Do you give money to beggars?

Guy just asked me for spare change and called me “bruv”.

It’s all plastic these days, I’m afraid…

Nope.

Do donate to Shelter every month though.

No, I ask them for change

I did once, many years ago. the guy hounded me for more every time he saw me after that, so I don’t do it now.

I’ll happily donate to buskers though, if they’re any good

Give them a packet of crisps.

I walk past a homeless guy every day on the way to work. I usually buy him a breakfast or lunch at least once a week, and stick some money in too. I’ve watched him get progressively worse over the last couple of years. It’s pretty heartbreaking. 🙁

No way, never, nope.

Does absolutely nothing to help.

It is a rare day when I’m in the same place as beggers – I can’t stand town centres at the best of times.

The last time I saw a begger there were two; one was drinking a Costa coffee, and the other was on a newer iPhone than I own. As I have chosen not to spend money on either takeaway coffee or the latest phone, I felt that they didn’t REALLY need my change.

On another note, it really grips me when the homeless spend money on alcohol / ciggarettes / drugs but don’t own basic cooking, shelter or sleeping equipment.

No. And (I am putting my flamerpoof suit on…) surely sitting there with a cigarette and a can of Special Brew surely can’t help your cause either…

Bought some pasties for 2 rough sleepers a few weeks ago, they both said thankyou, which is more than you get in some shops.

Yep, I’ll give them whatever cash money I have on me at the time. Normally that’s a few quid, sometimes more.

yes, being able to afford a phone and a cup of coffee is the same as a house.

On another note, it really grips me when the homeless spend money on alcohol / ciggarettes / drugs but don’t own basic cooking, shelter or sleeping equipment

a can of Special Brew surely can’t help your cause either…

I’m suprised you can see the homeless from up there on your high horses…

No. I’d rather donate to a registered charity that would help them. Working in a city centre in retail for over 10 years taught me that rather than watch them spend it on things they shouldn’t – drink/drugs.

There’s a guy I see regularly in town that I give to, depending on mood/time he either gets my spare change or I’ll buy him some food and hot drink.

Life isn’t always rosey and there is no guarantee I won’t need the kindness of strangers in the future.

I was recently in Houston and you get a better class of beggar there. They are normally polite and tell you that they need x amount of dollars to get a bed for the night. If you engage with them they will often tell you a bit about their history (lots of ex-cons) and hopes for the future. As a visitor to their city I actually got some useful advice from a couple.

Any UK beggar heading over there would need to up their game.

To answer the original question I rarely give money in the UK but sometimes hand over some change in Winter or if the weather is particularly foul. I would guess most of it is blown on drink or drugs.

no, never.

I am in the ‘get a bloody job’ mindset. I work, why cant you?.

Yes & No.

Depending on my mood.

😯

It’s all plastic these days, I’m afraid…

That will do nicely.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/supertramp-mayfair-beggar-who-accepts-credit-cards-im-just-earning-a-living-9979657.html

On another note, it really grips me when the homeless spend money on alcohol / ciggarettes / drugs but don’t own basic cooking, shelter or sleeping equipment.

1 – you think they don’t have this? they wouldn’t live very long if they didn’t

2 – if i was homeless i’d probably get pissed to numb the pain.

I do

I used to work as a gardener in a inner city park, my first job every day, was to ‘make safe’ (as the park manager used to call it) the park.

Lets just say we had different approaches to the task 😉

I supply them with Class A drugs. They never used to take Class A drugs, but the ones I’ve spoken too said their confidence and self-esteem were destroyed not by childhood sexual abuse, or post traumatic stress disorder in the forces, but by siwhite ‘s stern disapproval of theit lifestyle choices, so they’re now physically dependent on them

I understand why folk to give money or food, and on the face of it is a “kind” thing to do. There is a legitimate debate about whether it is actually helping in the best way possible.

Usually give food/drink rather than money.

it really grips me when the homeless spend money on alcohol / ciggarettes / drugs but don’t own basic cooking, shelter or sleeping equipment.

You’ve got a fiver to your name. Do you buy a) a half bottle of vodka or b) one percent of a four-season RAB sleeping bag? What do you think he’s going to do, pop it in his savings account, maybe set up an ISA? Or hey, maybe he had some nice bedding and cooking facilities, until last week when someone kicked his head in for them?

I do take your point, but it’s very easy to be judgemental from our positions of relative privilege. I expect that, as ever, the reality isn’t that simple.

No, I was once informed by local cops about the street corner beggar near my work, and how she had a council house in Falkirk and 3kids in school, just didn’t want to work. Got the train into Edinburgh everyday. Yet had the usual homeless cardboard sign.

I am in the ‘get a bloody job’ mindset. I work, why cant you?.

Would you employ them?

No I give them coffee and a hot pasties.

A guy once said to me ‘do you have 50p for a sandwich?’ I asked him if I could see the sandwich first.

surroundedbyhills – I’m sure she’s representative of the many thousands of homeless throughout the country.

Have you told the Daily Mail?

no.. I’m too selfish

Would you employ them?

yes, someone employed me when I came out of a remand center when I was 18.

depends we get a fair cross section and I sort of know the hard core homeless who get bye by crime so I used not to give to them . I now do after one of my criminal cases where the alleged crime occurred on business premises the management refused to help the victim who was made to leave, the victim approached a load of City workers who walked around her, then the “Sherry boys” approached her put a coat round her and walked her to the city centre nick and kicked up a fuss till the police helped the victim.

I also will give to the obvious known homeless with mental health issues . I don’t buy the big issue as my local seller is always on her mobile and gets picked up and dropped off by her partner in a nicer car than I could afford.

On another note, it really grips me when the homeless spend money on alcohol / ciggarettes / drugs but don’t own basic cooking, shelter or sleeping equipment

a can of Special Brew surely can’t help your cause either…

I’d say one of the common factors linking pretty much every homeless person is an impaired decision making ability either through addiction, mental illness or learning difficulty. Do you really think if they were capable of rational thought they’d have found themselves on the street?

I’ve never given money directly but to charities. One of my resolutions is to go to the bother of buying a homeless person and meal and trying to engage with them like a human rather than making every effort not to make eye contact which depressingly has been my usual approach. It must be rubbish being treated as so invisible and ‘worthless’ by so many folk.

My mums local fish and chip shop decided to open on xmas day and give free fish and chips to the local homeless the relevant charities refused to assist or publicise the meal to their “clients.”

I understand some of the issues behind why but it did seem a bit po faced to not even spread the word.

Would you employ them?

Funny how the word ‘homeless’ brings out prejudices in people, correction, its not funny!

No, I was once informed by local cops about the street corner beggar near my work, and how she had a council house in Falkirk and 3kids in school, just didn’t want to work. Got the train into Edinburgh everyday. Yet had the usual homeless cardboard sign

It’s on the daily mail so I won’t post the link but there was a story last week about a guy doing the same in London. Begging every day and then pics on his instagram of his holidays in Ibiza.

I pass a few obviously professional beggars regularly and they get nothing but I’ve witnessed my regular guy going from being quite alert and mobile to sitting on the ground crying over the space of a couple of years. 😥

Never give cash but will buy food
A colleague was asked once in the train station when they were a student on the way home from uni for the summer and told the person begging ‘if I have more than you in my pocket you can have the lot, the beggar had about £10 more and took my work mate for a coffee 🙂 .

I don’t give them money. I give them my stern disapproval, pity, and some advice on their poor life choices. The last time I did all this, with the best of intentions, I’m sure I heard him mutter “I bet that **** posts on STW.”

if i was homeless i’d probably get pissed to numb the pain.

+1, I don’t reckon it’s a lifestyle choice or a great laugh TBH.