MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Should you give cash to the drunk homeless man?

kittykat78_3

i never give to homeless people on the streets. I do however give them something for the poor dog which they are dragging round with them. It's one thing for them to choose to sleep on the streets but I do not see why they must inflict the same on a inocent dog..

Taffybiker

I don't give to beggers in this country (but I often will when in other poorer countries). Sorry if I sound harsh but the way I see it, one way or another anyone who is homeless in the UK is homeless by choice. It is reasonable to assume they had a home at one point and was stupid enough to do something which caused them not to have it any more. There are plenty of options available to the homeless including social security, council assistance, charities. A genuine down-and-out would take advantage of these, and thereby not be on the streets anyway.
I'm sorry but I see beggars in the UK as an annoyance and I don't believe that any of them are genuine cases.
I have seen many of them sat underneath cashpoints on Friday and Saturday nights, but they are nowhere to be seen the rest of the week.

janbanan

I very rarely give to beggars, because with the support available I think they are able to help themselves.

However I don't treat homeless who are also alcoholic differently!

Their addition should not be trivialised - they don't just drink to "have a bit of fun". Alcoholism is a habit which is very difficult to break and withdrawal symptoms can be dangerous!

Most homeless suffers from one addiction or another. It's the ones that don't that make me suspicious.

surviving-ok

Just wonderigg how many people who say they 'would' give to a local charity working with homeless instead, or give food, actually DO that? I know some do, personally i don't, so it's no judgement. Just a but strange everybody saying they WOULD give in this way; I'm not counting those who actually regularly DO give in this way. it's such a strange comment unless you actually Do GIVE in this way, to say that you WOULD give in this way. The opportunuities to do so remain open; if you don't ALREADY give in this way, and live in an area where you are accosted by beggers, then it's a totally meaningless statement of intention, as obviously you don't intend giving.

sluggy1967

I know someone who works for the Simon Community, who work with homeless in London. He advises NEVER EVER give money to beggars, there is a good chance you are simply feeding a drug or alcohol habit. Instead, offer food and drink.

mr-tom_2

surviving-ok wrote: »

Just wonderigg how many people who say they 'would' give to a local charity working with homeless instead, or give food, actually DO that? I know some do, personally i don't, so it's no judgement. Just a but strange everybody saying they WOULD give in this way; I'm not counting those who actually regularly DO give in this way. it's such a strange comment unless you actually Do GIVE in this way, to say that you WOULD give in this way. The opportunuities to do so remain open;

I do periodically but the bulk of my giving goes to a cause much closer to my heart.

surviving-ok wrote: »

if you don't ALREADY give in this way, and live in an area where you are accosted by beggers, then it's a totally meaningless statement of intention, as obviously you don't intend giving.

Since the question was a hypothetical one "what WOULD you do if..." then a hypothetical answer is actually quite sufficient.

The only time I ever contribute directly to a beggar is through purchase of the big issue, and I am very selective about who I buy from. About a year ago, I was fortunate enough to find a really cool guy who was selling it. As well as buying, we chatted a lot and I encouraged him in the other stuff he did as well as offering (he didn't need one in the end) a reference as he wanted to get better work. We kept talking as he started distributing the Metro, which was his first step and it was amazing when he ultimately got a job on a large local construction project for which it turned out he was amply qualified. None of that was in any way down to me. I was just fortunate enough to get to watch and encourage.

That's an important distinction for me - by selling the Big Issue, they show that they want to do better, so if I'm going to build a relationship, that's the person I'll focus on. Not to say that everybody should - quite the contrary - when somebody is in the depths of despair and can't even sell the big issue, that's when they need the most help, but I guess this rambling post is about the model that has worked for me as I'm naturally a problem solver and quickly run out of patience when people can't put things right (so I'm totally the wrong person to deal with addictions or anything like that!)

Murtle

Flower_of_Scotland wrote: »

Swiss721

‘So if everyone was as tight as you, some beggars would turn completely desperate and there would be more robberies’
I don’t agree. Most beggars have serious health issues for the most part they are not capable of committing crime.

‘...and aren't most of the organisations actually helping homeless people charitable organisations? ‘
Perhaps this is the problem. These charities are letting the government off the hook.
‘I think it is very hard to claim benefits if you have no address. ‘
Are you sure of this? If so this is something that should be looked into. Why should anyone have to humiliate themselves by begging in the streets when benefits are available?

Yes there are people that *fall through the gap* so to speak. The local councils usually know their *homeless* people on *their patch* and some even have a set up to help them so to speak, but as for benefits/housing etc then yes there are some who fall through the gap. Unfortunately the violence that can happen in some hostels means that some people would rather take their chances of freezing on the streets then sleeping in them. They are not the luxury place we think of as hostels and in many cases get full before all those with no where to stay have somewhere to stay! Few will accept those with serious drug/drink addictions so they will end up on the streets as well as they don't have somewhere to go.

Yes, I would help him...not sure how, but it would start by having a conversation with him!!

Murtle

moggylover wrote: »

I would still give the money -and a smile, and a kind word:o .

We live in a harsh World, in which many people find it difficult to cope and to fit in. I have worked with a charity helping homeless and addicted people: and some of the life stories one hears would make even the strongest amongst us turn to drink!

I was fortunate, I was not beaten as a child, nor was I sexually abused, nor was I "sold" to men by my own mother to fund her addiction, nor was I in any other way treated like a sub-human. I am not schizophenic, nor bi-polar, nor do I have aspergers, or autism or any one of a dozen other mental illnesses that could make it very difficult for me to "fit in" with society, or organise my life, or keep myself away from addictive substances (and where do we get off pontificating a difference between drugs and drink except in so far as we comfort ourselves that drink is a less harmful drug because it is legal?)

A gift is a gift, and should be given freely and without strings and as I tell my kids when they ask "why do they live like that", it could be any number of reasons why someone has come to that point in their life, and it could be any one act of random kindess that helps them to move on.

Many years ago, I suffered a breakdown, I was very ill for a long time and had it not been for my family my bills and so forth would not have been paid and my home would have been gone by the time I recovered enough to look after myself again: had I not had any family or my family had not cared, then I could have ended up like any one of those people, so yes, there but for the Grace of God and his gift to me of a good family, go I;)

Maybe the harsh amongst us should remember the old adage about "what goes around, comes around";) - especially in view of the coming recession:D

thank you moggylover - I worked with a local council, and to be honest you've expressed many of my thoughts and things I saw here.

I think what has interested me with this is that there are a lot of misconceptions about in the public domain about homeless people and what is actually available to them. I don't think until I worked with homeless people I ever realised how easy it is to end up in that situation (maybe not in all areas, but were social housing is at a premium very few people will qualify) and the impact of mental issues have on people being able to sustain what we consider a *normal* life.

...there but for the grace of god go I....

anonymousie

sluggy1967 wrote: »

I know someone who works for the Simon Community, who work with homeless in London. He advises NEVER EVER give money to beggars, there is a good chance you are simply feeding a drug or alcohol habit. Instead, offer food and drink.

ITA.

Even by feeding the dog you are "cost shifting" they don't have to buy dog food so can feed their addiction instead.
I work with addictions as part of my job, and I give to charities not individuals after meeting folk who now work in drung addiction having been on the streets themselves- the heroin makes living homeless bareable, or at least you foprget for a while- there isn't an easy answer.

Sadly big issue sellers are are also a worry to me- most are still financing habits of some sort, and there are several in Brum who I'm sure aren't legit- no jacket and really agressive attitude, whilst waving their "last copy" at you late at night...

Flower_of_Scotland_3

Thanks Murtle for these interesting posts. It's quite a problem. I can believe that there would be a lot of voilence in the hostels. I do understand why they would not accept the serious drunk/drug addicts. I used to live in a block where two of the flat were leased to ex-rough sleepers/drug addicts. The situation was intolerable. Both these tenants turned their flats into 24 hour drop in centres for all the drug addicts and alcoholics in the area. It was complete madness, the police, fire-brigade and ambulance visited the block of flat at least 5 times a week usually in the middle of the night. Even if you do provide the 'homeless' with accommodation there is still the problem of their anti-social behaviour and the impact this has on people living around them.