A lady in a wheelchair asking for money outside McDonalds

IrishEyes said:
It's rare I have any cash on me, if one approaches me I always say, sorry I have no cash at the moment.
I expect one day one will say it's ok I take credit or debt cards and hold up one of those machines at me.
It wouldn't surprise me one bit.
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It happens here! Mobile card payment machines (or pin machines). Most are used by 'chuggers' (charity muggers) who hang around outside supermarkets and train stations and are very persistent. The machines can be bought online.

Rather than give money to someone on the street, I take part in the 'pay it forward' scheme. Cafes who take part have signs in their windows and the local communities are usually made aware. You can ask the staff to put aside a free paid for cup of coffee, if you want you can also pay for a sandwich or soup. They do not need to be homeless, they can be anyone who needs it.

Our favourite cafe is part of the scheme and they know the local community very well. I think the cafe owner would give a free coffee and sandwich to anyone who was down on their luck but, usually there are 'suspended' drinks and sandwiches waiting to go. I think it is a wonderful idea and you know it is going to the people who need it, especially in the cold weather. It's what being part of a neighbourhood should be about, we help those who are facing hard times, even if it is only a small thing, like a hot drink.
 
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Trish said:
It happens here! Mobile card payment machines (or pin machines). Most are used by 'chuggers' (charity muggers) who hang around outside supermarkets and train stations and are very persistent. The machines can be bought online.

Rather than give money to someone on the street, I take part in the 'pay it forward' scheme. Cafes who take part have signs in their windows and the local communities are usually made aware. You can ask the staff to put aside a free paid for cup of coffee, if you want you can also pay for a sandwich or soup. They do not need to be homeless, they can be anyone who needs it.

Our favourite cafe is part of the scheme and they know the local community very well. I think the cafe owner would give a free coffee and sandwich to anyone who was down on their luck but, usually there are 'suspended' drinks and sandwiches waiting to go. I think it is a wonderful idea and you know it is going to the people who need it, especially in the cold weather. It's what being part of a neighbourhood should be about, we help those who are facing hard times, even if it is only a small thing, like a hot drink.
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I haven't come across them yet but I am not inserting my card into anyone's device that I don't know or is not a business in a building.
I gave to some people I saw regular in Virginia got to know one fella pretty well, met his family.
 
It is really hard when someone stands at the traffic light so when you're stopped you are face to face.The ragged cardboard sign, the dirty hair and worn out clothes.
I would like to hold up my own sign saying "I gave to the food bank, go there" I know they'd rather have money but I think it's best to give to charities that help and let them distribute things they need.
Our town has a Facebook page and they expose who they know is actually needy and who is scamming. That is helpful for those who do want to hand them money.
 
Bretrick said:
So sad to see this happening.
One wonders what keeps these people going. Obviously not enough money to feed herself. Though the only way to know her story is to get to know her life story and what got her to that stage.
Government services seems to be not meeting her needs.
Yes, the other side of the story is that she could be wasting her money on booze and other stuff.
I periodically give to homeless people though I can not give to everyone that I come across.
What would you do if you became homeless. Wouldl like doing that now you sit outside a supermarket and ask passersby for help?
When I was homeless I never begged. I kept my dignity. I used the services available to have one meal a day and went far away from the crowd.
I slept in a tent in the bush where there were no other people and there was no chance of being disturbed or harassed.vev
Would I do that today? Lose my job, become homeless?
Having thought about it for a long time I think I would clock out. Go out into the bush, never to be seen again.
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I fee like doing that now! This country has enough money to give each adult 400,000 Per month.
 
I prefer supporting organizations because they are in a better position to determine who is truly in need. But sometimes someone will ask for money and seem genuine enough. Mostly I prefer the passive people who just sit on the street-side with a container for money.
 
If it's a black or brown person panhandling I'll give them $5 bucks. But that's my daily limit. If I encounter more than one panhandler in a day the rest get nothing. And If they are white they don't get anything even if they are first. I'd like to give $5 to black people, $3 to brown people, and $1 to white people because that would be more in proportion to how badly each group has been treated in our society. But that would mean I would have to carry around ones which I try to avoid because they take up a lot of space in my wallet and are not worth very much.
 
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HoneyNut said:
I prefer supporting organizations because they are in a better position to determine who is truly in need. But sometimes someone will ask for money and seem genuine enough. Mostly I prefer the passive people who just sit on the street-side with a container for money.
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I only give to people directly. Organizations burn up 90% of what they collect in overhead, mostly to pay for their executive's BMW's. If that seems cynical it's because I am.
 
A woman approached me in a grocery store parking lot asking for money to feed her children. Instead of money I offered to buy her food for her kids. We then went into the store where she picked out basic items for making sandwiches (said she had no means for cooking), milk, and cookies. The town we were in did not have a free food program so I felt her need was legit.
 
A few years ago, there was a homeless man pushing a shopping trolley with all of his worldly goods. He never seemed to be begging for money, and he slept in a cardboard box the size of a refrigerator in shop fronts. Later he moved to be outside the
police station, probably to be safe.
.I hadn't seen him for many weeks and in the local newspaper there was a story about him.
It seemed he was a well-educated man who fell on bad times. His sister said she often tried to give him money and a safe
place to live, but he rejected any help. He was eventually taken into a hospital where he died. It was such a sad story but I
think some people don't want to be helped.
 
It is sad about that lady. I've learned due to a couple of experiences, not to give homeless people ( or anyone claiming to be hungry) money. I take them into a fast food place and buy them a meal. One man outside of McD's asked for a dollar because he was hungry, he said. "I won't spend it on liquor". Well, when I came out of McD's (which he never went into, BTW), he was turning a bottle up to his mouth. I've had people beg for money when clearly they wanted it for drugs.

I always think "there but by the grace of God, go I". Homelessness can happen to just about anybody. I sometimes wonder what I would do if I became homeless. I told my son that if we keep our Planet Fitness membership, at least I'd have a place to shower. I can't see myself sitting outside begging for money, but who knows what a person would do when faced with hunger. But in reality, there's a good chance my nest egg would see me through (barring any major catastrophies). And even if I didn't have that, my son, DIL and other people love me enough that they wouldn't allow me to be homeless.

@IrishEyes I tell them I don't have any cash too and point out that people rarely carry cash anymore.
 
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old medic said:
That would be me... I carry a cane and hiking poles in the truck. Use to carry a walker to certain events but thankfully past that now.
Dont miss the 6 months in a wheelchair.
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Oh then can I identify. I had to be taken out of my place more than once in a wheelchair and on a stretcher. The fact I am walking with none of that I fought to be able to manage for months. I probably will never go into the whole story but I had no issues prior to one fall that seemed not that major and I feel the med system caused the further issues but suffice it to say I've learned a lot and who is good in it and who listens and who doesn't in the system here...

I was fine right up to the day something happened and the next year I feel like the system and what they missed caused my further issues... I've had it all and still have it here... A few walkers, cane, you name it... I'm doing a lot better now but not perfect... I'd like to donate these things just to have more room in here but then I've faced the things and know it could happen I need them again...

I'm not perfect yet but it feels good to be independent doesn't it after actually needing a wheelchair? Six months? Pretty similar here. And I couldn't walk or get in or out of a vehicle at all even with transport... Scary times.

Sounds like you get that as far as walkers and months needing a wheelchair... Very similar here... I'm better but not sure if I'm still not quite there or have lost my confidence and can't get it back. I fear falling majorly, etc... And barely got around for a very long time. Is that similar with you?
 
I don't know what's available to help the needy in Australia, but here there are numerous charities. I seldom see people begging, but sometimes they are on Facebook or NextDoor asking for money. I was solicited once in downtown Albany. An older couple were sitting on a stoop as I walked by taking my mid-day constitutional. "Just a dollar to get something to eat." they pleaded, then added "We'll pay you back." I can't figure out how they would manage that when they didn't know who I was.
 
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