A beggar comes up to ask you for change. What do you do?

I don't normally give my money away. Usually I will give food if I think someone might need it.

The reason I don't give people straight money isn't because of "moral superiority." Boozing it up and getting high is just going to fuck you over more when you're at rock bottom, and I don't like the thought of contributing to somebody's destitute malaise.

 

Pretend I don't speak English.

 

I live in quite a small town, and its always a bit of a shock when I go to the city and see people on the street, begging for money. I give a little bit of change to just about everyone I see on the street. Unless I'm in a touristy location.

I understand the whole "money will go to drugs" argument, but I also feel as though it's none of my business. If a friend asked me to borrow a couple bucks, I wouldnt ask them why. I dont follow up with Red Cross, or any other charity as to where my donations go. I dunno. I dont like making assumptions about how people use their money. But like i said, its not often that i come across beggars, and so i think i might still be a little naive about the whole thing.

If I lived in a city though, or somewhere where I regularly saw people on the street, I would probably go the giving groceries root though.

 

I don't give money because if I would give it to one person, I had to give it to everyone and I am just out of school and then going to University and therefore have not much money myself.
Instead I plan on donating money when I make enough money for myself.

Sometimes I do feel bad, but then I try to say to myself that my country has a very good social system compared to others and that I don't have to give money to strangers when I am not even making money myself.

 

If I have a couple bucks or quarters to spare, I might give them something. Otherwise, I often don't even have cash on me, so this is a non-issue.

 

If I have change or even some extra bucks, I'll usually give it to somebody who asks, unless they're such a bad actor that it's obviously they're lying. I figure that even if they might be, who am I to judge? People wouldn't make as much money from lying as you'd like to think.

 

I don't carry change on me, so I would have nothing to give them.

 

I don't give money... I always feel horribly guilty about it, and if I see a beggar sitting down (where I live, they won't actually come up to you or anything) I'll walk around rather than past them, I always feel really uncomfortable around them - probably because of the guilt. But seeing as I don't have a job - I was in full-time education until a couple of weeks ago - I'm hardly rolling in money myself. Maybe if I was, things would be different.

It's not like I don't do anything. I've done a few things for charity and I donate old clothes and all that, but I never give directly.

The mentality that homeless people are just lazy is one that needs to be eradicated. People have all sorts of reasons for not working and I really, really disagree with anyone who says that homeless people should all go and get jobs. I mean, even if they were able to, which they may not be, do you really think that a job office would look twice at them when there were smartly-dressed people applying for the same job? That isn't even me being superficial; that's how the world works. And even if they did get the job, you can bet it would be a pretty low-paying one, not exactly enough to just buy a house. I suppose the problem is that it can be hard to tell the difference between genuinely homeless people and actors scrounging for extra money.

 

Honestly...experience says I'll give them whatever change I can spare, but never more than $5

People use to come to me in high school wanting to know if I could give them money for lunch because they didn't have money for one reason or another. And since I wasn't planning on using the money why not?

 

I give a small amount and don't mind to bum a cigarette from time to time. I hate that feeling trying to decide if someone is playing a game or really in need. I feel better if I'm stopping somewhere and buying a sandwich and bottle of water or a Pepsi for someone than handing out money. I like when I'm close to home and can refer someone to a place that can provide shelter and meals to a person.

 

I usually don't carry much cash around with me but when I do I almost always need it for something.

 

I don't just give money away: it's not my responsibility. I'm happy to give some money to buskers who are earning it but I don't feel it right to hand it out to anyone who you don't know anything about.

 

Sorry long post!
I don't go out a lot, so I'm pretty un-experienced with these kinds of situations.

Recently, an older homeless man walked in on me for some change to get on a bus, so I panicked. The way he asked me was very aggressive and up front, like how some of you guys have described, and I've never felt so unsafe in broad daylight before. Like out of everyone, he headed quickly for me, and now that I think about it, it makes me SO MAD. It felt like he chose me because I was young (I look younger than my age) and that =naive/willing/easy target. I honestly gave out some change just so that I could get rid of him... I couldn't stop thinking that I was gonna get hurt if I didn't give out some money, ugh I don't want to sound like I'm paranoid, but I was actually scared.

You hear fucked up things on the news about some of the things homeless people do, and again makes me uncomfortable. A lot of u guys are nice, but I think that it's better to turn them down than to be nice and give out some money. Your safety is more important than some stranger, who you don't even know, could be taking advantage of you. Knowing the potentials of what they'll do with the money, like drugs/alcohol/etc, (and some posters on here even said that the homeless would throw away the food/get angry when food is given instead of money) makes me much more confident about saying no the next time I get asked, and I won't feel guilty.

 

"A beggar comes up to you to ask for change. What do you do?"

Fight the bourgeoisie!

 

I'd feel uncomfortable with a stranger trying to talk to me in the first place. I'd tell them I didn't have any money or food on me because I don't (my parents buy the groceries and I only carry my credit card) and then berate myself for not helping them out even when I couldn't because of my weird little mind and inability to get a grip in front of strange people. I'd probably buy them something if I wasn't completely freaking out.

 

It really depends on who's asking for the money. I'm willing to give buskers spare change, but less willing to give to the people what walk up to me.

Due to scams and whatnot, I find it hard to believe the beggars are real. Usually I'll offer to buy them food rather than give them money, seeing as they a) may not actually be beggars or b) may not know how to handle the cash and spend it on stuff like gambling and have to go back to begging and things.

 

Most of the time, I only have up to £4 in change in my pockets, so if a homeless person asks me for change and I'm in a densely populated area, I'll give them whatever change I have in my pocket. During my (very) brief period working in a club/bar, I'd always have anywhere up to £30 in change in my pocket. Because I finished at 4am-5am in the mornings, I'd get people asking me for change. If someone was persistent in getting change, I'd feel for two or three coins in my pocket, making sure they didn't hear the rest of the change and I'd give what I've taken out, to them. I'd usually have cigarettes too, which I'd give to them with no hesitation as I don't really smoke.

As I know a lot of the 'homeless' people I see regularly in town are not actually homeless (they live near me), I'm more likely to give them food than I am money. They spend most of their money on Frosty Jacks or crack. I'll always go out of my way to get them a cold drink/hot drink depending on the weather, and I'd go and get their dog something if they had a dog.

If I've got neither food nor money and the person asking is becoming aggressive, a 'fuck off' will do. I'm all for helping someone out, but not if they're getting pissed off with me because I have nothing.

 

It all depends on the situation....I don't give to anyone who tries to cash in on a situation who looks predatory or has a stupid rationale. "My car broke down around the corner, and I need a $1 for gas to get home." This is the oldest line in the book around here. I don't give to people begging at busy off ramps either unless it is something tangible.

There's a man that has been at Pride the last 2 years...no. I also never give when someone asks after dark.

However, I did give to a man that was looking for cans and bottles in the garbage(MI 10c deposit) because I believe God told me to help that man. Just the weary look on his face. He was legitimately hungry. He didn't ask me, I just knew he needed help. Usually, the people who need help the most don't ask.

I'd also help someone with her grocery bill if she has a child if it was a few dollars. You don't let women and children go hungry.

 

i dont anymore, i mean if i have like alittle but of change i might but most people around here are tweakers and therefore just buying drugs (i knew alot therefore i can spot them fairly easily)..one time i worked at this store as a security guard and these two tweakers would stand on the corner with their kid begging for money, i would have to kick them out and watched as they climbed into their brand new mustang..it pissed me off so much how these people abuse peoples kind hearts and generosity...
another time this man claiming to be a veteran was outside of this store and he asked me for change to buy tacos cuz he and his son were hungry, he claimed that he was sober and not interested in buying booze and whatnot, well i didnt have change so i told him to go in and order what he wanted and i would buy it, he looked hesitant and said to just get him a couple tacos and i buy him three and he looks disappointed as if he wanted me to give him money not food..i gave him the tacos and he hid them and continued to sit there and ask for change...so, fuk no i dont give anymore...
also i see so many young capable people begging i dont give i cent to these people it pisses me off, like "get a fukin job like the rest of us..." nah, id say these people made their fate, the more we give the more theyre going to comfortable living this way, im sure there are real veterans out there but there are also centers who help these people and im pretty sure theyre well aware of them...if i give i donate to lagit charities

 

Nah, I used to, but beggars rubbed me the wrong way.

I gave a 2$ or something to a lady who said she needed it to take the bus, I think. She went around a bit and then came back to me and asked me if I had more. I was a bit annoyed that she would beg for more after I already gave her money. I'm just a student, and I don't even look my age. She might have thought she was begging money from a kid, from all I know. Then, I saw her with her phone and taking the bus, without using the money I gave her. I saw her again a few times on the same bus stop, asking for money. I felt disgusted by her behavior. Every other experience I had with beggars were also not very cool, so I just don't trust them anymore.

I don't get asked for money often by beggars, but I don't carry money around usually. I just have my cards to pay for stuff. Instead of giving money to beggars, I tend to give clothes and food to charities when I have some to give.