As someone with mental illness somtimes I get bothered by poeple asking me for money and using drugs or alcohol and laughing and enjoying life more than me.
I dont think I would make it homless just asking poeple to pay for my life. especially if I became a user of alcohol or drugs
I donāt like it. I just say I have no cash on me.
When I used to work for a shop, I used to buy a sandwich for the woman selling the āBig Issueā magazine outside the store. Being a recovered drug addict, I didnāt want her to spend the money on drugs, so I just bought her lunch whilst I was there just to be sure and to try and help.
In the near by city they have a problem with gangs of people trying to beg from visitors when theyāre not homeless. You can kinda tell those whoāre not genuine, as theyāre really intimidating, which kinda gives it away thinking about it now.
I remember hearing that those who ask for help, may be someone giving u a chance to help an angelā¦ So if u can give, do, cause u never know who ur helpingā¦
Sometimes if Iām near a fast food place or coffee shop Iāll buy food or coffee to give to them. I
For awhile i made little baggies and they had socks and small toiletries and some granola bars and a few dollars.
That is tough for me. I have a big heart but people panhandling is shitty. They arenāt disabled most of them and are just abusing things. Real homeless breaks my heart and itās hard to spot sometimes!
Had this young girl the other day bail me up in the carpark. Hit me up for $3 to catch the train. Itās so obvious. Really nice make up. Nice bike. She wasnāt homeless for sure and no idea why sheād panhandle in a carpark!
So. Itās an individual basis. Iāve found giving coin to people who seem to be struggling is good. People who seem healthy and just hitting up everyone to be a bit dodgy!
I wonder how much poeple would give me if I ended up needing to ask poeple to pay for my life.
I do think I would feel special when poeple give me money just for asking.
As fadetoblack said. A sandwich is the best idea, if you have the money to, if they arenāt grateful, or demand more, then they should be re-evaluated.
I make donations to a local homeless charity.
I try to be observant enough to determine if theyāre really in a bad spot or if theyāre a professional beggar. Last week I noticed a couple of pillows and blankets on the park bench so I went back to the store and got bologna, salami, mustard, bread and some snack stuff. I put it in a cooler with some ice,cokes and bottled water I had already bought.It cost maybe 10 bucks and it was enough for several days for 2 people. I fed the feral cats which was my reason for stopping and dropped off the cooler on the bench where their stuff was. Unless they bartered for drugs it was a good move I think.
Panhandling in a car park is clever, as everyone has change.
New idea, catch the bus.
There will be scammers at bus stops next!
We have Gypsies everywhere begging for money. Children also. They actually work for someone that way, so i never ever give them money.
If i see someone is truly struggling, i will give some change i have at the moment. Or not! Because i have no feeling of moral obligation to do that. But i always question that in my head when i see a beggar. And always come to the same conclusion - I canāt save them all.
I also like giving money to poor street performers. Once i gave a rather big chunk of money to female accordionist, because her music delighted me. Talked to her later, she happened to be very successful musician pre-war and then she lost everything. She had national TV station doing coverage about her life. She also had some Youtube videos with her singing, but the videos are removed now. Dragana Kalicanin is her name if you want to search on itunes. I liked Makedonsko devojce.
The folks beggin for money in our town are pretty aggressive and feel entitled to others money, so I donāt give them any.
Plus itās just not safe to pull out your wallet when theyāre standing inches away from you.
But I did give one girl all the recycle cans in my trunk when I saw her looking through the toters for aluminum cans.
I was on my way to the recycle place, but she looked like she could use them more.
Her face lit up when I asked if she wanted all the cans in the trunk- she was very grateful to have them.
It just felt like the right thing to do.
Entertaining angels unaware
Most of the people Iāve seen who come up to me and ask for money for food are alcoholics. You can see it in their faces and smell it on them.
While I do remember what itās like to be an addict and prioritize drugs/drinks before food, I also know that giving them money for food will only enable their addictive behaviour and allow them to continue.
I feel very bad for them, but I can barely afford to keep myself fed, so I always turn them down.
We have some homeless people in this town, but there are support systems and food places for them, so they donāt beg.
Even when they sell their newspaper in the streets, they just stand there, they donāt approach you.
I look like a bum when I go out. The panhandlers feel sorry for me.
The most annoying ābeggarsā are the people who invade your personal space to get you to donate a monthly fee to their cause, like feed the hungry or save the animals or something.
Those people have no respect and donāt take no for an answer.
It happened to me today. I gave him all my red coins. He asked 45 cents but i didnt have all that amount ā¦i likei when people ask money not only from meā¦i like to give them part of the sum they needā¦and i like if they go to the next person for the rest of the sum needed.
I almost never give anything to panhandlers. If I gave change to everyone who asks it of me, Iād go broke. Maybe some of them truly need it for food, but the majority want it for booze, heroin, or whatever, and those people ruin it for everyone. When I worked midnights at a gas station, there was a panhandler I had to run off a few times, pissed me off.
I give them food. Water. I know Iām going to be homeless one day.
I donāt like to see a person not having food to eat.