A nicer gesture would be asking what they need and supplying them. Cash is not always the best medium for reasons related to not having enough background information. Some of them may use it for worsening their condition (addiction) and others don't know how to get good supplies from it - mindset change due to homelessness.
That's not right. You don't get to decide what people do with your gifts. That, too, is not how giving works.
For those who are addicted (and let's repeat that not everyone who is homeless is an addict, at least not yet) their addiction won't magickally vanish if you don't give them money to spend on drugs. They'll find their drugs anyway. Maybe not with your money, but they won't get any better because you didn't give them money. And they'll probably do something desperate to get it if they don't have money so you're probably protecting them from the worse if you do give them money.
Personally, I live in a place with a large population of homeless people and I give money. The majority don't look like they're junkies or anything, but even for the ones who are, if enough people give them money they'll get their drugs and they'll have some left to go and get themselves something else they need. You just have to fill the pot up.
I sometimes ask people what they need, if they're sitting outside a store. A guy once asked me for a Cadbury's and a bottle of Gatorade. I thought, yech, on both counts and the chocolate is defo unhealthy, but maybe it was a way to combat the cold or get a quick hit of energy? How would I know? I've never sat on my arse on a cold dirty pavement for days. If the folks who do that don't know best what they need, then I certainly don't so I might as well go with what they say.
Edit: And, to be perfectly honest, giving doesn't make me feel any better and it's not really helping the homeless much. What those people need is to get off the streets. Small donations like I can afford (I'm a PhD student after all) is at best helping them get by, if enough other people chip in. In the article, Anita helped the author's mother get a job. That's the kind of thing that changes a person's life, although of course packing up a warm meal for them is a very good start.
There was a young guy who was sitting in the same place for at least three or four years. I used to give him money when I went by on my way home from work (before I was a PhD student). It didn't matter that I gave him money. He was still there for all those years. You don't get people out of poverty by giving them your change. Not that you shouldn't - but what is needed is, well, scuse the involuntary pun but radical societal change. Is that coming from anywhere?
> For those who are addicted (and let's repeat that not everyone who is homeless is an addict, at least not yet) their addiction won't magickally vanish if you don't give them money to spend on drugs. They'll find their drugs anyway. Maybe not with your money, but they won't get any better because you didn't give them money. And they'll probably do something desperate to get it if they don't have money so you're probably protecting them from the worse if you do give them money.
I agree but you need to account for both parties involved. Giving money opposed to asking them for what they need and supplying it increases the risk area for harm and it's inevitably a moral burden as well if someone thinks they are fueling addiction when they might not be, it's hard to know. Addiction is a complex problem which can't be solved by a passway. The best they can do is focus on supplies for improvement in qualify of life for the homeless within a reasonable timeframe. Not only improvement in what you eat and self caring products lead to distraction from addiction but helps you stand up. It opens up opportunity to ask about them and give emotional fulfillment as well. Throwing money in a bin or putting it on their hand doesn't which is what most people would do if they were to just give out money.
> I sometimes ask people what they need, if they're sitting outside a store. A guy once asked me for a Cadbury's and a bottle of Gatorade. I thought, yech, on both counts and the chocolate is defo unhealthy, but maybe it was a way to combat the cold or get a quick hit of energy? How would I know? I've never sat on my arse on a cold dirty pavement for days. If the folks who do that don't know best what they need, then I certainly don't so I might as well go with what they say.
Sure that's a good point and I didn't imply to act like you know what they need. That is more of a quality issue. Giving money is unknowingly restricting and letting their mindset dictate short term benefit over long term. They may try to get a cheaper unhealthy chocolate due to dollar difference or thought of saving up.
Thinking of what I wrote about the guy who wanted the chocoloate and the gatorade later, I realise that there's another reason he might have asked for chocolate, and that's mental health. Sometimes, what you really need to have is what you want, because it will make you feel better. Like, emotionally "feel".
Anyway I dont' agree with you, still. There's so many things that people can do with money that isn't getting high. If I buy someone a meal from outside I can only buy something ready-made (a sandwich or a kebab etc). That's not very healthy. Maybe if enough people give them money they can find a place to stay for a while (or a good Samarithan can pay for a night's stay at a motel) or they can buy something to cook and go to a friend's place to cook it and have a proper meal.
I really don't think that the majority of homeless in my area are addicts. They mostly seem like people down on their luck. It's so easy to end up on the streets these days, especially in the bloody UK where social nets are threadabare and being torn apart constantly. Then of course once you're on the streets it is so easy to start drinking or shooting to "get by".
Like you say addiction a complex problem but I don't accept that giving money makes it worse or doesn't help those who suffer from it. If I'm wrong, I hope I find out soon.
There is no absolute, I never meant to imply that. What I really advocate against is throwing money in the bin without asking what they need and if that's food, get them high quality food. If that's money for x, help them out with money.
Really though, asking part and having a conservation is more important. I was giving addiction as merely an example because I thought people here would relate to it more. I didn't mean to imply all homeless people are addicted. It depends on your location. If they tell you the money is needed for supplying their addiction, you don't stop and move on. No, you ask about it more and if there is a chance, you can get them help at an addiction centre. I am not a medical expert that can judge whether the drugs will have a therapeutic or negative effect on them. If I was, I might help them out with drugs. This is why you need free [1][2]drug maintenance centres where they can safely get quality drugs and fight against their addiction.
Here, the homeless kids will ask you for money and if you give them that, it won't help them. It will go towards funding a business that relies on exploiting, kidnapping and disabling kids to beg in the streets. They won't get any high quality food from it or nice comfy blanket.
Giving money opposed to asking them for what they need and supplying it increases the risk area for harm and it's inevitably a moral burden as well if someone thinks they are fueling addiction when they might not be, it's hard to know
It's a two way transaction. I wouldn't wanna encourage child exploitation business and if I unknowingly did it, that might stop me from getting involved next time. Both people need a satisfactory result. Sitting with the kid while they finish eating meal and playing with toys I brought is a better outcome than uncertainty.
Giving money is unknowingly restricting
You might handout 20 bucks but the supplies they should get may cost a dollar over it. They would be forced to get cheaper one which may or may not be up to the standards.
People are not good at estimating how much they would need upfront. It's not something limited to homeless people. Sorry, if I implied that.
Taking out bigger action like opening a charity and build awareness regarding the problem is better but not always an immediate option, sadly.
I'm not sure you understand how bad addiction can be. If enough people give an addicted person money, that doesn't mean they'll buy "the drugs they need" and then spend any surplus on things they actually need. They could just as well buy way more drugs than they need and die of an overdose that you helped enable.
People don't overdose because they buy too many drugs. They overdose because they combine drugs they shouldn't (like heroin with barbiturates) or because they buy drugs that have been cut with lethal substances, or because a batch is too strong and although they take the same dose they take usually, they end up taking too much. Or even because they're used to taking cut heroin and they suddendly find some that is unusually pure and take their regular dose and overdose.
One person's "worsening their condition" is another person's self-medication.
Sure, you can ask them what they need, but the nice thing about cash if they can use it to buy whatever they need, that's what cash is for. And have the dignity to decide for themselves what it is, not have to tell you and get it approved like you're their teacher or boss.
I mean, are you spending some of YOUR money on alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes? Then you can afford to give someone cash without needing to worry about whether they might do the same, and whether that's good for them or not.
If you are in position where you can take care of yourself, as well as others, then it doesn’t seem like spending money on those vices yourself is what’s ruining your life that much and keeping you down.
To truly help the person struggling to crawl out of that hole, you shouldn’t be enabling the behaviors that keep them there and (possibly) have put them there in the first place.
Take them out for lunch, buy them some food, have a conversation, help them figure out the resources available to them, etc. But straight up cash is not something i would be advocating for, unless it goes to a reputable charity/fund/etc (do your research on that one first, because there are quite a few “charities” that spend majority of the funds on administrative expenses and such, with only a small percentage going towards the actual cause) that can allocate that cash in a good way. Ffs, volunteer at a homeless shelter or a food bank.
Yes, drugs are a form of self medication but at the same time being homeless should sting, it shouldn't make you feel like all you need is one more cigarette. The real problem is helping these people find a home and a job but that's a tough nut to crack.
You are not able to predict who is going to die of an overdose -- let alone because of your gift (ie suggeseting they wouldn't have otherwise, it is your gift that led to that).
So you can decide to treat everyone with dignity as an adult, or nobody with dignity as an adult. You are advocating for nobody (or at least nobody who is on the streets), out of an abundance of 'caution'.
You are mistaken if you think you are helping people by being an asshole to them. But it is certainly your right to do so.
Maybe, maybe not, but claiming the reason you don't give people money is "What is the point of giving someone money so that they can die of an overdose using the drugs you helped them buy?" -- definitely does.
You can treat someone respectfully while giving them money, or while not giving them money; and you can be an asshole either way too.
"This money could help this person, but it's also quite risky, given that the majority of chronically homeless people (most people panhandling) have drug addictions or other mental health issues or both. My money would be better spent on services that can help address these issues over the long term."
I think we disagree on what constitutes an asshole. Being aware of the statistical realities of a situation and operating on them is not being an asshole. If you were to say "of course I'm not giving you money, you're probably addicted to heroin" to someone's face after they ask you for change, that would make you an asshole. But that's not what I'm advocating.
No, a nicer gesture would be respecting their dignity and humanizing them. It's popular to rationalize those who are worse off as being worse at making decisions, but it's not accurate, fair, or humane.
