I usually avoid eye contact with them. Sometimes if I have a unopened soda or a snack that I'm not going to eat, I'll hand it over. I do have a soft spot for homeless women. If I have small bills on me and its easy to access, I might give them a bill or two. I do prefer giving them goods instead of cash so they don't spend it on drugs or alcohol.
Oh, I'm a softie around the hoildays, too.
40 votes
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
Not usually...it's hard to tell who is honestly struggling, and who is doing it to make a few bucks, but then goes home to their warm house later. There was a local news report on this a few weeks ago, that people in my area were doing it as a "job". I would consider a snack or drink though. Even a pair of gloves or a hat or something. Never cash.
grapefruit / 4669 posts
Nope. I only encounter panhandlers at red lights, and I just keep my windows rolled up.
watermelon / 14206 posts
One time a guy asked me for a quarter, so that's exactly what I gave him. I figured he couldn't do too much damage with that.
pineapple / 12802 posts
Nope. One of my best friends dads works for and with homeless shelters and people. He highly advises not to do so for a variety of reasons.
If you plan to give them food, that's one thing. Never, ever money though.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
I always look anyone who asks in the eyes and am really friendly. But I say no.
squash / 13199 posts
I do not give money. But I will give food or anything else. Sometimes they ask me to buy them something if I am going into a store or restaurant and sometimes I do.
coconut / 8234 posts
Nope! I used to get taken in by the stories--I get it, some people are truly down on their luck, but there are services out there for them. I once offered to go get a pregnant "homeless" woman some food at a restaurant and she asked for the money instead. Same thing has happened a few times, so they either take the food or nothing!
Have you seen this video from Inside Edition about this scammer lady pretending to be disabled to get money on 5th avenue in NYC?
persimmon / 1388 posts
Nope. I know there any many genuinely homeless people on the street who have had real struggles in there life. Others have not - my brother is a heroin addict and was homeless/pandandling (spelling???) for drugs for a period of time. I feel bad for strangers who gave him $...if only they knew their money was going right up his veins...
Anyways. I do donate to our local rescue missions on a fairly regular basis, so don't think I'm totally heartless!!
pomelo / 5257 posts
Sometimes, but I live in NYC so if I gave money to every homeless person I saw, I'd be broke 
It still breaks my heart how many of them are here, though.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
Never. However, I was at a work conference and staying in a really lovely hotel and feeling particularly guilty when a guy asked me for money for food. I had no cash on me, but I gave him my can of almonds. I rarely do that because the last thing I'm going to do is open my purse to a random homeless person, but he was on the floor, not close to me, and it was literally right where a bunch of hotel people were standing.
I'm too skeptical to think that everyone who does this is in "need" ya know?...
grapefruit / 4817 posts
Nope. Sometimes I offer food or drink but no one ever says yes. My step father always offers to go buy food for people who ask for money, and in the probably 40+ years he's been offering, he says he's had one taker. He actually took the guy to breakfast with him since he was on his way there anyways.
grapefruit / 4582 posts
Living in San Francisco totally hardened me! There are soooo my homeless people you would be broke by the time you got home if you gave change to every one you saw. That being said, I always get my leftovers to go because I can count on seeing a homeless person to give them to on my walk home. I feel better about giving food than money anyways
cantaloupe / 6800 posts
Never.
I sometimes give a water bottle, or maybe a granola bar if I have one. I actually offered a homeless man with a water bottle I had, and he rolled his eyes at me. My dad has offered work to at least a dozen different "homeless" people who say "Will work for food" or "Military Vet, please help", etc. None of them take it, because it is easier to sit there and beg. They won't accept groceries or work. Just money. My dad actually knew a guy who used to do this as a full time job. He had a car and a house but made good money begging.
pomelo / 5228 posts
Nope. I've heard similar stories. But after volunteering and working for a few agencies that help the homeless, I heard somewhere that every dollar makes them that much further away from getting help. I've considered handing out brochures to orgs to help, but I'm not sure that would be well received.
pomelo / 5331 posts
No. We have SO many pandhandlers here -- seriously one at every major intersection -- that I would go broke trying to give them all a buck, even if I carried cash on me.
pomegranate / 3329 posts
Absolutely not, never. I get so irritated when I'm at a red light and miss it because someone is giving money to one of the 8!! panhandlers at the intersection. Not kidding, one at each corner at every single light.
When I was in highschool and worked at a retail store we had a panhandler that worked our intersection every single day. I would watch him climb into a really fancy sports car all the time. We reported him, but there's a law in this state that protects them.
pear / 1799 posts
We live in Portland, Oregon, which has a HUGE homeless population. Like, insanely large. We do not give money to anyone ... but we do donate three times a year to the mission in town. I feel better about that. Also, we'll give food if we're walking home from dinner with leftovers. The people are also extremely grateful, and it makes me feel really nice.
We were just talking about it this morning actually on the way to drop of my DH for work. There is a cold-front right now in town (longer than typical), so there is a big demand for clothing, etc. They were interviewing homeless people on the news last night, and I was really disappointed at the people they chose to share during the story. They sounded like, "You better bring us clothing because we deserve it" ... Seriously! Like 5 people said that same thing. I've only ever encountered extremely thankful people when giving ... I wish the news would have shared the story in a more positive light.
coconut / 8483 posts
No, but we don't have any around here. I live in a super small town and I've never seen a homless person here.
bananas / 9229 posts
I have in the past only to realized I was scammed. Now, I never do. I commute via public transit to/from work and see the same people begging every single day. One guy sits in the same area and I've seen him with an iPod and a cell phone. I want to warn people who give him money, LOL! Thing is, people like him ruin it for those who really do need the help.
grapefruit / 4400 posts
I do maybe once a month-- I give food more than money, though. I've bought a whole rotisserie chicken to a woman and her kids, along with a loaf of bread, and then I bought this girl (who had a sign saying she was pregnant) a combo meal at Wahoo's.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Never. I feel bad for the people who really do need help, but it's not worth the chance of getting scammed. I've heard of people who do this and make 50k a year begging at busy intersections every day-- and that's tax free. If someone averages a dollar every 15 minutes, that's $11,680 a year.
On the way home thru the city I see the same panhandler every day. At a busy red light he walks up between the two lanes of cars. He has a sign and... a camo North Face jacket!!! I know it's cold out there but c'mon... even if someone gave it to him, it's not really appropriate to be begging people for money if you're better dressed than them.
I once saw a panhandler in Quincy Market (touristy spot in Boston) sitting down to a take-out meal from McCormick and Schmick's. It was pasta with mussels in a white wine sauce, I think. It looks like someone ordered it for him and gave it to him because the box was chock full of mussels. I was so excited for him 
pomegranate / 3872 posts
No. I definitely believe in supporting the poor but I choose to do that through my church's St. Vincent De Paul Society. That way, I trust that the money goes where it is most needed.
nectarine / 2504 posts
@luckypenny: Me too! I used to live downtown and there were people asking for change left and right. I think my favorite homeless was the guy that said,"A nickle and a smile will last a long while."
I don't give cash but have occasionally purchased food for them.
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