Beggars
 

Do you give spare change to beggars? How often do you find yourself in the position of deciding whether or not to give? Do you have a strong opinion about it?


multi choice poll .....read all the answers before you submit your votes.

I only give them money if they don't ask for it.

I remember a recent visit to Philly with my sons where we were asked for money right outside a McDonalds. I refused him and we continued to go in and have lunch. My son asked if we could buy him lunch instead of giving him money he would probably waste. We did and he was most grateful for a warm meal.
Things your damn kids think of - eh?

I don't normally give directly to beggars. Instead I give to support institutions like Goodwill, AMVETS, The Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. I believe greatly in the impact of and value of voluntary societies and their services to the needy public. That said, I also do not live in an urban area at the moment so I am not encountering beggars on a regular basis right now.

True story, there was this one guy who announced that he was the joke-telling beggar. He wanted to give something in return for your donation, so he had jokes. He said

"Who was the first carpenter."

who.

"Eve. She made Adam's banana stand."

I gave the guy all the change in my pocket.

i gave a guy a chic fil a sandwich tonight

Begging is illegal here, so we really don't see it other than the odd smoke bummer at the bus stop or drunk late at night.

We have a lot of charities which we give to though as often as we see them.

I make frequent trips with my wife to the LA wholesale flower mart, early in the morning. Every time, I load up my pocket with singles to hand out. I usually ask street people to give us a hand with loading the van, or schlepping things back and forth from the warehouse.

Last time I was in Edinburgh, Scotland, I was waiting for the public transit coach when a guy kept hovering around, asking us to move. He was picking up the cigarette butts off the ground, from under our feet, and using the remains to make his own ciggy's. When I got back to my friends house I told them because I had never seen it before and they said it's actually pretty common due to the high cost of cigarettes. I thought he was a beggar and I was pretty close to just taking him to the damn store and buying him a pack myself (and I'm a non-smoker).

I've also heard stories of beggars in NY making a killing on the streets who have a pretty high incomes so at the end of the day they would walk around the corner and get into their new sports car. I don't know if that ones true....

I have met quite a few beggars in Australia, in city centers in the evening usually. If I am walking through such a place I often have a few coins - $1 or $2 - in my pocket so if I do choose to give, I don't have to dig out my wallet.

I was approached by beggars several time in Japan. The weird thing was the gesture for "money" is to make a circle (representing a coin) with the thumb and forefinger, much like our "ok" gesture, but done in front of the stomach with the palm upwards. The "gimme money" gesture is to move this backwards and forwards gently.

I was quite taken aback, at first.

I always gave to ones who could ask me in English. They might be useful later on.

And on recycling nights I would sometimes leave several coins stacked neatly (to show it was on purpose) in a place where the homeless recycling scavengers would see it. It was always gone the next day.

If the beggars are polite or entertaining in some way, like UTs example, I'll give them something. Most often not what they would like but something.

Most of the beggars that I encounter are outside the US. That will surely change in the coming months as we see the screws tighten here, but anyway....

An American beggar will demand $5 if I offer them $2. Twenty if I offer five and so on. If they aren't satisfied they carry on which doesn't help their cause. I all but quit giving money and instead give food outside McDo or a grocery store.

The Filipino beggars are pretty easy to please with just a few pesos and a few minutes of my attention.

The older pinoys are those that get my sympathy. Most of the time we buy extra at the burger shack or grocery store and hand a small number of items out to people.

They are always thankful and appreciate what we give. Contrast that with the Americans that seem to gravitate to me and are never satisfied and rarely polite.

While my sis and I were in NOLA we ran into quite a few beggars. We always offered to buy them a sandwich (like fast food, whatever) but no money. They NEVER wanted the sandwich so we never gave them anything.

When I was in LA, outside the public library, a guy gave me a song and dance about being a student, his car being out of gas somewhere...etc and so on. He did have a pile of books but didn't look much like a student. I gave him 5 bucks, saying "Not sure about your story but I sure liked your approach." He just seemed very personable, and I was feeling very generous.

When a beggar asks me for money, I ask if he will give me a receipt. Yeah, I know, but fair is fair for all. We do give generously to charitable organizations and causes, but I'd be very tempted to give to an individual if I got a good joke or story from it!

When I first moved to this city, 19 years ago, I would give money to beggars. At some point after seeing the same beggars in the same spot for years, I decided I would stop. I figured I wasn't helping them, I was just enabling them. Now I give money to charities that help the homeless. I won't give a cent to a person on the the street asking me. I don't ignore them and walk by. I'll look them in the eye to acknowledge them and say "sorry, no."

In this city, there are plenty of places that feed the homeless, and there are a couple of shelters (although one is closing.) Nobody is going to starve on the streets of DC as things stand now.

Edit: FYI, I walk past about 6-10 beggars a day.

Bah, don't ever give anything, to anyone, ever. Do I look like fucking Santa Clause?

I never give money to men. Even in this day and age, men have a better chance of finding a job, and make more than women do. Fuck 'em.

I'll give food, though.

I give if I am able to. I honestly don't care that they may take that money and put it towards drugs or alcohol. If they're addicts their need is as urgent as my need for food, until they are cured of their addiction...and living in a shop doorway is not the best environment in which to find peace and clean living.

I also will on occasion give food as well. If for example, I have just been into Gregs and bought a sandwich, I may offer to share.

Yeah. I give when I can, I give what I can. I have also begged.

Is giving when you know they are addicts actually helping or is it just enabling and prolonging the problem until they are "cured of their addiction" as you put it?

Like Dana, I give what I can, when I can.
It's rare that the change in my pocket will mean more to me than it does to them - when it does, I look them in the eye and say, "Sorry, I have nothing."

I buy the Big Issue weekly - magazine that (registered) homeless sellers buy for 70p and sell for £1.50. I have a regular seller that I buy from, outside the Co-op. If I've bought it from someone else and have money in my pocket I will ask him if he wants anything from the shop. This varies from a banana, to a non-meat sandwich (I think he's Muslim - middle Eastern in appearance and accent) or a can of Red Bull (!). He recognises me, notices my hair changes and always says, "God bless you, God bless you!" Well, I don't mind that too much :)

I was brought up on the Gospel of St Matthew. Even my hard-bitten East End Nan used to give money to people on the street. Not beggars, but pavement artists, buskers, the performers in Covent Garden. Her credo was always - if they're that down on their luck they need it more than I do (she was a very proper lady and would have died rather than performed in public).

Also, we used to have charity collecters in town every Saturday. Our big thrill was to get 2p from Mum and run over to put the money in their collection tin. We'd get a big smile and a thank you and a sticker. I know "beggars" are not the same thing, but childhood experiences all count in this type of scenario.

PS - Bruce? I lol'd.

Most of the panhandlers in Philadelphia are pros. I need my money much more than they do, so I hold on to it. The ones in my neighborhood know that I don't give, so they usually don't ask. But if they say hello, I'll smile and say hello back.

Once I asked a guy, who used to come into our store to exchange "Hard money for soft money" why he always had so much change. He replied, "It's what I do. It's my job." He told me on another occasion that he was an alcoholic and couldn't keep a regular job, so I guess his chosen profession was the only job he felt he could keep. He did pretty well--made enough to be able to eat at nice Old City restaurants once in a while. :rolleyes:

The reality of the situation, classic, is that they will get their drug come what may. My giving, or not....other passers by giving, or not will have no discernable effect on their addiction. Addicts don't give up drugs because they can't afford them. They simply find other, even less socially desirable ways of funding the habit. A full blown addiction outweighs everything else. And sometimes ... judge me if you will for this ... alcohol keeps you warmer in the night than a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. And if you have spiralled into a life wrapped in heroin and the rituals that go with it, the daily mission to achieve the next £10 or £20 wrap is your life. The earlier in the evening you can get hold of that solace, that absolute necessity if you are to get through the night without awful, rending, gut churning pain and distress, then the earlier you can begin finding somewhere to sleep and building up a bit of body heat in whatever space you find.

And y'never know. They may already have enough for that wrap, and yours might be the quid that buys them a meat pie or a cup of tea; a packet of fags, a toilet roll, tampons, the occasional call home to mum.

I've become fairly practiced at turning beggars down ... usually start by not making eye contact. Of course most of the beggars I'm dealing with are trying to game their way into the hospital AND to get a meal tray and maybe some cigarettes out of it.

I don't give out my own cigs any more, and only start microwaving a tray after the doctor has seen the person.

Your children must have very good parents! :)

*chuckles* yeah, I thought something similar when i read that.


oh and as a postscript to my earlier point: that's not to say I don't also walk past and pretend not to have seen at times as well. Depends on a bunch of considerations, like how broke or flush I am/feel, the weather, how much notice other people appear to be taking (if I get the impression other people are giving some, I may not do so myself on that occasion). It's very rare that I'll be in a city and not give something to beggars. It's not every time I go in town though. There are a couple of 'regulars' who I see from time to time. One of them, far too far gone to realise he's told me the exact same story about being stuck in this town and just needing to get train fare back, at least a dozen times. Another who is a hopeless alcoholic lady who always calls me duck and sits with her equally hopelessly alcoholic beau in the doorway of ladbrokes, next door to McD's.

Thanks, thats very nice of you to say.

I'm genuinely surprised how few of us are in the "never" option. I think maybe we've got a little homeless-person Bradley effect going on here.

I give to actual charities, but specific people on the street? I've never even been tempted, not once. My first thought when someone approaches is actually, "Okay, are they just homeless, or is this one of the mentally unstable ones?" and I start considering escape options. I guess I'm heartless and paranoid.

The last "beggars" I came across were kids in Mexico... I gave them all the pesos in my pocket because and they let me take their pictures while they sang. Very sweet kids, as happy as they could be...
Generally if I have a little money handy and someone asks, I give them some. I don't care what they do with it, once I give it to them it's theirs. I'm not judging them or trying to change their lives and I think putting conditions on a gift is fucked up.

Amen.

Dana - Only if and when an addict hits bottom, will there possibly be a change. I know this all too well, thank you. I lived the reality on both sides. "Helping" is preventing them from hitting bottom and thats all I was referring to. Giving food can be argued as doing the same thing in a sense. I'm just torn on this kinda issue. I wanna help, but I think sometimes I'm perpetuation the situation instead.

Surely the bottom line is - can you afford to help?
Yes - here is $1
No - Sorry, mate

Multiply according to your status.

Why should it matter what they will spend it on? If you can spare it, then give it. If you can't, then don't.

Christmas is coming
The goose is getting fat
Please put a penny
In the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny
A ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny
Then God bless you

The Cellar is either unusually generous, or I think you are right. The overwhelming majority of people (in this city anyway) just walk past homeless panhandlers as if they are part of the landscape, like a tree or fire hydrant or something. Like they are invisible. I at least make eye contact with them and answer them when they ask me for money. But somebody must be giving them money, or they probably wouldn't bother asking for it.

I think the frequency of contact with panhandlers might have something to do with it too.

There was a law passed in DC about ten years ago that said that panhandlers can't block your path when they are asking for money. It used to be they would step in front of you so you would have to walk around them. The begging was worse back then. Now at least they stay to the side.

I'm sympathetic to them and sometimes feel guilty as I walk past someone whose face clearly shows they are in a desperate situation, but that's why I give to charities that are designed to help the homeless. It eases the conscience knowing that there is food for them nearby because I've already helped pay for it. I also marched in a "help the homeless" fund raising thing a couple of weeks ago. Got a t-shirt and everything.

But there is no way I'm going to give them money so they can shoot up again.

Thanks glatt - as usual you said it better than I could. I donate plenty to charities and organizations which directly help those less fortunate.

After that thing with United Way a couple of years ago, I'd prefer to give the money directly to those in need.

I see it as 2 separate issues really, with some charities being far more manipulative and annoying than any individual beggar.

And not all beggars are less fortunate, some prefer the lifestyle they live. They don't want to "succeed" in "Babylon", they want to do their own thing. Even the conditions that the Salvation Army etc. puts on their help is too much for many - and those places are freaking creepy.

That's two good points in a row, jinx. Quit it!

;)

I love beggars. They're always around and they're so handy for scraping icky stuff off the bottom of my shoes. They usually don't even wake up.;)

So that was YOU! I was down and out, cousin. Didja have to use me as your own personal welcome mat?

Oh, how about THIS.

Let's start a fund for Cellar Alms. Next time one of us comes across a panhandler and feels the urge to give, keep it, and put it in the fund instead. If enough is built up, then whenever any of us falls on hard times and needs some help to get by, we can request some of the funds.

I think I would rather give one of you a few bucks to help pay your electric bill or get a couple of meals, instead of some guy on the street pretending to be hard up, while he's got a hunge in small bills in his pocket.

I'm skeptical. First, I need to know what a hunge is. ;)

Yeah, that really pissed me off. I had been donating a lot to United Way up until then.

My long-standing daily Cellar search for the term "hunge" has finally paid off!

We could all use more hunge in our lives. :D

Puh...I gave a certain amount to UW one year, and they were to give us each a primo parking space for part of the year. I got assigned a summer part, when there are hardly any students anyway, then let a girl who had a motorcycle accident have it because she was on crutches. I won't fall for THAT again. At least if I give money to a drunk I can see the fruits of my generosity later, when he's got a bottle of Mad Dog and blurry eyes. [/totallykiddingiswear]

I must admit, I am quite sceptical about some of the charities. There are some that I feel comfortable giving to and others I am not really so sure of.

Hunge, not drunge!

That's my motto.

:lol:

We need a group hunge.

I wonder if that's good exercise?

It is if a cat is involved.

Aaah, I am actually friends with the homeless, so sometimes I give nothing, sometimes I just give change, or sometimes I have the car they are living in towed so it can be fixed.

Yeppers. I have me some beggar friends. I can be friends with anybody. Anybody that isn't a dick.

I've had friends that were homeless and who have begged, but I lost touch with them when I left Bolton.

Same here. I'm not about to give to an organization that will waste a good portion of my donation. A big reason why I like non-profits handling social issues rather than the Feds, the gov tends to be inefficient. If you can't find a local organization that you see as worthy of your monetary donation, might I suggest try just volunteering your time? Somewhere like a food bank for example. Just a thought :thumb:

Guess I'm out then.:neutral:

Well there are exceptions to that too. It depends on whether I like the manner in which someone is a dick. You are no example of this, but I do know some people that are.

Heh. ;)

:)

I have absolutely no desire to volunteer my time in a foodbank.

Hey....dicks have their place.....



*waits*

thanks Dana

Now see, no Brit would ever let that last one go by...