Plain and simple, the vast majority of the homeless are composed of drug and alcohol addicts. A few are mentally ill, and a very few are “down on their luck”. So if you give a 5 to a homeless man, he’s probably going to use it to help kill himself on his addiction.
One day several years ago my wife (then girlfriend) encountered a homeless man holding a sign that read, “Hungry. Please help. God bless.” Having already been lectured on my theories on the homeless, but still wanting to help, Amanda offered to take the man into a nearby Subway and by him a sandwich. “Oh um. Ok. Well... No, that’s Ok.” he said. “But your sign says you’re hungry.” said Amanda. “I know, that’s Ok” he replied. Now, either he’s hungry but no amount of hunger could coerce him to eat a Subway sandwich, or he just wanted money for some alcohol or drugs.
I’m not saying don’t help the homeless. In fact, I believe we are called to help and there are many programs you can get involved with to that end. But if you’re dead set on just giving them what they’re really asking for... then just buy the crack yourself and give it to them - cut out the middle man.
Submitted by Daniel Stevens.
#2 I'll Buy You A Burger
Do I give money to the homeless person? To put it quite simply, no, I absolutely do not. And let me tell you why. There have been times in my life when I had absolutely no idea where my next meal was coming from. There have been times when I wasn't sure if my lights were going to get turned off, or if my rent was going to get paid. I have been a few dollars away from being homeless myself. Did I stand on the side of the road with a crudely written cardboard sign in 100+ degree heat and beg complete strangers for money? No, I did not. I got up off my duff and helped myself as best I could.
But this isn't about me. It's about the homeless person. I realize the statistics. I realize that a large portion of the homeless population is mentally handicapped in some way. Nevertheless, there are a plethora of programs instituted by our government to help people in need. There are millions of people who get a check from the government every month because they are incapable of entering the workplace or sustaining a job. There are emergency programs out there to help people get food, and even money, until they can find an alternative. So, why should I give money to someone who doesn't have the fortitude to help himself when help is out there? I'd be happy to take a homeless man to McDonald's and buy him a burger. However, something tells me he doesn't want my money for food anyway, and when he respectfully declines my offer for a Value Meal in lieu of scoring cash for whatever his vice from people who don't know any better, I just have to walk away knowing that I offered what I could.
Submitted by Lauri Lenox.
#3 Uncontrollable Need To Make People Happy
I give what I can. I rarely carry cash or change so it's not often I am able to give. My reason for giving is somewhat selfish. I don't believe giving to the needy will better the reputation of my character, I just have an uncontrollable need to make people happy. I've met those who say, "I don't give because it's not my problem. They got themselves into the mess, they can get themselves out." If someone has the courage to drop their pride and ask for help, then help. It's up to them what they do with the help.
I would like to recommend a book: "Under the Overpass" - By Mike Yankoski
It's about two guys who, by choice, live on the streets in various cities to see what the homeless life is like. Not only do they learn how much people take for granted the pleasures of a secure life, but they also learn about the drive some homeless people have for a second chance at life.
Submitted by Damian Trudell, Visit his blog - "My Thoughts"
#4 Before The Light Turns Green
Well, I guess I have to ask, "which homeless guy?"
I don't have an absolute answer to this one.
As a Christian, I have a barrage of scriptures and scriptural principles banging around in my head, "...do unto others...,” “...be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove...," "...give to him to asks...", "...be a good steward of the Lord's money..." and so forth.
As a human being, I recognize that “the homeless guy” may or may not actually be homeless, may be about to spend my money on liquor or drugs, may be homeless by choice (those who choose to withdraw from society), or he may be someone just like me who had a bad run of luck and just doesn't know what to do but ask random strangers for money so he can eat.
But in that moment, that thirty-second window at the stop light, when I see said (possibly) homeless stranger at the corner hoping someone will drop him a five, I think the answer is “maybe.” It's really always a judgment call. And often it depends mostly on the off chance that I actually have some cash that can easily be handed out the window before the light turns green. And if he's selling something, not just begging for money, i'll gladly buy it if I can.
[This article is continued further on Beth's Blog, Veritable Observations]
Submitted by Beth Rogers. Visit her blog - Veritable Observations.
#5 I Might Have An Illness Or Something
I usually keep this sort of thing to myself for fear of sounding like I'm tooting my own horn or for fear of enduring any judgments from people who might think I'm a fool, but yes, I give money to homeless people. I don't give money to those who seem entitled or aggresive with their requests because, well, those people piss me off. But to those who politely ask, simply hold a sign, perform some sort of service (I've seriously been accosted by men who squirted shoe polish on my shoe before I could decline), or in earnestness beg, I usually give them something. That "something" is usually anywhere from a $1 to $20. I've even emptied my entire coin purse because I didn't have any cash. I've gone so far as to ask a homeless man what he needed, gone to the pharmacy, and came back with a backpack full of things he needed (it was winter in New York so he needed some flu medicine, a giant Gatorade, and a blanket... I ended up giving him the backpack, too, because he needed something to carry all of it in).
I'm especially giving when all they ask for is a little change. I feel bad giving them anything less than $1 because my thought is, "What am I going to do with that money? With $1, I might buy a coke, but I could probably do without it. With $5, I might buy a magazine, but again, I can live without it. With $20, I might buy gas, but I could just drive my car less this month or buy less at the grocery store this week to spare it." I've even justified giving away my last five bucks when I knew I'd have to put my next week's groceries on a credit card by thinking that, "Well, at least I have credit and future earning capacity; that's more than that person has." I know, I might have an illness or something because of how little strength I have to refuse these people... It's pretty ridiculous.
Maybe this makes me a sucker... When I lived in New York I remember reading an article in The New York Post about a lady who made more than $50K a year by parking herself on Fifth Avenue and covering herself with a ratty blanket and trash bags. Home girl was doing better financially than I was at the time... But, I still couldn't help give something here or there to the guys I'd see sleeping on cardboard boxes on the subway platform.
I don't think giving money to homeless people makes one a sucker, though. No matter how broke I've been (and trust me, I was pretty damn broke at times during my eight years of higher education), I've always managed to have a roof over my head and never gone hungry. The people you see on the streets can't really say that. Sure, they may go buy a crack rock or forty with the money I gave them, but they also might go feed their kid or it might be enough for them to afford a bed for the night. After it leaves my hands, what they do with their money is their business. The nature of giving is not to expect anything material in return, so who cares what they do with it? And, regardless of what they do with it, at least the exchange made both them and me happy for a moment.
You might be thinking, "How can one be happy parting with $20 to a complete stranger that will probably just go spend it on drugs?" In his book, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life: A Search for the Soul of Kindness, Marc Ian Barasch posits that there is no such thing as pure altruism because the giver actually gets something in return in such situations. When we give, our neural functioning actually changes, our brain produces more dopamine (the "feel good" chemical that so many drugs try to imitate), etc. Increased dopamine levels create a more positive outlook, and more positive outlooks guard against depression, etc. On the most minute biological level, altruism is good for us. How cool is that?!
There are those who might say giving money to the homeless is enabling the person to whom you're giving money to never gain employment, to stay on drugs, etc., but honestly, my feeling is that 40% - 50% of these people have serious mental illnesses like clinical depression, schizophrenia, severe anxiety disorder, and severe bipolar disorder. The vast majority of the rest have behavioral or substance abuse issues (both of which are other, even if more mild, forms of mental illness). It's not like these people are going to miraculously say, "Hey, you know, schizophrenia be damned! I think I'll go get a job and become a productive citizen now!" They don't have the capability to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, so my refusing to give them money wouldn't "teach" them anything. The best I can do as an individual is try to make their lives a little easier or happier by looking them in the eye, saying "hello," and/or giving them some cash.
And, if the person I give money to does happen to be one of the few who has such a capability, I think human kindness and being treated like a person can be a catalyst for personal growth. For instance, if even one person I've given money to over the years thought, "Wow, if this complete stranger thinks I'm worth saying "hello" and "have a nice day to" and giving a buck to, maybe, just maybe my mom will forgive me and let me come home/just maybe the people down at the shelter will help me get a job/just maybe I can get through rehab this time..." then it has been more than worth it. I think sometimes people may just need a little help believing in themselves, and maybe a smile, some cash, and interest in how their day is going might just do the trick.
In either case, maybe these people will never get their lives together. But, again, you know... For a brief moment, they were happy, I was happy, and the world was a bit better place.
Submitted by Amanda Rogers, Esq. Visit her blog - Seven Eighty One.
#6 Alms For The Poor
I give money to the homeless women and men I encounter on a daily basis. I may not give every homeless person I see a small bill or whatever change I can scrounge up in my purse or pockets, but I give what I have when I can. If I’ve got a bag full of lunch and snacks, but know I could buy lunch today and let someone else have a meal, I usually give whatever I think someone might eat. And why shouldn’t I?
For me, I’m not just giving that man or woman money – I’m not giving a handout. I’m giving that man or woman something they seldom experience – dignity and respect. The homeless are not simply a scourge upon our cities, or an eyesore to be avoided or pretended out of existence. Nor are they people we should treat with any less respect and kindness than we treat our neighbors or colleagues. They key to remember is that they are human beings – you are no more entitled to anything you have than they are. The most important thing that separates me from a homeless person is privilege. Remove privilege from society – and the world would be a much better place.
In Chicago, where I live, 3 out of 4 homeless people suffer from mental illness. That population used to have a home somewhere – that employed nurses, doctors, and caretakers to help the most needy in our society (those who have no control over the way they were born or the illnesses they suffer) and gave them shelter and three square meals a day. They aren’t on the street, begging you for a break because they want to be. They are there because someone of privilege decided that they were undeserving. All the facilities were closed and each person thrown to the darkest, dankest corners of our cities and towns – many of them incapable of navigating the complicated, bureaucratic systems necessary to obtain identification, employment, housing, and health care without assistance.
All those homeless people you see have not always been homeless – and most would prefer not to be homeless. With the recent economic turmoil you can’t even be sure that the family that used to live next to you (before they left their home on short-sale or even foreclosure) isn’t on a street or in a shelter somewhere.
Systemic violence plays a major role in redistributing people, including those taken advantage of by a credit scandal. Gentrification – the process of “developing” an area of a city to make it more appealing to wealthy non-minorities – is a fantastic example of systemic violence. (I say developing in quotations here because the term is misleading, and where gentrification is concerned, has a very narrow connotation.) In reality, when an area chooses to gentrify it chooses to neglect existing problems created and fomented by a political economic system that unevenly distributes services. It’s much easier to push the poor out to the fringes of a town or city than it is to figure out ways to improve wages, provide services, create job and education incentives, and create disincentives for crime and unemployment.
Addressing poverty would require society, government, each individual to take a collective look at the way our economic and political systems work and embark on a thorough self-evaluation that would result in some harrowing conclusions about ourselves. It would also require, without exception, that those with power and wealth cede some of both to make the systems function better and to break the cycle of poverty – a cycle that by its very nature ensures that the rich have the opportunity to get richer and the poor have no chance to escape the death grip of a subpar existence.
I don’t lie to the people who ask me for money. If I have something to give, I do. To me it’s no different than anonymous philanthropy. If I have food I give that, and if I’m going to buy lunch and I pass a man by, I get change from the clerk and drop it in his cup or his hand on my way back. It’s honest, it shows dignity, and it’s human. I’m not denying that there are drug addicts and alcoholics who are homeless because of choices they have made. I don’t give money to someone who reeks of booze or is clearly inebriated, but I will give them food and I will treat them with dignity and respect. I know and understand that I hold a position of privilege and that I have the power to improve the lives of people around me. So should you.
Submitted by Laura Jung.
#5 I Might Have An Illness Or Something
I usually keep this sort of thing to myself for fear of sounding like I'm tooting my own horn or for fear of enduring any judgments from people who might think I'm a fool, but yes, I give money to homeless people. I don't give money to those who seem entitled or aggresive with their requests because, well, those people piss me off. But to those who politely ask, simply hold a sign, perform some sort of service (I've seriously been accosted by men who squirted shoe polish on my shoe before I could decline), or in earnestness beg, I usually give them something. That "something" is usually anywhere from a $1 to $20. I've even emptied my entire coin purse because I didn't have any cash. I've gone so far as to ask a homeless man what he needed, gone to the pharmacy, and came back with a backpack full of things he needed (it was winter in New York so he needed some flu medicine, a giant Gatorade, and a blanket... I ended up giving him the backpack, too, because he needed something to carry all of it in).
I'm especially giving when all they ask for is a little change. I feel bad giving them anything less than $1 because my thought is, "What am I going to do with that money? With $1, I might buy a coke, but I could probably do without it. With $5, I might buy a magazine, but again, I can live without it. With $20, I might buy gas, but I could just drive my car less this month or buy less at the grocery store this week to spare it." I've even justified giving away my last five bucks when I knew I'd have to put my next week's groceries on a credit card by thinking that, "Well, at least I have credit and future earning capacity; that's more than that person has." I know, I might have an illness or something because of how little strength I have to refuse these people... It's pretty ridiculous.
Maybe this makes me a sucker... When I lived in New York I remember reading an article in The New York Post about a lady who made more than $50K a year by parking herself on Fifth Avenue and covering herself with a ratty blanket and trash bags. Home girl was doing better financially than I was at the time... But, I still couldn't help give something here or there to the guys I'd see sleeping on cardboard boxes on the subway platform.
I don't think giving money to homeless people makes one a sucker, though. No matter how broke I've been (and trust me, I was pretty damn broke at times during my eight years of higher education), I've always managed to have a roof over my head and never gone hungry. The people you see on the streets can't really say that. Sure, they may go buy a crack rock or forty with the money I gave them, but they also might go feed their kid or it might be enough for them to afford a bed for the night. After it leaves my hands, what they do with their money is their business. The nature of giving is not to expect anything material in return, so who cares what they do with it? And, regardless of what they do with it, at least the exchange made both them and me happy for a moment.
You might be thinking, "How can one be happy parting with $20 to a complete stranger that will probably just go spend it on drugs?" In his book, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life: A Search for the Soul of Kindness, Marc Ian Barasch posits that there is no such thing as pure altruism because the giver actually gets something in return in such situations. When we give, our neural functioning actually changes, our brain produces more dopamine (the "feel good" chemical that so many drugs try to imitate), etc. Increased dopamine levels create a more positive outlook, and more positive outlooks guard against depression, etc. On the most minute biological level, altruism is good for us. How cool is that?!
There are those who might say giving money to the homeless is enabling the person to whom you're giving money to never gain employment, to stay on drugs, etc., but honestly, my feeling is that 40% - 50% of these people have serious mental illnesses like clinical depression, schizophrenia, severe anxiety disorder, and severe bipolar disorder. The vast majority of the rest have behavioral or substance abuse issues (both of which are other, even if more mild, forms of mental illness). It's not like these people are going to miraculously say, "Hey, you know, schizophrenia be damned! I think I'll go get a job and become a productive citizen now!" They don't have the capability to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, so my refusing to give them money wouldn't "teach" them anything. The best I can do as an individual is try to make their lives a little easier or happier by looking them in the eye, saying "hello," and/or giving them some cash.
And, if the person I give money to does happen to be one of the few who has such a capability, I think human kindness and being treated like a person can be a catalyst for personal growth. For instance, if even one person I've given money to over the years thought, "Wow, if this complete stranger thinks I'm worth saying "hello" and "have a nice day to" and giving a buck to, maybe, just maybe my mom will forgive me and let me come home/just maybe the people down at the shelter will help me get a job/just maybe I can get through rehab this time..." then it has been more than worth it. I think sometimes people may just need a little help believing in themselves, and maybe a smile, some cash, and interest in how their day is going might just do the trick.
In either case, maybe these people will never get their lives together. But, again, you know... For a brief moment, they were happy, I was happy, and the world was a bit better place.
Submitted by Amanda Rogers, Esq. Visit her blog - Seven Eighty One.
#6 Alms For The Poor
I give money to the homeless women and men I encounter on a daily basis. I may not give every homeless person I see a small bill or whatever change I can scrounge up in my purse or pockets, but I give what I have when I can. If I’ve got a bag full of lunch and snacks, but know I could buy lunch today and let someone else have a meal, I usually give whatever I think someone might eat. And why shouldn’t I?
For me, I’m not just giving that man or woman money – I’m not giving a handout. I’m giving that man or woman something they seldom experience – dignity and respect. The homeless are not simply a scourge upon our cities, or an eyesore to be avoided or pretended out of existence. Nor are they people we should treat with any less respect and kindness than we treat our neighbors or colleagues. They key to remember is that they are human beings – you are no more entitled to anything you have than they are. The most important thing that separates me from a homeless person is privilege. Remove privilege from society – and the world would be a much better place.
The fact is many homeless people aren’t there because they are lazy, drug addicts, or alcoholics. Indeed drug addiction and alcoholism may well be the result over time of becoming homeless and abandoned by society. Humans were not made to be isolated, we were made to interact and look after one another. It is only in recent history (early 1800s) that the idea of individualism over collectivism even became part of our effective reality. In fact, the only reason individualism became part of our vernacular and hence the way in which we conduct ourselves in society was as a result of the ruling authority’s desire to quash popular dissent. Popular dissent leads to revolution, which ultimately leads to the removal of the old guard and thus their source of wealth and power. Ask yourself why Americans don’t protest anymore. Dissent has been disciplined out of us. Even if we disagree – we keep it to ourselves out of fear of retribution, or worse, what our “friends” and employers might think of us. We are all too individual, too self-absorbed with our things, and our work, and our wealth that we cannot be bothered to see the world around us as it is – broken, greedy, selfish, and poorer for it.
In Chicago, where I live, 3 out of 4 homeless people suffer from mental illness. That population used to have a home somewhere – that employed nurses, doctors, and caretakers to help the most needy in our society (those who have no control over the way they were born or the illnesses they suffer) and gave them shelter and three square meals a day. They aren’t on the street, begging you for a break because they want to be. They are there because someone of privilege decided that they were undeserving. All the facilities were closed and each person thrown to the darkest, dankest corners of our cities and towns – many of them incapable of navigating the complicated, bureaucratic systems necessary to obtain identification, employment, housing, and health care without assistance.
All those homeless people you see have not always been homeless – and most would prefer not to be homeless. With the recent economic turmoil you can’t even be sure that the family that used to live next to you (before they left their home on short-sale or even foreclosure) isn’t on a street or in a shelter somewhere.
Systemic violence plays a major role in redistributing people, including those taken advantage of by a credit scandal. Gentrification – the process of “developing” an area of a city to make it more appealing to wealthy non-minorities – is a fantastic example of systemic violence. (I say developing in quotations here because the term is misleading, and where gentrification is concerned, has a very narrow connotation.) In reality, when an area chooses to gentrify it chooses to neglect existing problems created and fomented by a political economic system that unevenly distributes services. It’s much easier to push the poor out to the fringes of a town or city than it is to figure out ways to improve wages, provide services, create job and education incentives, and create disincentives for crime and unemployment.
Addressing poverty would require society, government, each individual to take a collective look at the way our economic and political systems work and embark on a thorough self-evaluation that would result in some harrowing conclusions about ourselves. It would also require, without exception, that those with power and wealth cede some of both to make the systems function better and to break the cycle of poverty – a cycle that by its very nature ensures that the rich have the opportunity to get richer and the poor have no chance to escape the death grip of a subpar existence.
I don’t lie to the people who ask me for money. If I have something to give, I do. To me it’s no different than anonymous philanthropy. If I have food I give that, and if I’m going to buy lunch and I pass a man by, I get change from the clerk and drop it in his cup or his hand on my way back. It’s honest, it shows dignity, and it’s human. I’m not denying that there are drug addicts and alcoholics who are homeless because of choices they have made. I don’t give money to someone who reeks of booze or is clearly inebriated, but I will give them food and I will treat them with dignity and respect. I know and understand that I hold a position of privilege and that I have the power to improve the lives of people around me. So should you.
Submitted by Laura Jung.
