Do you give money to the homeless? Why or why not

31 comments

1. Depends how they ask for it or their general mannerisms & if I’m not busy

2. Not directly, but I’ll buy them something. Separates out the liars.

3. Depends, usually yes unless I know they don’t want any type of help, just money.

4. I do if I see one, however I hate when they start hanging around where you gave them money the first time. It’s like they expect you to give them more every time you pass by.

   Like no offence, if you start doing that I’m just gonna ignore you.

5. When I moved to the US, I’d never seen so many homeless people and was giving out money & food to lots of homeless people. A few years later, I’ve noticed the same “homeless” people tweaking that I saw when I first arrived so have stopped giving.

   I’d like to help but not pay for drugs.

6. I usually don’t carry cash. But if I have a spare unopened water bottle in my car I will often give it to them.

7. Not money but food and cloths.

8. Hell no.

9. Not usually but in rare occasions I have.

10. No. We don’t have many homeless people around where I live, we got beggars and those motherfuckers are richer than I am. So no.

11. Nope. Every homeless person who’s ever asked me was smoking cigarettes, drinking, or clearly on some mind-altering substance.

    edit: or religious.

12. When i have some cash, yeah. I really don’t care what they buy with it to be honest.

13. Absolutely not. It won’t help them even if you do.

14. I went to get Chinese food one day and they gave me way too much food. So I’m walking to my car and I pass a homeless guy (this same guy is on this came corner everyday). So I’m being nice and I give him the extra side of sesame chicken they gave me.

    This guy opens the container and yells “I don’t eat this [insert racial slur for Chinese people here] shit!” And throws the container in the street, right as a bus passes so the food smeared all over the side of the bus.

    Another time I gave a homeless guy $5 for “food” I come back out of the store and that same homeless guy is sitting there with a brand new 40 oz.

    So no I don’t give to homeless people directly anymore. I give to soup kitchens, and homeless shelters though

15. Never. I offer food if i have. But 9 out of 10 times food is rejected.

16. I give money to groups that provide necessities to unhoused people.

    I don’t give money to panhandlers because I know that the people who most need it don’t have the wherewithal to stand on a corner and approach people.

17. Depends on the person, however most of us are just a few paychecks away from eating squirrel under a bridge.

18. Depends, but generally not as I have been jaded by people asking for money for things other than what they need or wanted for (like I know it does not take $17 for a bus ride while a dime bag is worth that much); or when they do not need it (like one time, dude was walking by the light asking for money in all fresh clean white clothes and air force ones, and a gold watch. I was like the fuck?).

    If anything, I would be willing to help if they are hungry and ask for food or ask me to get them something. Or if they are the local homeless guy I know hanging at my convenient store.

19. Money no. But I’ll offer to buy them food. Except the ones that hang out at atms. They piss me off because there is an aspect of intimidation about that.

20. I’ll give food when it’s handy, but I donate to shelters and soup kitchens in lieu of giving homeless money themselves.

    I want to help, not be complicit in the habits extending their suffering.

21. no but will offer them food or water… most don’t take it if that tells you anything

22. Cue the stories of “I offered to buy a homeless guy a sandwich and he said “no, just give me the money” ”

    I don’t – but I do give to charitable organizations that help the homeless. $1 to a homeless guy on the corner just enables him to get closer to his next fix. $1 to an organization helps him get treatment, shelter, and possibly a job.

    You’re doing more harm than good. They make decent money panhandling and begging but most of it gets pissed away to drugs or booze because homelessness is more of a mental issue than it is a financial one.

23. I did.

    But frankly,my city has always had homeless. Frankly, whatever I can handout won’t begin to help. Give one a windfall and pass 3 more. Give out daily, go broke in a week.

24. You never know if a homeless person is down on their luck, an addict, mentally unstable, or dangerous. You may get to find out if they’re dangerous by interacting with them. If you want to support people who are homeless, support charities for the homeless or buy them something they need (e.g. food, socks, toiletries etc.) Don’t give them money.

25. No

26. I’m usually sceptical of why they need the money. But even if I wasn’t, I very rarely carry any amount of cash on me so 99% of the time I couldn’t give them anything even if I wanted to.

27. Sometimes. Sometimes I’ll give them smokes. I got two dudes sitting there looking really rough some pizza last week. When I was in my addiction I would give them drugs. I’m in no place to judge anyone. And after I give someone money without a specific reason it’s no business of mine what they do with it. I’ve been in active addiction and it’s hell. That must so humbling to be homeless and have to beg people. I grew up by one of the biggest homeless camps in the city of Chicago (at the time). We never through out food. My dad would prepare it and bring it to them. And he always made sure to do it preemptively before it went bad because that’s just bullshit.

28. when i carried cash i did but i’ve gone full debit/credit, didn’t like the bulk of a wallet.

29. Can’t give what one doesn’t have.

30. I’m not giving these bums money for drugs. Most of them are fitter and fatter than I am lmao. Fuck those people, I donate to charities though.

31. No.

    My friend graduated from Yale and worked with a mission that was going to give shelter and job training for homeless people in SF.

    The only stipulation was they could not use drugs.

    They interviewed 3k people and only 1 person joined the program.

    I’ve given untouched hamburgers in wrappers to homeless people and they say they wanted to “buy their own food”.