mead107 Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I gave a guy 15 dollars onetime. Then watched him walk down the street to the liquor store. I made his day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I prefer to donate clothing to the Rescue Mission. Hopefully someone can use the clothes for an interview and get a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I prefer to donate clothing to the Rescue Mission. Hopefully someone can use the clothes for an interview and get a job.i like giving my old TBD teeshirts to the city mission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I was walking and one guy was very persistent asking for money for he was hungry so I gave him my lunch (that is what his cardboard sign said too). He took it and then threw it on ground saying he wanted money for liquor. I have never given since. I knew a girl that had a similar situation. She'd see the same guy on a street corner each day driving home from work, so one day she stopped at a fast food place and got a small meal. Gave it to him, and he threw it on the ground and said he'd rather have cash. Here's a story from about 7 years ago.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 They seem to take turns at the one corner. Young girl was doing it the other day. I was temped to say show me your breast and I will give you $10. how much to see them both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I stopped giving money to panhandlers years ago when I realized that most of them here shun the homeless shelter (except on the rare occasion that it gets cold at night) and just sleep under bridges and use the money they get for cheap booze. One exception was recently when I saw a man in filthy clothes standing at the side of the road holding a sign that said 'I have no one'. That was a little too much for me, so I gave him 10 dollars. My friend watched him hobble across the street and said 'he's just going to use it to buy alcohol'. I said 'good - I hope he does'. We also get some real idiots out there panhandling - I saw one at the corner of Riverside & IH-35 wearing a gold chain outside his t-shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) I usually offer to buy them a coffee, bagel, bus ticket, or whatever it is they claim to be begging for...approximately 1% of the time is my offer accepted. The rest of the time it's "oh...um...thanks I'll be alright though". Edited May 31, 2015 by thebandit27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 One off ramp I saw a guy with a sign for $ for food,. He had a parrot on his shoulder. As the light turned green I said "Eat the parrot" and took off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) I usually offer to buy them a coffee, bagel, bus ticket, or whatever it is they claim to be begging for...approximately 1% of the time is my offer accepted. The rest of the time it's "oh...um...thanks I'll be alright though". You actually gave me a good idea a while back that I intend to employ. When my wife, son and I head to NYC for our yearly long weekend there, we're going to bring bags of chips and keep them in our backpack. When the panhandlers ask for money, we'll simply offer them a bag of chips. My son (12) understands why we can't blindly give these people money, but he always wishes we could do something for them. This is a nice way to offer to help. Edited May 31, 2015 by Gugny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in Mich Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Some pretty cold souls out there. I sure don't give to everyone. I figure most are not as desperate as they claim and that most will buy liquor, but what's a buck or two to most of us here? If 80% of the people are taking advantage to some extent, 20% could use the buck or two. The person has definitely sunk pretty low to be panhandling in the first place. How far would you have to slide down on your luck before you would stand out at the side of the street begging? It sure would be great to be able to tell the scam artists from the really needy but for a couple of bucks, imo take the chance that they might need it, including the money for booze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clockwork Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I've been living in San Diego this past year, and the amount of homeless and panhandlers is eye opening. It seems as if the majority of those I encounter have legitimate mental issues, which I would reckon to be the root of their issues. I have empathy for them, for the most part. I feel guilty, on occasion, when I avoid eye contact. Unfortunately, I'm in a spot where I can barely get by, let alone giving money away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviF Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Some pretty cold souls out there. I sure don't give to everyone. I figure most are not as desperate as they claim and that most will buy liquor, but what's a buck or two to most of us here? If 80% of the people are taking advantage to some extent, 20% could use the buck or two. Oh, well over 20% could use the buck or two. It's just that 95% of them won't put it toward good use. I work with the sort of population that does a lot of panhandling. I recognize a lot of the ones that I see in my area and I know exactly what they spend extra money on, a lot of it worse than booze. I tell people to never give panhandlers money because 95% of the time it doesn't help them at all. They turn around and buy something that'll just harm them. Stuff like bottled water (I keep a pack of cheap bottled water in my car just for this purpose) and food (perishable or single-serving/not for individual sale stuff they can't sell to corner stores) are the things I recommend giving. If you have time, the ones that are actually hungry will always appreciate a sandwich or fast food or pizza and will always take you up on the offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LB3 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clippers of Nfl Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 You actually have a bum policy? Is it written down somewhere? What if it is a really charming bum? What if the bum did a magic trick for you? Would if you had exactly .72 in your pocket? Would you give the bum .60, and keep the other .12? Of course you wouldn't. Do you get to write off bum donations on your taxes? Lol. Lots of great questions. Yes I have a bum policy. In my head. I have a small box full of coins. I collect exactly 2 quarters and a dime. Or 2 quarters and 2 nickels. Last week some guy told me, "Look I dont want your money, I just want you buy me something to eat." That's spotting lunch in my book. I comp lunches for my friends/family all the time. Bums? Eff that. I interrrupted him and said, "Here is .60 cents" and kept walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I don't give anything to those miserable lazy bastards!!! Those lazy F-ucks that claim to be veterans... That pisses me off!!! There are organizations that are more than happy to bend over backwards for vets- most of these douche bags are just lazy addicts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Some pretty cold souls out there. I sure don't give to everyone. I figure most are not as desperate as they claim and that most will buy liquor, but what's a buck or two to most of us here? If 80% of the people are taking advantage to some extent, 20% could use the buck or two. The person has definitely sunk pretty low to be panhandling in the first place. How far would you have to slide down on your luck before you would stand out at the side of the street begging? It sure would be great to be able to tell the scam artists from the really needy but for a couple of bucks, imo take the chance that they might need it, including the money for booze. Do you like pigeons flying and pooping all over your neighborhood? Most people don't. They're a nuisance. The way to get rid of those menacing pigeons is stop feeding them. The same applies with "panhandlers." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Like the VA hospitals for instance??? I don't give anything to those miserable lazy bastards!!! Those lazy F-ucks that claim to be veterans... That pisses me off!!! There are organizations that are more than happy to bend over backwards for vets- most of these douche bags are just lazy addicts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) I don't give anything to those miserable lazy bastards!!! Those lazy F-ucks that claim to be veterans... That pisses me off!!! There are organizations that are more than happy to bend over backwards for vets- most of these douche bags are just lazy addicts!! As one who has sat on a not-for-profit board for an organization that helps homeless veterans for the past 6 years, I can assure you that there are not many organizations out there who are more than happy to bend over for them. There are many organizations who CLAIM to ... but few come through. Vets make up well more than half of this country's homeless population. Chances are, those people you're talking about really are veterans. Edited June 1, 2015 by Gugny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 As one who has sat on a not-for-profit board for an organization that helps homeless veterans for the past 6 years, I can assure you that there are not many organizations out there who are more than happy to bend over for them. There are many organizations who CLAIM to ... but few come through. Vets make up well more than half of this country's homeless population. Chances are, those people you're talking about really are veterans. Ok- let me rephrase.... 1.) there most certainly are veteran organizations that will help veterans that have fallen on hard times- can they help them all, no. 2.) my rant was more or less pointed at those scumbags that claim to be vets, only to con people out of a dime. Regardless if they have served in the military or not, if they are too lazy to actually WORK for money, or they have a substance abuse problem that they have to beg people for money to help facilitate future "fixes"- I have nothing for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Some pretty cold souls out there. I sure don't give to everyone. I figure most are not as desperate as they claim and that most will buy liquor, but what's a buck or two to most of us here? If 80% of the people are taking advantage to some extent, 20% could use the buck or two. The person has definitely sunk pretty low to be panhandling in the first place. How far would you have to slide down on your luck before you would stand out at the side of the street begging? It sure would be great to be able to tell the scam artists from the really needy but for a couple of bucks, imo take the chance that they might need it, including the money for booze. I agree with you. So what they want to use it for booze. Like everybody they need an outlet too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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