If that's how you really feel, then don't give anything. I think you are making a lot of assumptions about people you don't know, but fine, you don't HAVE to give anyone anything.This issue is complex and I'd hazard a guess the issues with homelessness differ in different countries and different areas. Some people are quite frankly naive in their attitudes and understanding, many come from this moral high ground place where you treat everyone the same. The harsh reality for me just does not conform to this.
Many homeless people are genuine. Fallen on hard times, a myriad of issues in their lives escalating to get them in the situation they are in. People who can be helped and who can pull themselves out of it with the right help and support. If you could pin point these people and help them, knowing they would make goood use of whatever help to offered, then that would be fantastic...
Sadly many homeless people are not genuine. No matter what hard times have befallen them they wilfully do not choose to ever help their situation but just carry on sinking down until they themselves and the world kills them off. They constantly fuck over those people and institutions that do try and help. They can never learn to be better people because the ease of being a cunt and getting short term gain ALWAYS comes first. Whether that is their inherent nature or what they've become due to other factors outside of their control it doesn't really matter, it is who they are and how they behave and there comes a point where helping them only ever negatively affects both that person and the wider society. Give them money and they are more likely to get off their face and cause issues. More likely to perpetuate violence and crime on others to get yet more drugs. They do anything and everything for a fix and would literally steal from their own gran to do so (true story).
Not all homeless people are equal and some absolutely do not deserve any more assistance. Many can be brought back into the fold of normal society and go on to lead normal lives. It is not always easy to tell these people apart until you get to know them from experience. Those are just the facts as I have seen them as someone who has worked in various betting shops in Glasgow Scotland for 9 years (FML). Some beg for cash and instantly come in to play roulette with it (no matter how much they're barred and how much we try to stop them - we don't have bouncers or anything on the doors) and repeat this every day of their lives.
There's no easy solution really but I just wanted to try and get across that some people who live very far above these people's lives don't really understand sometimes. I hope I'm not cruel or harsh but these are the facts as I have seen them. With working in betting shops in the UK you get a much closer look at the lives of these people than someone going off to their office job who only ever interacts and see one side of the situation. The blanket thought of "always give them money" just does not work or help in a lot of cases, you really are just harming them, yourself wider community in doing so. What happens with these people, I honestly don't know. It's just not easy and there's no one size fits all policy that is going to work here.
if i really wanted to help homeless people while not giving them the money they desire to spend on lottery tickets, cigs, booze, or drugs i'd work in a shelter or soup kitchen. but i don't do that either ...Like I understand your point as you think of it, but if your answer was the more literal one of "I just buy the alcoholic a beer to help them" or "I just give the drug abuser some free drugs" I hope people can maybe see the problem in your stance.
I mean, the suggestion to give them money accounts for all the examples you gave.Or better yet, stop treating all homeless people like a monolith and making blanket statements about "them" and what "they" need.
In my experience, many absolutely welcome food from strangers, but plenty of others want a bus pass, some want cash, some just want socks.
God forbid a homeless person has to eat their food before it spoils.This whole 'only buy them food, if not fuck them' is awful. It's like the only thing humans need is food. Hell, sometimes even giving a bag of goods like toiletries, clothes, blankets, food, etc is harder on them because now they have to pack that shit back to a safe place to sleep and protect it from other people. Money is lightweight and can be used anywhere...if they buy drugs oh well they'll likely also buy other stuff they need. If everyone only gave food they'd have to eat what they could before it spoiled or carry a huge amount of weight everywhere. It doesn't make sense.
The kind of people I'm talking about, and these are very specific people that I see on a regular basis and interact with, are so off their faces a lot of the time that no, they can't actually be trusted to take care of themselves. A lot of people here are talking about the hypothetical hence the talk of treating everyone like equals and don't judge or make assumptions. I'm saying way past the point of making assumptions, when you know a person's characters and habits after a sustained period of time and they never ever make a positive change in their lives no matter how much money other people give, then actually there are some lost causes. You can still try and help but it never gets anywhere and sometimes other innocent people suffer as a result of people trying to help said homeless person. Real people, actualities, not wishy washy hypotehticals.If that's how you really feel, then don't give anything. I think you are making a lot of assumptions about people you don't know, but fine, you don't HAVE to give anyone anything.
That doesn't change the fact that refusing to give money but instead offering food is insulting. I'm not going to judge you for not giving money to a homeless person (maybe you can't afford to give the money out, I dont know your situation like I don't know the homeless person's) but I am going to judge you for looking at a person who needs help and saying "I know better than you do what you need". You aren't treating them as an equal human being at that point, and that's fucked up.
I mean, the suggestion to give them money accounts for all the examples you gave.
You understand how most obtain these hygiene products right, and that maybe a woman would rather buy them herself rather than detail a specific list to a stranger.A lot of the women couldn't care less about food or money and just want feminine hygiene products.
Vancouver is notorious for its druggies, but I think our 2017 homelessness report had only around 20% of the homeless population reporting a substance abuse problem.
God forbid a homeless person has to eat their food before it spoils.
Giving money to the homeless is a horrible fix. Yall can keep feeling holier than thou because you give cash instead of food but you're actively contributing to a massive problem, not helping fix it.
Donate your money to local charities and shelters.
That last sentence. That is the only way. That and lobbying politically for more options, more funding, to try and help and get these people off the street. I always think surely there's more that can be done. People like police tend to just move the homeless on if they're causing a nusicance.. so they can cause a nuisance elsewhere. Shelters can only help if the person is off drugs, there's nowhere they can even try to get clean AND have shelter at the same time (this is horrible and needs fixed). There must be more that can be done, but giving a homeless person cash is very likely more often than not making the problem worse rather than helping ANYONE.God forbid a homeless person has to eat their food before it spoils.
Giving money to the homeless is a horrible fix. Yall can keep feeling holier than thou because you give cash instead of food but you're actively contributing to a massive problem, not helping fix it.
Donate your money to local charities and shelters.
Food is the first thing people think of when donating because when someone is poor, the first thing usually thought or held on a cardboard sign is "I'm Hungry". Also, food joints are the most plentiful and easiest for someone to spend a bit of cash and buy lunch for someone.This whole 'only buy them food, if not fuck them' is awful. It's like the only thing humans need is food. Hell, sometimes even giving a bag of goods like toiletries, clothes, blankets, food, etc is harder on them because now they have to pack that shit back to a safe place to sleep and protect it from other people. Money is lightweight and can be used anywhere...if they buy drugs oh well they'll likely also buy other stuff they need. If everyone only gave food they'd have to eat what they could before it spoiled or carry a huge amount of weight everywhere. It doesn't make sense.
If you actually know the person that is different, because the situation we are discussing is the random homeless person on the corner you've never seen before asking you for money, which is something that happens to everyone.The kind of people I'm talking about, and these are very specific people that I see on a regular basis and interact with, are so off their faces a lot of the time that no, they can't actually be trusted to take care of themselves. A lot of people here are talking about the hypothetical hence the talk of treating everyone like equals and don't judge or make assumptions. I'm saying way past the point of making assumptions, when you know a person's characters and habits after a sustained period of time and they never ever make a positive change in their lives no matter how much money other people give, then actually there are some lost causes. You can still try and help but it never gets anywhere and sometimes other innocent people suffer as a result of people trying to help said homeless person. Real people, actualities, not wishy washy hypotehticals.
No one is going to write "I need tampons" on a sign.Food is the first thing people think of when donating because when someone is poor, the first thing usually thought or held on a cardboard sign is "I'm Hungry". Also, food joints are the most plentiful and easiest for someone to spend a bit of cash and buy lunch for someone.
Things like socks, fem hygiene, oral care, a bus pass and other important things make sense.
But when was the last time any homeless person asked for these items or had a sign saying to please spare bus tickets to get a homeless shelter? Never.
And people who donate aren't mind readers. Nor are they spending 4 hours per day figuring out what to give.No one is going to write "I need tampons" on a sign.
I have seen plenty of signs asking for bus fare though, and plenty of people have asked me specifically for bus fare.
Yes, that's what I already said. You either give what they ask for or you don't give. The whole reason they are asking for money is because money is the most efficient way of fulfilling their needs, whatever they may be.And people who donate aren't mind readers. Nor are they spending 4 hours per day figuring out what to give.
People who donate are walking down the street and see someone on a sidewalk. In the 8 seconds they have before being beside them they are probably fiddling through their pockets if they have a buck on them or if they really are willing, will stop and spend a few minutes offering them food from probably closest food place within a 60 second walk.
So you got to understand, something like socks sounds reasonable. Who is carrying around new packs of socks of them? Nobody. And nobody is going to offer to take someone to Walmart and head to the Mens or Womens section to find socks. People may donate, but people will donate as little time as possible too. That's life. That's why you have lots of people signing a cheque to donate money to a charity, but likely offered zero volunteer time. And then it's back to their own lives.
You mentioned bus fare. Ok, maybe someone did for you. But most don't.
Most people will ask for money. Whether they use it wisely or spend it on smokes nobody knows. It's a simple case of homeless people wanting control of the money and the donater being the one who is holding the money. If the donater doesn't feel comfortable giving money to an uncertain usage of funds, that's their choice. And homeless people have to respect that regardless of whether the moral thing to do is to give or not give because the initial control of funds is in the donater's hands.
As someone who was once homeless...
I never actually needed food. It was relatively easy to get cheap or free meals. And when it wasn't, a hour of panhandling would get you enough for a cheeseburger.
I needed money. It wasn't for drugs or alcohol most of the time - although I definitely bought (and sold) both while homeless. It was for everything else. It was for public transportation fares to get around the city - because the best places to sleep, the places to get a hot meal, the places to get a shower, do laundry, panhandle, and... try to get out of being homeless... are often nowhere near each other. It was for washing/drying clothes at some ghetto laundromat at 3 am. It was for trying to get enough together to spend a night in a hotel. It was for buying little things like toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo just to wash your hair/brush your teeth in some truck stop bathroom so you'd still feel human. It was for phone calls to old friends and family begging for a place to stay.
Plus it's not like people who aren't homeless don't blow money on drugs and alcohol to drown out their shitty lives. And I guarantee whatever crap you think you're struggling with that needs to be dulled down with a couple beers or a few bong hits is infinitely less shitty than truly being homeless.
So... yeah...
"Fuck you" is a rather appropriate response to the bullshit that people like you would constantly just assume every cent you get as a homeless person is spent on drugs and shit. You aren't offering food because you want to help - you are doing so to feel less guilty, while still judging the fuck out of someone less fortunate than you. If you don't actually give a shit, that's fine. Just ghost homeless people like +90% of everyone else does. That's honestly less insulting than what you are doing.
Last thing you want to give is money. It's going right to booze, smokes and drugs.
Best thing to do is donate items to shelters which homeless people go to to get stuff. Never thought about it, but if you read articles, giving coats and shirts is actually a low priority since everyone gives those. Overflow. Instead, if you donate new packs of underwear and socks (stuff people never think of when donating), it's a better choice.
I truly do not understand the point of a shelter that charges an entrance fee, that is so fucked up.And what about places like my home town that charge an admission fee for homeless shelters?
How are they supposed to get to those things when they don't have the money to get in?
And you wonder why most people won't give a homeless person even a quarter.As someone who was once homeless...
I never actually needed food. It was relatively easy to get cheap or free meals. And when it wasn't, a hour of panhandling would get you enough for a cheeseburger.
I needed money. It wasn't for drugs or alcohol most of the time - although I definitely bought (and sold) both while homeless. It was for everything else. It was for public transportation fares to get around the city - because the best places to sleep, the places to get a hot meal, the places to get a shower, do laundry, panhandle, and... try to get out of being homeless... are often nowhere near each other. It was for washing/drying clothes at some ghetto laundromat at 3 am. It was for trying to get enough together to spend a night in a hotel. It was for buying little things like toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo just to wash your hair/brush your teeth in some truck stop bathroom so you'd still feel human. It was for phone calls to old friends and family begging for a place to stay.
Plus it's not like people who aren't homeless don't blow money on drugs and alcohol to drown out their shitty lives. And I guarantee whatever crap you think you're struggling with that needs to be dulled down with a couple beers or a few bong hits is infinitely less shitty than truly being homeless.
So... yeah...
"Fuck you" is a rather appropriate response to the bullshit that people like you would constantly just assume every cent you get as a homeless person is spent on drugs and shit. You aren't offering food because you want to help - you are doing so to feel less guilty, while still judging the fuck out of someone less fortunate than you. If you don't actually give a shit, that's fine. Just ghost homeless people like +90% of everyone else does. That's honestly less insulting than what you are doing.
I too enjoy enabling people's heroin addiction.
I've been yelled and cursed at for offering food and water, so now I just leave my headphones on and don't bother.
just want to quote this because this is from the heart.Give them what you can, even if it's just your time. Sometimes they just want someone to talk to.