Who here gives to the homeless? (page 4)

HappyDad

I was doing something good for someone and not ignoring a human in need. For what ever reason they are in the situation I don't care they are still humans with feelings.

Brooke.........

You are a lovely human being!

HappyDad

IP_SEC

I always do, cant help it. Im a softy that way.

It's different here, Lee. In Nova Scotia, you can't get a welfare check unless you have a home address, so the homeless get zip. The shelters are overflowing, and social services rarely gets rooms for single moms (unless she is smart enough to HOLLER FOR HELP to the press). There is only one shelter for teens in the whole city, one for men, one for battered wimminz, and one for all women. The capacities range from 10 for the teens (10, for the whole province!) to about 30 for the men's (dry) shelter, but it's just not enough. Anyone who has issues with alcohol is SOL, as there are currently no 'wet' shelters. We had 3 homeless men beaten to death while they were crashed out in one of the graveyards last summer (presumably by some of the more violent youth that are hanging about), for what little change/booze they had ... it is so sad.

The deaf guy w/ the business card simply screams SCAM (we have one here, and he is a nasty piece of work), but those are few and far between ... most are just lost souls ... ahhhh,,,

t

Ingenuous

I've always made some kind of donation to the CFC at work. Last year I actually invented a fundraiser that no one expected to make any money and we pulled in over $300. I'm wary to give to anyone on a street corner, though this thread has me re-thinking that.

talesin

Ingenuous,,,

Here's a thought ... in my area, if you get sick and have to go on welfare 'disability',,, you get $180 a month to live on (over-and-above your 'shelter allowance' of 500 bux, which only gets you a rat-hole in the worst part of town). ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS for everything ... food, clothing, cleaning supplies, personal items (shampoo, razors, tampons, you name it), bus fare, etc. ... we do not live in a caring society, we truly don't.

t

Sushi Crow

I feel like problems start when generalizations are made. I've known many homeless people or panhandlers (not always homeless) who would love a really healthy meal, who don't drink, use drugs or smoke. Others prefer not to do that, would rather eat crap and spend money on substances. Some are really friendly, others belligerent. Isn't this the way it is with all populations of people?

Considering what social services are like in the States (abysmal) if I'm giving someone money (I have on a couple of occasions) I feel like they should spend it on what they need to. I don't feel comfortable telling someone not to spend it on drugs. Maybe using drugs is the only thing that makes it possible to cope with all the crap in their lives, that without the drugs they'd kill themselves or hurt someone else. It's not my place to decide what's right for people, esp since there isn't enough consistent and good help out there for free.

I'm really glad to read here that there other folks around that talk with panhandlers and look folks in the eye and smile. There are literally only a handful of people around here who do. There are some folks around here who set up tables in outdoor public places of healthy, cooked food to give away to anyone who wants to eat. It's not backed by an organization, not always a consistent thing, just folks who do what they can when they can. The smiles on both sides are endless. What a cool thing :)

Sushi Crow

Low-Key Lysmith

I used to feel a lot more compassion for these folks than I do now. I worked for a few years at a downtown Portland nightclub. The block we were on had about a dozen resident homeless folks. In the front of our building were a couple of alcoves that the homeless folks would use to get out of the frequent Portland rainstorms. They would also use them as toilets. By the fifth time I had to clean up some homeless guy's poop on the sidewalk I had about had it with these people. I would watch these guys take money from all the people that would walk by and then they would go down the street and buy crack or smack with it. I was always telling these guys not to smoke crack or shoot up on our property. They would even come into the bar and beg from customers at their tables. They had become more of a nuisance than anything. I don't want to seem like I have a hard heart, but in my experience, most homeless folks are a bunch of jerks.

JW83

Thanks for all your answers, guys!

I guess I think that if you have problems, you can access the social security system here & other charities. I think of my daughter and my family as my charity - it starts at home & we have not been in a great financial situation yet! A few bucks doesn't go very far, either.

And I really hate it when asked to make charitable donations in shops because it is such a judgment thing if you don't - but who knows that I donate to charity out of my paypacket or am struggling raising an unexpected child?!

Anyway,

jaffacake

Its unwise to put all 'homeless' people into a single 'box'. They are all individuals just like any other people in the world. Some are genuine and needy, while others are not.

I would rather give my packed lunch than cash that might be spent on booze by an alcoholic. Some are mentally ill...I usually prefer to give to organisations helping these folks, rather than to an individual on the street.

But most importantly, I have no time for the all too common negative rhetoric about how it sopposedly does no good... I feel that's just an excuse to be selfish and not feel guilty about it.

sonnyboy

I do not insult them with spare change

I don't necessarily think it's insulting to give them some spare change. It's better than what they had before, nothing, and they can at least get a sandwich or a cup of coffee.

Who here gives to the homeless?

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