I make regular donations to a local homeless charity as I think this is the best way to help. I would never be sure if the money given to an individual would be used for legitimate/positive purposes.
Not all people who beg are after drug or alcohol money but some/many are and it is not always easy to tell from a short/superficial interaction.
Also not all by any means of people who beg are genuinely homeless and again it is hard for the average person to make the distinction during a short interaction.
What the genuine cases need are practical help and positive emotional support and I feel, though not perfect, homeless charities are best placed to do this.
This was not supposed to be a " I want your picture to masturbate over" thread. Why do people insist on pulling this kind of crap ? Not the first thread I’ve started that this has happened.
I donate to a local homeless charity when I can afford it. It’s a small charity and 100% of the donation goes to helping people. If I see someone on the street I’ll give them something. I’ve got a soft spot for homeless people - there but for the grace of God go I.
I occasionally give money to people on the road. People have given me money when I’ve been on the road, and it has really helped. I’ve gotten 5’s, 10’s, and 20’s from total strangers who just wanted to help. I also give money to a couple of philanthropic organizations - “Doctors without Borders” and “Amnesty International”. It’s going to be a while before I can donate again because I might need some dental work and I don’t know how expensive that will be. I will need to build up some savings for unexpected emergencies too. I’m also wondering if I should donate money to the local public radio station.
I used to give out a lot of donations, usually to animal shelters but I don’t know why I stopped. I also participated in a lot of charity events before. Now, after officially I lost my emotions, I simply don’t care anymore. I never stop to give to the homeless simply because I don’t care. they’re responsible adults, they should be able to choose their lives. I don’t know, maybe I should be a little sensitive about this subject. I’ve thought about volunteering at the shelter, maybe I can cook and donate food, that’s what makes sense to me.
I don’t like that they feel entitled to sit on the downtown strip all day begging for change/smokes I find really annoying and they are hard to avoid.
The only that annoys me more than that are the activists who are also “begging” for organization A or B.
I’ve passed out a few dollars here and there. Was generous with tobacco when I got locked into conversation. (Ah, tobacco)
Sometimes. Right now I donate $10.00 a month to a specific charity. I’ve been doing it for 5 or 6 years. When I occasionally get large sums of money which seems to happen every 4 or 5 years for some reason, my donations go up. But firemonkey makes some good points about people on the streets. You meet them for ten seconds and you really don’t know their story. They could be begging to save up for a gun to rob people for more money!
You don’t have to give money when people are asking on the streets. I used to offer to buy them food when I lived in the city and had the money. One guy was so grateful. I got to sit and talk to him for a bit. Where I live now I never see anyone begging. If you have the extra money offer to buy them a sandwich or something.
