As someone who’s been homeless, I deride the term beggar. Still, It depends, If I have something on me I can part with. A joint, a cigarette sure. Got a fairly annoying allergy that means I often wind up with some food stuff I can’t eat. If I have bills they can have cash. Change is kinda worthless here. If someone looks hungry, I’ll give them something. But there’s so many now in the area, you can’t help everyone.

If I had infinite money I would give it all away but my real opinion is a lot more closed-hearted.

I grew up in a drug town in the US and over time my will to help just died.

I knew some people in active addiction and every time we were out they would notice someone begging and say “hey, I know them! I have used with them. They are NOT homeless” or something to that effect.

I have seen people use their kids as props. I have seen people leave the corner and hop in their expensive af vehicle. I have seen people rob whoever stopped to help them. The list goes on and on.

It’s genuinely unsafe to get involved. Sure, most people aren’t like that but I can’t tell the difference and it only takes one. Besides that, if I gave a dollar to everyone who asked, I would have nothing left. I have to worry about me and mine.

Maybe if I grew up in a safer neighborhood I would feel differently but you don’t un-learn survival and I stopped carrying cash all together because of this.

If they ask and I have it, sure. People will say “I don’t want my money going towards drugs and alcohol” to which I say “who cares?” once you hand it over it’s not yours anymore, let them do with it what they want. Their lives are already shit as is so what do I care if my $2 coin is going to go buy them a beer…oh no a single beer, they’ll get wasted!

Others will say “but you’re just encouraging it” my guy I live in a city of millions not everyone is handing out twonies to homeless people, it’s not going to cause a massive increase in drug use or alcoholism.

I prefer donating to food banks etc. That’s a good tradeoff between helping people eat and not feeding addiction or encouraging begging. I want a world where anybody struggling just goes to the next food bank and shelter and won’t freeze, won’t go hungry and find assistance to improve his situation. The cost for these things is so little and it helps so much.

I’ve been couch surfing homeless before and that was rough enough. People begging for money have it way tougher. Just because there might possibly be someone who has a house and a car behind for money doesn’t mean it’s a scam, they might also be desperate for money despite having those things.

Begging for money isn’t very lucrative.

If you have the cash and want to help, go ahead and toss that starfish, but if you don’t want to don’t pretend you’re taking the high road.

Policy wise, this has always been my hill to die on. Giving the homeless money directly is my exclusive form of charity. Because I don’t want some capitalist on some bragging rights philanthropy board getting part of my donation as part of their six figure board salary. They’ve done enough.

A large homeless population is a symbol of a failed society’s crimes against itself.

If a society doesn’t exist to take care of its people from the worst off upward at all times, it is without a benevolent point and it’s existence is without worth.

The homeless in the US are the US’s greatest domestic victims, left to die horribly of exposure and police capital defense force brutality for the crime of failing to become model exploitation vessels for our robber Barron’s insatiable greed disease.

Most of them should have conditionless basic housing, the worst off should be inpatient mental health wards of our society, as they are us whether we hate them or not. But we aren’t willing to pay for that. Even though mass homelessness is not inevitable with good policy and funding.

Worse still, many non wealthy Americans hate them for lowering their… 🤮… Property values. This all goes back go us being a society in name only. We’re more a bunch of exploited, deluded peasants at each other’s throats for robber Baron scraps as they use their media and their captured government for blaming their greatest victims, those people under your local freeways and tent cities, for their avarice fueled malice.

Communism may starve human nature, but capitalism indulges and gluts humanity’s worst, most vile impulses exclusively. It breeds sociopathy as a desirable choice.

And considering the depths our homeless have been brought to by the society that betrayed them, I genuinely do not care if they spend it on food or shelter or alcohol or drugs or whatever will give them even a moment of solace/escape/peace from what we have done to them.

A lot of them have drug or alcohol problems. I don’t want to fund their self destructive behaviour. I’m more than happy to give money to homeless shelters, food banks and other related charities.

Occasionally I will say “how much more to get some product” followed immediately by “how much ya got”. If they show change in their palm or otherwise engage honestly, I’ll usually top them up. Have your beer dude, if your life is so crummy this is what you need to feel OK go ahead. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever give to somebody that claims they are hungry because that is a bald-faced lie.

But generally the way I give is to check on the addicts in the bus shelter during extreme winter nights, bring them hot/cold water, supplies to plug wind holes and otherwise keep it warmer, plus whatever I salvage in my travels. In summer I maintain the community “ice water” zone which is just at the stump of a tree, but now that all the people in the hood know it’s there, it’s raided continually. I honestly can’t keep up as I just have a tiny freezer but it’s replenished as often as reasonable for me. The community chips in now as well… they’ve started to bring lidded takeout cups and plastic bottles and leave them there so I don’t have to constantly scout containers.

My thinking is that as long as I’m given the choice, I’d rather be scammed out of $20 than fail to help someone who legitimately needs it.

You do you, but I can’t imagine it would improve their situation. I also don’t trust people. It sounds horrible but I’ve been taken advantage of before and I won’t let it happen again.

Where I live, there are a lot of people who hold signs on the side of the road and the end of off ramps. I’m a funeral director, and I’ve had to cremate homeless people who got hit doing that. It makes me very anxious to see someone running across traffic to grab a dollar from someone three lanes over.

So that in particular bothers me pretty bad

What someone buys with the money I give them is none of my business. These people are suffering, of course buying drugs and alcohol is a possibility. People get drunk at the bar for less.

Some people talk like giving these folks money keeps them in their situation. As if the threat of death and nobody caring if they disappear will magically spring them up with motivation to find a job. Nope. But I agree that our current system of leaving it to the generosity of strangers isn’t effective. We need more housing-first programs, with access to therapy.

I don’t like giving money to the homeless, that’s why every month I make some grab bags, usually five or six because we have a few spots where people panhandle in my city. I based the grab bags off the weather, sometimes a cheap hat or shirt or sandals in the summer, and in the winter things like beanies scarves or gloves. Then throw some plant-based protein bars in there maybe a little candy, You will definitely want things that won’t spoil in the heat of the car. Then a couple self-care items like some travel toothpaste and toothbrushes, chapstick gum that sort of thing.

I give money if I can afford to and it’s for charity, or a person asking for themselves. I don’t give if I can’t afford it, or if it’s the police. They really should be getting funded through taxes.

i am poor myself and am fully aware of the assistance options available in my area. sitting on the corner with a sign is not a good solution to poverty. i will happily pay 10$ for a rose or cup of mango slices, but sitting around and guilt tripping money out of people that are just trying to get to work or focus on the road is not an ethical use of peoples time imo, no matter how poor you are.