones.

Donating can get them by, but it can't better their lives except under extreme circumstances.
 
I avoid giving money; I usually give a spare sandwich or biscuit in my pocket. Like what probably most people here pointed out, there are people who just spend that money on drugs and cigarettes.
 
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