homeless person, or somone similar in need, how far would you personally go to assist them

W

Wilberforce

Jeannine
Location
BC Canada
I am interested in finding out the answers to a few things, I will start with the following

1.You are approached by a young man in a car park who asks you for loose change would you give it to him

2. You are approached by a young woman in a car park who asks you for loose change , would you give it to her

3. You are approached by an elderly man in a car park who asks you for loose change would you give it to him

4,You are approached by an elderly lady in a car park who asks you for loose change would you give it to her

45 You are approached by a family, husband, wife and 3 small children in a car park who asks you for loose change would you give it to them

6 You are approached by two teenagers, I boy I girl in a car park who ask you for loose change would you give it them

7. You are approached by a child say 10,in a car park who asks you for loose change would you give it to her/him

You can answer simply yes or no to each example or you can explain why you decided.
 

I always give loose change to folks who give me a good reason to give to them unless I am totally out of change and money.
 
May I ask what a good reason would be also would you refuse for a reason you thought bad and what would that that be, Would you be more likely to give to one example over another
 
Jeannine said:
May I ask what a good reason would be also would you refuse for a reason you thought bad and what would that that be, Would you be more likely to give to one example over another
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I have never refused when someone gave me a reason. Someone was stranded, another person had to get to a bus, another needed it to get gas for his car and so on. I guess if someone is honest with me I would give it to them.
 
I am tempted but I do not give loose change to people who may be professional beggars. I will give to charities such as the Salvos and the Exodus Centre who take care of the homeless. They do excellent work.
 
In my community we are discouraged from giving handouts to individuals and are encouraged to give funds to the local soup kitchens, missions, etc... In general I think that is really the best way to go. I still give money to folks after I size up the situation and am satisfied that the need is IMO genuine. I try not to give money to professional panhandlers who have better haircuts, clothes, etc... than I have. I would not hesitate to give a couple of bucks to a person who was honest about needing a drink or a fix more than they needed food or shelter, their pain is very real. The situations that I normally run into in my life are folks who are short of money in the grocery checkout line, if the purchases look like real food to me I always toss in a couple of bucks to help them out rather than see them have to put things back and if it is a couple of little kids that have been sent to the store I toss in a couple of candy bars. I'm sure that sometimes I get it wrong and sometimes I get it right as I bumble along, so the short answer to all of your questions is maybe.
 
Loose change... they always want to hit me up for 5, 10, 20, or more dollars. And it depends on the situation and how I feel about things as there are no shortage of people looking for handouts around here.

The last time might be the last time for me. I was pulling out of the parking lot at the grocery with my car just starting to go forward (that's important for what comes next) when a good sized, as in strong and healthy, middle aged man flagged me down from a row or two over. I stopped to see what he wanted, thinking he had car problems which is something I occasional help people with since I carry a good set of jumper cables. He told me was with his family, was from my home town which is in the neighboring state, had tools in his truck he was willing to sale, and needed money to buy milk and sandwiches for his family. Being from my hometown struck a cord with me so I proceeded to hand him $20. He saw I had more and was trying to work me over for it, even mentioning that he didn't want to have to do something illegal (or something to that effect), and was insisting that I come and look at the tools in his truck. That was when I was glad I was in my car with it in drive and pointing forward because I was feeling a little threatened. But that's the situation you have worry about.
 
I stopped for gas in a nearby town last week and was approached by a man saying he needed to money to buy enough gas to get him to a town 40 or 50 miles away. I found six dollars in my billfold and gave it to him. I don't always do that, it depends on the mood I'm in and if I believe the person.
 
Difficult to say, but I never would hand "loose change" to any of the examples given. Today, we have far too many who prey on other humans that they spoil it for those really in need. We have people perfectly able to work, collecting government benefit that equal or exceed what others are living on. Then, they will find a means to "earn" more, off the record, by begging for handouts... selling drugs on the street corner... shoplifting... etc., etc.
Our community is a caring community. We have a fairly new and very nice emergency/homeless shelter available to any in need. We have a huge food pantry, stocked to the gills by food drives. If someone is actually in need, there are ways to receive basic sustenance and shelter.
We donate food to the local food pantry. We have hauled many, many pounds of clothes to a local charity's second hand clothing outlet. I have traveled for years and have delivered many bars of unopened hotel soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion to the emergency/homeless shelter.

We have a granddaughter who suffers from severe mental disorders. She lives/exists by herself in her own apartment. She does get minimal government subsidies to cover the cost of her rent and utilities. She has lived on her own for going on two years. She has found that churches in our community rotate to provide a free, hot meal for those in need every day of the week. She knows that rotation and eats one good meal daily. The food pantry can provide her with items to sustain her for the other meals.

This is a young lady 20 years old. She cannot have a microwave or any food beyond what she will consume at a setting. Her first microwave was ripe with spoiled food she thought she was putting in the refrigerator instead. Dirty dishes will set until they are crawling with maggots. We've had to trash a microwave, remove any and all dishes, and hire a cleaning agency to go in weekly to clean her apartment. The cleaning service was employed after the apartment complex called and said their anti-pest company would not enter the apartment due to the bugs and maggots. It's been a learning experience. She is healthy, physically, and has established a daily routine. Her mind will never be right. She does not draw a cash assistance from the government. If she did, it would be spent within the first few minutes after receipt on things like finger nail polish, McDonalds, etc. (When she moved into her apartment, our one daughter gave her a $50 McDonald's gift card assuming she would have meals for a number of days. She used that card an hour later... in full... with most of what she bought spoiling in her apartment.) She does not accost people asking for money. She does not stand on the street corner begging. She utilizes the facilities that our community have made available to those ACTUALLY in need.

Before handing a dime to someone begging, I would offer call the local emergency shelter and see that transportation to the facility was provided to them.
 
Warrigal said:
I am tempted but I do not give loose change to people who may be professional beggars. I will give to charities such as the Salvos and the Exodus Centre who take care of the homeless. They do excellent work.
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That makes a lot of sense. There are agencies that can assist such people improve their lives. Merely giving money to the individual only maintains then in that life.
 
I don't give. I was sitting at a light one day and this gal had her sign out, cigarette in hand begging. A woman behind me handed her a see through bag that had a banana and sandwich. The gal took it, looked at it threw it on the ground and walked back to her sign and continued begging. If I hadn't seen it myself, would of never believed it.
 
Most often I get asked for money for gasoline. If we are not already at one, I tell them to meet me at the nearest gas station, and I pay for some gas. One time, out of maybe 4 or 5 times, the person disappeared. I learned this method from a friend. Works for other things too.
 
It's remarkable how many of these beggars / scroungers have dogs. I've heard it said that puppies or old dogs are the best for conning gullible people out of their hard earned cash. When the dog have served their purpose they are swapped for new ones. Well, how can they afford to keep dogs if they have no money? The dogs are simply 'props'.

I never give beggars money, and if they get aggressive, they soon regret it.
 
I have given a few dollars when asked, but this has only happened to me a few times.

A woman I know told me her husband was once driving past a man who held a sign: "Will work for food". Hubby stopped, invited the man to help rake leaves in their yard and the beggar refused, saying he just wanted a few dollars if that was possible!

A few months ago, while driving past the side of a Wendy's Burgers on the way into a shopping area, I saw a man in the drive-through hand a Wendy's bag out of his car window to a man who was on foot. The following week I was there again and saw the man who was on foot now sitting on the curb behind the Wendy's with a cardboard sign that read "need food".

Where I live and where I go, I generally don't see beggars. If a person asks and doesn't seem aggressive, I'll give him/her something. It may be for food, bus fare, shoes, cigarettes, illegal drugs- anything, but I don't expect a beggar to be honest if it's for something illegal, so I might as well just give a few bucks or some change. You never know.
 
I would give loose change to any and all of the ones listed, professional beggars or not. Loose change as opposed to pulling out my wallet to hand over paper money won't make any difference since I don't accumulate a pocket full of change.
 
The "corner beggars" in my area are well-organized, being picked up by vans at the end of the day. This is a business, as far as I am concerned, and not a business I support.

I choose to support the charities that provide help to the needy. On occasion, I have given money directly to people. Two extreme examples:

A cleanly-dressed woman approached me in a shopping center parking lot, saying that she had come out without her purse and was out of gas. Would I give her $2 to get enough gas to get home. She said she was very embarrassed to have to ask. I reached in my pocket and found $3, which I gave her. Then I went into the store. When I came out, I saw her being picked up by a man in a car. As I was pulling out, I saw them drive by and I was behind them leaving the parking lot. They immediately pulled into a liquor store, got out and went in. Needed gas, my a$$.....

Another time, I was approached by a youngish man who said he was hitchhiking on the highway, trying to get home to a Midwest city which was coincidentally my home town. He said he needed 47 more cents to buy a hamburger. We spoke for a few minutes and then I handed him a $5 bill. He thanked me profusely and kissed my hand, telling me I was a true lady and an angel. I saw him walking into the McDonald's so I'm pretty sure he was going to actually buy food.

That said, I'd probably be a sucker for a woman wanting money for her children's food.
 
This was a first for me but last week as I came out of a Walgreen's Pharmacy there was a old (looked old) bearded man sitting on a bench, No sign and didn't have his hand out or say anything. I handed him a handful of bills from my pocket and he nodded his thanks. I can't believe I did that because I usually ignore all beggers
 

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