People asking for money - Page 2

I remember when my son was very young and my wife had just had major back surgery. She was not able to work and we were having a hard time paying the bills. I was eating peanut butter sandwiches for lunch every day for several months and was thankful I had that. I saw an elderly woman in an alley behind a gas station one morning and asked her if she was alright. She began to tell me how hungry she was so I offered her my lunch. She took the two sandwiches and at the same time was saying God bless you, God bless you. I didn't have any money to give or I would have given her some. I drove off feeling bad for her until I saw her throw the two sandwiches on the ground. I almost went back but I didn't. I could go on and on. Offer to buy someone lunch and they don't want food, they want money.

In small towns, everyone knows everyone and we all know the details. So most people around my home help individuals as they can without the need for begging. The latest project has been a learning curve and when someone in the big city needs something, I am willing to help. Food, water, Gatorade, or diapers you bet. Never money, alcohol, or soda. The line drawn is necessities or luxuries. I believe in a hand up, not a hand out. Therefore, if a beggar is willing to go shopping with me, they will get a hand up plus a few perks. If their time is more important on the street corner, then nothing will be provided.

I've always been a soft heart mixed with naivety and it has cost me financially and left me skeptical of those in need. I'm one who likes to hold doors open for old ladies and young men alike and I like to throw out a handfull of change when someone is struggling to find the right change at a counter or pay for a total stranger's snack or drink. I like to pay for treats when one or a number of guys/gals dressed in military uniforms are checking out at a convenience store and I like to hand a child a quarter when he's in the accompaniment of a parent. I often tip clerks at gas stations but was told by a gal recently that "I don't need it.....I'd only buy cigarettes". Actually, it is kinda hard to feel good about giving a random tip to someone who smokes when you know where it's going.

I'll keep on with my generosity in that small way but I'm done involving myself with individuals who appeal for long term assistance. I once helped a down-and-outer get started in selling cars. Rented him a building and bought, fixed and sold vehicles. It was all my finances and after he skipped town with 3 of my cars, that was the end of that.!! Rented the same building to a guy with a family who was a whiz of a mechanic. He could have had a good business, but I preached "God Bless You" too him so much that he just got to staying home, reading his bible and the business went belly up. He didn't end up paying the rent and he also got away with a vehicle of mine. So I'll just keep on with my currentl approach in giving and it IS more blessed to give than to receive. I enjoy it alot.

That bothers me that the "God Bless You" comment is used in vain. It's well known that begging can be a profession and we each have to let our conscience be our guide on how to deal with them.

I never give to the people with the signs.

When I was 5 or 6, I saw one of them at a long red light. He got into a Mercedes as the light turned.

To a boy in a poor family that could barely afford tires on a beat up Ford Escort, that was a sight.

I do help with the food pantries, though. That's a worthy cause.

In the community I live in you won't see any beggers on street corners, you see beggers in million dollar homes. I do my service job for a set pre-agreed upon price. Some people, some of those people will have a couple Porsches in the driveway, the 28 and 35 foot boats, have more vacation days than work days, etc. And they will beg for money off of their bill each time. Here I am in an old truck, dirty, tired, holes in the jeans, living in a small shack, and just completed a job for them with a pre-agreed upon price. And then I break down and give them $10 off of their $600 service bill and they are soooooo smitten. Next season, they will be wondering why their nice neighbor was serviced a couple weeks ahead of them.

I usually give, reason being, being ripped off of a couple bucks hurts less than denying someone truly needy.

This is a tough dilemma. We want to help people in need but there are often wolf in sheep's clothing. This is why direct monetary donations to those in need is inefficient as someone stated before, its merely going to improve situation for but a day or two at best. However, if society were to pool its donations to a charity or government program the money is directed to specific cause; food, clothing, affordable housing, job skills training/placement, etc. Instead of giving 10 people $1 each to buy much of nothing, or worse vices like drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, $10 could go a long way in providing meals and emergency housing at a shelter for they have developed the resources to best utilize that $10. Unfortunately there are plenty deceptive charities and not everyone on welfare programs are truly in need but it is a better option than giving independent, uncoordinated and untraceable donations. my 0.02

Down here in south Florida there is a person begging on almost every major corner. Not just one corner of the intersection but one on each of the four. It is horrible that our so called gov. allows this.
But think about it. If they get 1 dollar ever light cycle and a light cycle is 3 min. Then that is 20 an hour min.
Crazy

its funny I am from a small town of about 70000 mostly college kids and so we do not have a homeless problem. here and there people will pop up with signs but no big deal but either way whether homeless or people I hear complain I offer everyone I know and hear and see a job because with out being able to find a big enough property right now I cant expand but I also do not want to turn away money.
so I offer and some take but not for long and I am not cheap I offer at least $10hr but 20hr for those who stay at least a few months and even more than that I will pay on a per piece basis and deliver and pick it up if you have no truck and pay you the same time I pick up.
still everyone is lazy and does not want to work hard for money and this at times can be but its mostly fun but a lot of patience not hard work lol

In our region there are enough honest charities helping the poor, so I prefer to donate $ to them instead of giving cash to people on the street, for all those reasons mentioned here.

That said, I would be somewhat tempted to give to this guy

Hey that guy is being honest. Lest he's telling you it's going to booze.

I've said it before an will again..I like to help folks, but if I offer to..an they just want cash. I am not cool with enabling someone. You can say what you want about it, but hey..I like to help folks who want to help themselves. You ask me for food I buy it for you, an you cuss me out cause I didn't give you cash. Ok then...

My patience has a limit, it's not about being scammed, it's about enabling the people with drink/drug addictions. By giving them money your encouraging this behavior. You can be good with that, but I won't. You want to get your fix? Go find another way then hassling me. I won't help you feed your addiction. I'll feed you food but not drugs or booze.

It's cool tho..I don't mind being called a heartless bastard cause I won't help someone make a bigger mess of their life.

I like helping folks in need, but I like them to b e people who actually need help an not just money for their next high, or drink.

Sirscrapalot - So your hungry? But you want me to buy you a forty? Alrighty then...<insert eye roll>

speaking about 40 ounces the kids I worked with at the hotel had a drinking game called Edward 40 ounce hands. Edward 40-Hands :: Play Drinking Games

I don't hand out money to beggars, seen too many scammers and hopeless drug addicts in my life. Not sure what is worse somebody scamming people by begging or those places that spam you with mail begging for donations for veterans , etc but keep 90% of the money for administration fees (my mom falls for that kind of stuff).

There are plenty of people who are needy and there are agencies to help, as long as you are not homeless.

When it come to people not working I tell them about my story. I WAS homeless for four days. I scrap all I could and find a job delivering pizza(before I had a place to stay) I work for the pizza place for few extra hours for free everyday for about year and a half. till we were bought out. I use these guys car. And everything. So it possible for these people to work.

But let me tell another story....

I was in NYC in grand central. I didn't have enough money for a ticket so I ran around asking everyone I could for a dollar or change. I had enough for my ticket in less then a hour. So I had few hours to kill I decided to go see how much I could make while I will ted for my train......... I made in three hours in new York.........$75 bucks in three hours!!!!!!! I've thought about going back to NYC just to hustle, lol.

I prefer to work within and give through my own church and local homeless shelter. We try to see the real needs of people and not get taken advantage of too badly by drifting opportunists. Not a perfect solution, but less abuse that way.

We don't really have 'homeless people' in NZ.
Theres people that are homeless, theres people that 'look' homeless, but I have fallen into that catagory by mistake.. and I own my own home...
Theres no cocaine here, so no crack too, meths not seen on the street, or its effects, theres no winos.
People on a benefit, plenty of them, we get enough to get by, NZ$200+ a week to cover everything, you might end up with $100 after.
everything to pay for food etc. Rents probably $40-$120 a room in a flat (with several others) powers probably $15-20, thats per week.
Food costs more here, petrols $8 a gallon.....
So theres hardly any begging, no obvious drug issues, welfares easyish to get - we have a 'right to welfare', its not earned.
I can make money outta thin air, scrapping. So if I see someone whos looking for 'butts', I have either
given them tobacco I have found in my travels or money, but its unprompted.
Theres a older guy I know who I see sometimes, saved smokes for him, given the odd $2 or such when hes asked.
He stops and gives me a lift in his small car if he sees me now.
There was a girl who Id see sometimes looking for extra cash, I found out it was for the 'legal highs' (illegal now...)
Turned out she would get her benefit cash, pay her bills, blow the rest on food, with what was left she would get the legals, she was mostly a few $ short, so it became a game, if she was short, and she saw me, no worrys a few $ and she had what she wanted.
I don't think she ever knew why (me) did, but that was part of the game. Now its illegal, shes not around.
But what it was was, 'we gotta look out for each other' ... & what goes around..... Theres others I see, who smoke, who always have a cigerette in hand for when they see someone looking for a smoke. At $1 each its expensive for some.

But thats what its about, making sure people do know theres someone looking out for them, and quid pro quo.
This is a smaller city @ 50k~ people.

I'm moving to Utopia..I mean NZ.



Just picking on ya kiwi.

Sirscrapalot - I wish we didn't have the hard drug problem we do in this country. - Me an many others.