Springfield Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 All the time? Sometimes? Never? Do you have strong opinions about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Sometimes. Mostly depends if I have any cash in my wallet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malapropismic Depository Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Perhaps the question should be re-phrased "to people who claim to be homeless" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Nope...but I'll happily buy them meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Sometimes. If I have a couple extra bucks and aren't otherwise distracted I'll usually hand 'em something. I don't have strong feelings one way or the other. The way I see it is I'm probably going to drop that cash on snacks or fast food or some other either unhealthy or wasteful thing. It's not like it's bill-paying money. If it gets this person a sandwich or something then great. Even if they're only going to use it to buy booze or something then it's still better spent making them feel better if only temporarily than anything I was going to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Never have. It was a big problem when I lived in West Palm Beach. Just about every other corner. On my trip to work in Charlotte, I never see any, but there is a corner on my way home on 4th street across from the courthouse jurors parking garage that has someone there all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I didn't panhandle when I was living in my car, so I'm not a huge fan of that. Having said that I'll definitely give to someone I can see is handicapped/disabled, women of motherly age, and people who after talking with I can tell just got out and just aren't sure what to do yet (and this is all dependent on the cash I have on hand, I'm not going to ATM). I'm not at the point I can sacrifice more time to help with matters like these, but those are just some examples I can think of where I've done that lately, especially now that its getting colder outside. I'd like to make more time to get involved with the process of getting vacant homes to homeless individuals (many accounts showing the number of vacant properties far exceed the number of people and families needing them). Here's an article on why its not so simple (need to go more through it myself): http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-we-cant-just-put-homeless-families-in-foreclosed-homes-2012-6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Nope. Once i saw a homeless guy outside of a mcdonalds in Silver spring as i was going in, o i bought him an egg Mcmuffin.. gave it to him, and he threw it straight down on the ground and said I should have given him the money. Never did it again, never will. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 All the time? Sometimes? Never? Do you have strong opinions about it? Did you mean this to be a poll that you screwed up ? Never cash, food when I am in Vegas. I have no issue with helping those in bad situations and regardless of how they come across...if they are out there begging, they are in need. I will only give them food. These days you can get away with saying that you don't carry cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I've said "no" before, or "what I have is what I need". I don't like that look people have on their face when they know I'm lying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacase Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Nope, not here in San Diego. I live in the suburbs and we have a lot of them. I guess they figure that because people here are solidly middle class they will do better. We have one older guy late 40's that lives in his car I see him out there everyday by the grocery store entrance. My wife talks to him when she walks to the store. She calls him her buddy. I think he does pretty well as she mentioned that he sent $100 to his family in Guatamala. We have another old guy who has a Lincoln with a electric chair. He is out there occasionally when he wants money for his meds so he says. We have a Mid 30's guy who looks strong and healthy that sits near Costco Panhandling. We have a woman in her late 20's with designer jeans panhanding I saw a family out panhandlying the other day Sometimes we get these "gypsies" as one store manager called them they aggressively work the parking lot and take their spoils back to a central collection point. Usually 2 women in dirty clothes but if you pay attention, they are not dirty, just for appearences. Plus we have about 5 or 6 random ones that show up from time to time. Other than the first guy, they are all hustlers. This is all in a 2 block radius from my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Never, not even cigarettes. However, I am currently housing a 57 yo mentally disabled homeless man and teaching him to read and write. I have a foster dog, feral foster kitten I'm domesticating, a mother blue pibble and her 10 puppies, that will all be fostered when they're old enough and will be volunteering at the local soup kitchen. I do also bring extra food from catering and work, to the homeless folks here on island, when I'm done. I'm also attempting to open a non profit animal rescue and eventually a farm sanctuary, that will be used for education for kids, in attempt to further compassion and end the homelessness of all living things. I have a gofundme account you can donate to here- https://www.gofundme.com/mamabearsfencefund If you'd like to donate to my cause and have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I'm using extra funds for a low cost vet clinic here on island as well. Just trying to save the world, one life at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 ..if they are out there begging, they are in need definitely not always true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Sometimes... The biggest issue is that I rarely have cash anymore. We were outside a club one night and gave a guy a gift card to subway because it's all any of us had. The other issue is that I prefer to give them food/drinks instead of money, for obvious reasons. On my way to a nats game I stopped at a liquor store was asked for money, said nope and instead grabbed him a bottle of water from the store and gave it to him on my way back. It was hot that day. Who knows if he actually drank it or even appreciated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bay Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 If I have any cash on hand, which is pretty rare. I'll also get meals if I can. I don't really try to worry about whether they're legit or not. That's on their conscience, not mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Did you mean this to be a poll that you screwed up ? Never cash, food when I am in Vegas. I have no issue with helping those in bad situations and regardless of how they come across...if they are out there begging, they are in need. I will only give them food. These days you can get away with saying that you don't carry cash. Not true. My folks live near the East Falls Church metro station. For the past 15+ years, there is one guy who stands in the median strip asking for cash. He has signs and everything. Washington Post ran a story on him a few years back and he lives comfortably in an apartment in Westover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malapropismic Depository Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 ...if they are out there begging, they are in need. definitely not always true. Yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 "The Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor." - Dorthy Day Been one of my mantras for awhile now. I wish it was earlier in my life. If I give, I know I'm putting myself at risk of being scammed. I'm sure I have on several occasions, but I can't worry about that. That's on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I did yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 If I know them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dont Taze Me Bro Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I don't, because I don't know who is running a scam and who really needs it. When I went into the office for work, I'd drive through a bad area, there was usually someone asking for money at one of the stop lights. I wouldn't even roll my window down so they would keep on walking by. I'd have no problem buying someone food though, granted I've not been in many situations where I could do that, usually only see people asking when I'm in my car. One time I was in Philly for work, me and a coworker were eating dinner and had sat outside in the patio area and some guy came up asking for food. I gave him the basket of rolls we had and he thanked me and left. Only time I recall giving someone money was back in college, we all had gone downtown for a music festival, for some reason, I had a **** ton of change in my pocket and had forgotten to take it out before we left. It got annoying, so I gave it to a homeless guy and told him to go buy a beer. Ran into him 5-10 mins after that and he had one in hand smiling like he had hit the jackpot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Nope. Once i saw a homeless guy outside of a mcdonalds in Silver spring as i was going in, o i bought him an egg Mcmuffin.. gave it to him, and he threw it straight down on the ground and said I should have given him the money. Never did it again, never will. ~Bang i'm not going to say whether you should or should not give to panhandlers..... but punishing every single poor person for the remainder of your time on earth because 1 turd that happened to be panhandling acted like a turd seems a bit harsh. (and that was some amazingly turdish behavior on that dude's part) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 They live comfortably because folks will give them cash. I will ONLY give food. I know the situation that you are talking about, there was a guy that was a retired firefighter on disability ( GW campus right in front of 2000 Penn), he was not homeless, he was trying to supplement his income because his disability would be lost if he had a job. Screwed up system. I certainly don't mean to state they need money, as Bang pointed out if they don't take food, they are not in need. I posted here before about how I go about looking for the needy people in Vegas every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dont Taze Me Bro Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 My dad used to have drifters come by and stand outside his store asking for money. He solved the problem and offered them a meal if they would do odd chores (clean the parking lot, mow the grass, etc.). When they were done, he would walk with them next door to the grocery store, buy them a meal from the deli and talk to them. Turns out there were a lot of legit people just trying to make it. Every once in a while, he would run into someone that would decline his offer and would leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Sometimes and sometimes buy them food. I'd rather be a sucker that gives a couple bucks to a fraud than a callous man that sees deceit in the eyes of the desperate. I can live with being fooled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.