What’s your view on beggars? I bought a coffee and bun for a chap sat on a blanket asking if I had “any spare change” this week, then went back in to finish my coffee with Mrs T. Somebody I know says there’s no need because he’d be entitled to benefits and “nobody” should need to beg in 2011 in the UK and that “they make more in loose change per hour than a lot of people get for working”. I can’t believe that anyone would do it in freezing conditions for the fun of it and will continue to buy the occasional hot drink for somebody who looks like they need it.

I do the same – I will give them food but not money

I’m fairly strict with handing out cash to charity – I have a monthly direct debit set up which I change every year, and don’t give out any other money.

Having said that, I bought a bag of food for the bloke sitting outside Tesco when it was -15 outside a few weeks back. Poor sod must have been freezing, and he looked over the moon when I gave him the stuff.

That’s actually something I’d make an exception for and hand over the cash, but I so rarely carry the stuff nowadays I had no choice but to do the shopping myself and pay by card.

In Didsbury you tend to be hassled for money from elderly Asian women selling tatty magazines. I have a feeling that it’s part of a wider scam and they don’t see any of the money so I avoid. It’s definitely not Big Issue.

give food not money better still donate to proper charities for the homeless. Most beggers are one of ex army , mental health issues and drug/alcohol addicts and clearly need support.
Professional begging is largely a myth

A lot of people on the street are not well,
Care in the community an all that…..

for a change i agree with TJ. i only give food to people and i give money to organisations

I once gave food to a beggar; it was my birthday so I took him into MacDonalds and told him to order what he wanted. When he had the food he went back to his spot to carry on, hiding the food and asking for money for, erm, food.

I still buy the odd packet of biscuits etc. for beggars but am a bit choosy. I prefer to give to Shelter, Albert Kennedy Trust and Crisis.

I buy food for folk that look like they need it.

What’s your view on beggars?

Generally I don’t have a problem with beggars, but I make an exception with bankers – I have a very low opinion of them ……. even though they might have hit hard times and are struggling.

The last time I gave a beggar money she followed me for 5 minutes through Birmingham city centre, I gave her a couple of quid she then hassled me asking for more, offering to go to a cash point with me whilst I withdrew cash!

Only food and drinks now, even BI sellers get offered a brew if it’s convienient.

Not sure, I’ve been feeling less and less charitable in Edinburgh due to:

The number of beggars near my work who look fit, healthy, well dressed and are obviously articulate (and noteable by their abscence in cold/miserable weather).

The beggar in Bruntsfield with the iPod.

The one also near my work who now plants himself with a wee fold up stool about 2 metres back from the door to the supermarket, thrusting his cup into your path and just demanding ‘CHANGE’. He’s particularly well dressed, nice leather jacket, jeans, leather shoes etc.

The ones in bruntsfield (again) who were reputed to be part of some drug ring. Sounded daft until I saw them getting picked up in a black BMW on a few occasions.

I was also of the mind that help is there for those that want it, but maybe my day to day experiences are only with beggars who are there by choice…

(Oxfam, Thistle Foundation and RSPB DDs by the way, I’m not a total scrooge)

Beggars belief! im torn on this one as i see many beggars, outside the shopping center opposite our store, (not allowed on our land due to charity collections and hassling customers) but you often find they eat better than we do, the one regular who shops at ours always buys a finest sandwich and tea/coffee from the cafe at lunch then in the evening, finest advocado’s and other top of the range stuff, granted its a meal for one, but he eats better than me!

Ive seen this in many inner city stores ive worked in, i guess i just don’t believe them anymore.

It seems that most go with food/drink. I do the same. Assuming they’re genuine (and I appreciate that a few may not be), is it that they’re exempt from the benefits system? Are there people for whom this is the only source of income? (Not a troll. Genuine question).

Its a tricky one really, there’s thugs and con-men out there who know exactly where to sit and how to act to pull your heart strings and relieve you of some cash and sympathy. And amongst them are the genuinely needy. However by begging the genuinely needy identify themselves to exploitative people (pimps, pushers or what have you) as vulnerable, desperate, isolated and as having a pocket full of cash. So while someone begging might be trying to get themselves out of a hole, the act of begging can make that hole bigger and deeper for them.

If i were in Edinburgh and feeling charitable I’d be looking to give Streetwork a few bob.

is it that they’re exempt from the benefits system?

If needs are genuine then people who find themselves on the streets and begging do so as the result of something really pretty dreadful. They’ll be people who are in a state of crisis, in a world that you just wouldn’t want to think about, and engaging with the benefit system when you are in that state is no cakewalk. Claiming benefits is enough to drive some internet forum dwelling mountain bikers up the wall when they’re between IT jobs, its worse against a background of family breakdown, or violence and abuse, or mental breakdown or a whole host of other things. Some people’s lives are unthinkably dire and while we have a social safety net, you can fall through it if you’ve fallen far enough and fast enough. There are some very admirable people out there who will help people back up again though.

i sometimes give beggars money. i’ve a fair idea where it will be spent, but hey, that’s often p\rt of the reason they end up on the street.

it’s not correct to say that they should always be able to get benefits. there are times when people end up with nothing if they don’t meet certain conditionality or attend certain appointments. often these are the types of people who end up without homes.

There are some pretty nasty **** beggars out there. Wait till darkness and you are an unfortunate quieter homeless person.

Don’t assume only victims and ex army types go on the streets. Some were born to excess and on a parallel note we are all a couple of weeks away from a life on the streets.

Peace.

I know quite a few of the street drinkers/ beggars in west yorks through work. Some are genuine cases, some less so. It always puts them off when I address them by name if they’re being annoying. I’m more of the give food/coffee/cigarettes type than change.

I’m not sure I believe the suggestion that they make a lot of money from begging, there must be easier work, though there is usually a reason preventing it, a common problem is no fixed address = no bank account, no bank account = no work. Such a simple problem to overcome can be a massive hurdle.

I always give money to beggers if I’ve got it (not always) I’ll always buy a copy oh the big issue as well. What they do with the money after I give it to them is non of my business. I get drunk and stoned pretty regularly so how could I get angry with them if they choose to do the same. The act of kindness is giving, not telling them what to do with your charity.

Sorry, I sound like my dad!!

My dad regularly volunteers at crisis at christmas, says its really rewarding.

http://www.crisis.org.uk/

He thinks there is a very fine line between having a steady job and income, a house and family, and having nothing at all.

Just takes a bit of bad luck or a wrong decision or two.

If they will do a little dance for a quid, I’m happy to give it to them. Otherwise no, I don’t. If they want money they can earn it. Little jigs are a good way of entertaining me and the nearby public.

RealMan – there is a very fine line between having a steady job and income, a house and family, and having nothing at all.

Just takes a bit of bad luck or a wrong decision or two.

Very true, one lad I was at school with ended up begging for food after he lost his job & his wife(lying cow) accused him of mental cruelty & took the kids & house 🙁

Having read most of the above I must confess to possibly being duped recently, I was in that there London town enjoying a drink with a few mates, went out side for a fag (as I am evil) & stood next to some shivering wreak cowering in the doorway with a sleeping bag.
The whole time I was there he never uttered a word, I thought this strange/commendable, so asked if he needed anything, he said no, I then said do you need money? He said no, I said would you like some, he said if I had any to spare, I gave him a fiver. Now I can’t help but think that this new breed of homeless have moved on a bit, its like reverse psychology innit ?

Any way, a mate told me this joke earlier…

Two beggars meet & discuss the days takings, one has a hat full of coppers, the other a suitcase full of tenners, the one with the hat full of coppers asks the other what his secret was & how he managed to get so much money everyday, the guy said it’s all about your sign, you got yours wrong!

How so says the other? It says I’m homeless, skint & have a wife & four kids to feed, the first guy reply’s that his sign reads I only need one more tenner to get back to XXXXXXXX(insert foreign country here)

🙂

I was in Covent Garden at 7 am yesterday, I bought some guy a cuppa as he looked cold and pissed off tbh. I counted 8 people sleeping rough between Waterloo and Neal Street, I expect they are all loaded really.

dunno,
But not long ago I was waiting for some mates to come pick me up as I was staying over at party (had my sleeping bag), and some guy out for a smoke forced money on me…

i usually only put money in boxes etc…. . seeing beggars tends to frustrate me as I have no idea if they are there due to falling out with family about smoking in their bedroom, or have drug habits, are wifebeaters, a bit loopy, crazed ex servicemen or professional beggars.

i agree some need help others need a kicking.

I like the idea of buying the guy a cuppa though, do you sit with them for a while to get some stories? maybe not of why they are they but interesting things they have seen on the street..

At the end of the day its our own money to do whatever we want with it. No one can tell you what’s best.

Surrounded By Zulus – Member
I buy food for folk that look like they need it.

Oh the irony of that statement. 😆

http://www.thesite.org/homelawandmoney/home/homelessness/helpingthehomeless

Complicated issue. If you don’t give money to beggars, then IMO you should give some money to a homeless charity once in a while.

AdamW – Albert Kennedy Trust are a great organisation, good choice. 🙂
Through some of the work I’ve done in the past I know how easy it is for people to end up on the streets, and I regularly give to homeless charities.
Like others I feel torn about giving directly to someone. It’s not my place to judge.
I’m aware that not everyone who asks for money on the street is going to use my dosh to fund a drugs or alcohol habit, and yes occasionally I do both so I’m a little hypocritical, but personally I don’t feel good about the possibility of it being spent on smack so choose not to.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31U6wKbaosQ[/video]

In Glasgow there are places homeless can get free breakfast, lunch, dinner and clothes. So no need to give them any money.

On a lighter note mrshora always laughs (for bloody years) that the beggars always target me (yet I am the one person who wouldn’t put my hand in my pocket).

Ontop of this I seem to pickup the aggressive beggars as well!

give a man a loaf and he’ll feed his family for a day, give him the tools to provide for his family then he can feed his family forever. Personally I’ll only give them booze, drugs, knives or firearms, anything else is forcing them to join in with your idea of “society”, plus its a commonly understood fact that most homeless are ether killed or injured whilst scoring drugs or by being attacked by another homeless person with a weapon. My approach means that they don’t have to put themselves in jeopardy trying to score drugs and by ensuring that they are properly armed they will be in a position to fend of any violent assault.

Plus it makes for good neighborhood window viewing.

There’s a bloke in Manchester who asks for a pound for a cuppa as he’s on his way to the Salvation Army place in Salford – I got duped into giving him a quid and then I saw him doing the same thing the very next day.

When I told my boss about it she said he’s been around for years doing the same thing. 🙂 He’s quite well dressed and I’m sure he drives a Bentley and swigs champagne while laughing all the way to the bank.

Possibly.

Complicated issue. If you don’t give money to beggars, then IMO you should give some money to a homeless charity once in a while

Good idea!

Complicated issue. If you don’t give money to beggars, then IMO you should give some money to a homeless charity once in a while

Why? Its everyones individual choice and no one should feel compelled to do so.

The Governments suggested plan to include a donate button on cash machines is pathetic.

Its our money, our mind and free will. You can argue to the cows come home that ‘it could have been you you know’ but it isn’t. Hardworking folk should feel congratulated for being hardworking. The nations backbone is hardworking, unassuming people who just get on with it.

Why not give the hardworking bloke a reward instead of mind-bending drugs or a life of being off your face and pissed without having to pay any bills whilst being fed and no responsibilities.

Harsh but true.

I remember some of the beggars around Glasgow University being pretty aggressive with their tactics at times and they all had their favourite pitches that they used to guard.

Every so often though you would see a non-regular turn up and you could tell that these ones were far more down on their luck than some of the “regulars”.

Ha! Reminds me. I have one of these: http://www.zib-militaria.de/US-field-jacket-M65-Regiment-oliv

I wore it in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, I was climbing out of my car with my dog and two chaps accosted me rudely. It took me a couple of minutes to realise they thought I was seen as competition.

Now they really did want a fight. I was face with knocking one out (and the crap I’d get), getting knocked out or catching something either way.

Thankfully a taxi driver pulled up, got out and told them to **** off (I think he knew them or of them).

I’ve not bloody worn that coat for a longtime after that realisation 😆

^^^^

That does look like a right hobo’s jacket!