Recently i've seen a decent amount of homeless people at stop lights around my local area. they all have signs asking for change and whatnot. I've gotten into the habit of, instead of giving them change, giving them cigarettes. They seem to appreciate it more. This is both a question and a charge to GC, what do you give the homeless on the street? if you feel guilty about giving them anything give one a cig and light it for them. spread the joy of smoking.
Usually I don't have money to give, but I've given out a fair share of smokes. I was at a coffee shop one time and saw a homeless dude searchin' through the ashtray trying to find his nicotine fix, so I gave him the rest of my pack (had like 4 or 5 left in it). He seemed appreciative. There was one dude I used to drive by all the time when I was working in the outer east part of Portland. He was always standing on the side of the road with a sign that said something like "Money, food, herb, anything helps". I always meant to stop and give him a joint or something someday. But I stopped working there before I had a chance to.
Ever since i was a child whenever i travel to a city and see and homeless person pan handling I take one of em to dinner at a mcdonalds or subway or something, I still do that to this day too, I'd personally appreciate a free meal if I was livin on the streets. Its pretty kickass that you'll give a cig to someone who's homeless, not too many people show kindness to strangers, especially poor ones.
I always feel bad when seeing people like that... You want to give something, but at the same time you cant tell if they're panhandlers or what... the people who dress up as homeless and get change... I've been told professional panhandlers could make a few hundred $$ a day..
i don't give em shit they just spend the money on crack and booze i might giv em some left over food or something tho
Where I live there is no reason why someone cannot find employment. You can get a job bagging groceries for 17.25 an hour here. Still people are homeless and I dont understand it. Lazyness or drug addiction are the only conclusions I ever come to. Once I was visiting downtown Calgary and this homeless person asks my buddy for some change to buy food. My friend says "I wont give you money, but I will gladly take you into the mcdonalds accross the street and buy whatever you like." The homeless guy refused...
I don't give them anyway. I am the person that looks straight ahead and doesn't acknowledge their begging. Just the way I was raised. It may be right, it may be wrong, it may be cold, but I've just never taken the pity.
hell half of sf is homeless we good to them they supply us with kind bud when our connect don't come through it's all good but the cops harass them all the time
I see bums all the damn time where I live... Most of them are pretty insane... I had one come up to me and tell me, Look at this girl (Pointed to the girl on my right) He says she told him she got impregnated by aliens and to avoid her at all cost... She's crazy... Can I have a cig?" lol, for the entertainment I gave him a cig. It depends on what the circumstances are if I give change/a cig to a homeless...
haven't really seen any where i live.. but i have no sympathy or pity for any of them. this is america, you can do whatever you WANT to do. and most of them, don't really want to do anything it seems. and yes i agree with pete -- you can tell the crackheads from the homeless. the homeless never turn down food. on occasion, i will give dollars since change won't really buy you anything in this present time. i've had people with no arms and no legs chasing after me and it still doesn't change my cold heart. you get used to it i guess..
I had a friend who did a project for one of his classes somewhat along these lines. He and my husband got dressed as if they were homeless. They went and stood on a street downtown while myself and another friend documented the occasion. Only difference is, instead of asking for change, they were trying to give people change. People would walk by and one of them would ask "Can I give you some change?" or "Would you like some change?", something along those lines. You'd be amazed how many folks just walked by and ignored them as if they weren't even people. One lady even replied "I don't have anything!" angrily and stormed off. Another couple walked by, and the man clutched his woman tightly like the scary bums were going to try and steal her away or some shit. There were only 2 occasions where people actually stopped. One was an elderly lady who replied with a kind "Thank you, but you should give that to someone who needs it more than I do." The other was a group of teenagers. Afterward we gave all the change to people who actually needed it. Just goes to show quick people are to judge, I guess.
Around where I live, if you want a job bad enough you can get one pretty easy. It may not be the job you want, but it's something until you find the one you want. Therefore I usually don't give to everyone, but rather to people that look like they would be unable to work even if they wanted.