i'm never give them more than $1,- Different story if they face looks criminal and a knife on their hands i better run.
Thats great Red Fairy coz Irish meals are just delicious they will feel good after that..............hope you give them a can of Guinness too
I give to the homeless if they're nice and I have cash on me. There was this one homeless kid that used to hang out in front of this coffee shop I go to sitting on the pavement with a sign that said "kick a punk - $1". I'd buy him a coffee and throw him a couple of bucks from time to time and I often wondered why he was on the streets. He was about 17 or 18 and a very affable guy. He hung around some other young homeless kids but something about this kid was different. He didn't seem to be a 'punk'. I finally asked him why he was begging and how he ended up homeless. He told me he'd been living on the streets since he was fifteen because his dad kicked him out and he'd dropped out of school when he was in grade 10. Basically he felt like he had no skills and didn't know what else to do besides beg. I asked if he was willing to work and he said he was but he couldn't find a job because he didn't have a phone or address. I told him about this 'work for a day' program, gave him a little pep talk and told him to go sign up. The next day I saw the kid out in front of the coffee shop with a big smile on his face. Before I could ask he told me he'd signed up with the work program and already started a job laying sod. He said the owner of the gardening company was a nice guy and that he'd be working for him for a week or so. He only made $60 the previous day but he was really excited. For the next couple of weeks I'd see the kid hanging out in front of the coffee shop without the 'kick a punk for a dollar' sign and I'd ask him how work was going to which he'd say 'great'. After several weeks he just disappeared. I sometimes wonder if he stuck with the work program or if he's still on the streets. In hindsight I wish I'd done more to help that kid out.
I generally don't give people money, sometimes i'll give them change. However since I've lived in China i tend not to give any of the beggars money. A ton of the beggars here make more then the normal working class.. which is quite bad. My ex gf had a nice story about this: Her and her dad were walking down the street and they saw a young man about 18 years old on the street, with a chalk message written in front of him saying "I'm more and can't find work anywhere, can you please spare some of your money?" So my ex gf's dad told the young man "I'll give you a job at my restaraunt if you like." To which the young man replied "No thanks, I make twice as much here as I would in your restaraunt."
I give when I am drunk and I welcome the fact that some homeless peeps are considerate enough to sit by an ATM machine. It helps.
i've seen a guy at Santa Monica Promenade with a sign saying something like... "Family got killed by ninjas, need money to take karate lessons to revenge them" or something like that lol
If you guys are feeling charitable check out The Hunger Site. All you do is click a button and it shows you how much food that click will provide for a hungry person in need (they are sponsored by a collection of advertisers). Great cause and little effort involved, might as well do it once!
There used to be a couple of homeless guys by my bus stop every day before I was heading to work. They had a dog, and kept it healthy somehow. So I would give them a few bucks here and there if I could spare it. They were some old guys and always made sure the dog had food if they had food. And they had a sense of humor!
i used to give them money... but now i don;t give them any... not even a spare change... if i do have food with me, then i give it to the beggars.. at least im sure that they can have a supper or lunch or whatever... wth money, i don;t have a clue whether they really use it to buy food or just to gamble... here in our location, there are lots of kids who ask for a spare change just to have some money to suffice their 'gambling' needs...
I'd rather shell out some cash on charity institutions that house homeless people rather than give it away to people living in the streets. If only I can, then I would even give these guys a job. The problem is I can't
I do think that it's good to give to people who are stranded, down on their luck, stuff like that. Let them know that someone cares. It's not all about the money, more like sharing a touch of humanity. But once again, there are the ones who have made a career out of panhandling. And in their cases I need to say that there is a lot of help out there for those who want it. They just need to decide to go get it.
How do you judge them? Do you keep records on the local bums or something? Seriously, Mike....START A PODCAST dude!!!!!