Giving money to homeless beggars

I see a lot of homeless guys on the streets with tin cans. They're obviously begging for money. Certainly, there's a chance that the donated money would go into feeding their bad habits. However, it's possible that some of them are just very hungry and would use that money to buy lunch or dinner. I'm just curious why many people (read 100% of the Amrican population) don't give beggars money. Specifically, what is your rational for not doing so?

I've heard that in other parts of the world (India, East Asia, etc.) it's quite common for people to give homeless beggars money as a sign of goodwill. Yet, in this country, it's almost a taboo to show some goodwill. I gave a homeless guy a 10 dollars bill and the bystanders look at me like I have catatonic schizophrenia. I was being the good Samaritan and my brothers' keeper.

There are 2 reasons I don't give money to homeless beggars:

1) While on vacation in France, we saw the same beggar begging at the same corner every day for 10 days. Always the same corner, same sign, same clothes, everything. No reason to think this guy isn't homeless. All day he was there and then at night he'd be gone. On our last night there, we saw him get up and start walking and we followed him for like 2 blocks and he pulled keys out of his pocket and drove off in a relatively new, relatively nice car. I highly doubt that he was just given keys to a new car that day, so I could only assume that he wasn't homeless and was faking it.

2) The south park episode about homeless people. Enough said.

That said, I do support 2 different charities that part of their giving is to places that help homeless people. To me, it makes more sense to do this than give to the homeless directly.

i used to but not anymore. if your in downtown toronto in a span of 1 hour you can potentially be asked 10 times. all of a sudden everyone wants a bus pass now? ive never seen so many people who just want money for the bus, or a bus pass, its the new line. not to mention the guy who told us how he fell of a ladder and broke 25 bones. half of these guys could get a job if they wanted to, yes i feel for some, but in the end i just dont really give any money. i wouldnt mind giving them food though if the situation came up, but many dont want that.

I once saw a homeless person pull out a pile of money "secretly" when the light turned green. He easily had 100 or 200 bills in his hand, if not more. Not that I was ever big on giving money to the homeless, but after that I never will again. I did give a guy in Las Vegas a couple of dollars once, but he had no arms or legs.

Originally Posted by Coho

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...I gave a homeless guy a 10 dollars bill and the bystanders look at me like I have catatonic schizophrenia. I was being the good Samaritan and my brothers' keeper.

A lot of people out there are only 1 or 2 paychecks away from begging themselves. That and you probably do have schizophrenia but not because you give Hobo Dale moneys.

In toronto the "shaky" lady was busted. she would sit and shake all day on the street corner, getting tons of money. she was then busted and her condo had leather furniture and big screens etc. she was than found about a year later doing the same thing in Montreal.

Well its been known for some time now that a pro-panhandler can rake in about 37K (tax free) a year. Thats not to say that there aren't legitimate 'Nam vets who need the money.

I do not give to panhandlers, I prefer to donate money to the United Way so they can fund programs to help them.

A lot of that spare change that is begged for in Toronto usually winds up in the pockets of crack dealers in the end.

If I'm walking on the street downtown, I have walked them into a sandwich shop and bought them a meal. Usually though, they won't go in with me, they want the money instead. When they do go in, the restaurant usually doesn't like it.

Originally Posted by Mark from Plano

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If I'm walking on the street downtown, I have walked them into a sandwich shop and bought them a meal. Usually though, they won't go in with me, they want the money instead.
I've done that a couple times, and have received nothing but thanks (technically, I went to a grocery store and bought a sandwich). I have also invited one in my house for a cup of coffee, and I have seen my parents have one or two share dinner a few times when I was living with them.

As for money, it depends on my mood, but I give out rather often, say, a couple times a week.

I volunteered at a soup kitchen for a number of years during college and grad school. After my experience there, I have concluded that the vast majority of homeless are homeless by choice.

In most major cities, they don't need money for food. My church (the one running the soup kitchen) took one day of the week, the next church took another day and so on. There is food, and they know where to find it. Seven days a week.

So if they tell you they need money for food, it's a lie. The money goes to other things. Booze, drugs, whatever. It's not going for food.

It would be weird to see a "regular" and have him beg for cash for food. I'd ask them why they thought I would give them money for food when I saw them every week at my church's food kitchen getting free food. Shame and humiliation didn't stop them from trying to score cash for booze, I guess.

Bottom line, if people keep giving them money, they will stay homeless. They don't have the incentive to break out of the cycle.

[The only caveat to the above is the admittedly significant number of mentally ill persons on the street. Of course, those are not as large of the homeless population as some people would have you think. ]

Imagine if you will if nobody gave them any food or money (or governmental benefits). While harsh, this is the most effective way of getting people out of homelessness. "The most effective way of teaching some people to swim is to put them in mortal fear of drowning." Same theory here. Take away their safety net and you will see results.

one time when my mom was young and they were going out for dinner, a homeless man asked my grandfather for money. my grandfather said he wouldnt give him money, but he would buy him dinner. the homeless man agreed and he bought him dinner at the resteraunt. i would do that, as you know your money isnt going towards crack, alcohol etc.

There's one panhandler in Columbus that I will give change to, but that's it. He's kind of a local landmark for OSU students, as he has rhymes and jokes and stuff and he's not actually pushy at all about it. I figure if the guy can entertain me with a rhyming couplet, he's earned the quarter in my pocket. I think I do that because he's not plying sympathy and guilt like so many other panhandlers do.

There's this one homeless man on M street in Georgetown who has on a different outfit everyday. He also has a Frisbee for you to put change into.

I don't do it, but I have a friend who always gives money to homeless people. I'd rather not donate to their crack-rock-booze-fund.

I wish this were a simple topic, but I'm afraid it's not.

First, there is a group of homeless that look able bodied but have mental problems. Quite possibly, if we saw mental health as a public good, we could decrease the number of these people on the street and turn them into tax paying citizens. Not all, but certainly a significant portion. So I think society has let down some of these people.

Then you do have many able bodied folks that simply feed their addictions by begging. Again, mental health. I have known alcoholics all my life, and with the proper social support i.e. family and friends, dedication to AA meetings, etc., can clean up and regain/keep their productive life. But again, society needs to help foster addiction treatment. And real treatment, not the 28 day crap. Life is much longer than 28 days and the real stress is in the real world, not some damn rehab clinic.

Then you just have the people that chose the life so they do not have to live by any rules. They get fed along with the rest of them at soup kitchens, etc. and really frost ******, as they have no physical or mental issue that stops them from holding a job.

So I buy McDonald's gift certificates and if I feel someone is genuinely in need, I will flip them one of those, as most of their begging outposts are by a McDs.

I have ran an experiment though where the people have the "Will Work For Food" signs. I have offered them yard work for food several times. Always turn me down and just ask if I can give them a fiver.