Why Don't You Give Cash to Homeless People?

[The New California Republic]

Because I haven't seen any homeless people in such a long time.

[The Blaatschapen]

So, personal story:

In the Netherlands, I gave money to the few homeless people that asked. It wasn't often that I encountered one.

Here in Berlin, if I go out of the house, I meet them on a very regular basis. Sometimes twice in the same S-bahn (metro). How many coins am I expected to carry?

So it simply became too much

[The Central Pacific Free State]

I sometimes hand them money, especially when they work for it(playing some sort of instrument, I love street music) and I dont really care what they do with it. If they ask for cigarettes I hand them some, and once I got asked if he could have some of my joint and I handed him the small rest of it.

If they get their cash through begging atleast they dont have to prostitute themselves. Atleast they dont steal from anyone. Atleast they have enough consciousness to not rob anyone.

Go buy drugs, go buy booze its already bad enough that they sleep in the cold, atleast you wont have to feel the cold.

But I´d rather give more money to charities who get people off the street, thats where real change can happen ( even though the very most of them end up homelessa again)

[Atheris]

Mostly because I don't want to feed into any drug habits they might have, which are unfortunately common among the poor. I give them toiletries and food instead.

[Blue Nagia]

Ouch. So much moralising in this thread from people assuming what "homeless people" will do. Not talking about people who can feel out when a situation is shifty, that's valid, but the people who are saying "homeless people are likely to..." or "most homeless people..." without any basis.

Homeless people are people. It's a horrible reality of the world right now that in many "developed" countries, there are fewer and fewer employment opportunities available to the average person that aren't completely and utterly soul-destroying (ask me about my friend who worked as a pharmacy tech), and fewer and fewer affordable homes being made available to those who need them. The collapse of US society (and, I would argue as a Brit, the UK and other societies) means more and more people are losing their homes just because their job doesn't pay enough.

Anyone could be homeless. You, person reading this, could become homeless. Yes, even if you're a millionaire. If you buy into the wrong stock or you make the wrong deal or someone screws you over or your currency plummets in value, bam, you're on the street. You're shocked; you can't believe this could happen to you of all people. You were on top of the world. Maybe a drink will drown out this horror for a bit...

And so it goes.

The fact that bad shit could happen to anyone, not just those who "deserve" it, is part of why we're a communal species. Being known as someone who gives help to others means it's more likely you'll be helped in the future, if you want to look at it in a transactional way.

(Also, I used to give to the homeless a lot. Don't carry cash, now, but I'd regularly give this one guy near my house 10 pound notes and we got to be friends.)

[Greater Miami Shores]

There are different kinds of homeless persons, I have given money and food to a few homeless persons. I have met and talked to a few young homeless persons, they are nice and kind, they can work and live a life with a roof over their heads, but don't want to work for it. This one young guy, lay in the middle of the road of a shopping center entrance, I tried to talk him out of it, and he said to me I know what I am doing, the cops will arrest me and release me in a few days.

Recently I once gave money and bought a few sandwiches, a coke and bottles of cold water for this homeless guy a few times.

I once gave money to one guy on the street asking for money and he laughed in my face.

I once saw a news on TV where they watched this guy asking for money and left in a car.

I once met a guy in a shopping center and he told me he is a con man and can tell and read persons personalities and who to ask me money from.

Twice I have seen a crazy homeless lady, she talks to herself and yelled at a so called imaginary person, I told you not to talk to me anymore, at least I did not see any other persons there.

[Europa Undivided]

I don't trust anyone.

[Blue Nagia]

I don't trust anyone.

I don't trust anyone either. But I have sympathy for those stuck in the position of having some unwanted voice scream in their heads.

[Drongonia]

I simply can't afford to. To be entirely fair I probably wouldn't anyway, but I just can't.

[Cannot think of a name]

It seems strange to me that everyone who has this moralistic blanket distrust of people in shitty situations all have the exact same story that just happens to have also appeared in media.

You don't find that strange? I find that strange that your story sounds almost exactly like a scene in a movie or two I've watched. Almost like this can't possibly have happened word for word to everybody.

Also, I've had a lot of people in different positions screw me over. The absolute least of those I'm worried about is someone who might get some loose change from me who most likely will actually be someone in need and not this roaming band of supervillains tricking people out of their pocket change.


Stop using them as an excuse for you to not be interested in the plight of those less fortunate than you. You just don't want to give, it's not a moralistic failing on their part no matter how many anecdotal stories you conjure. You just want an excuse. You don't need one. As you have belabored pointlessly, it's your money. You don't have to do shit with it. You don't need to take an extra shit on people who are struggling just to justify it. It's unseemly.

So now you're literally calling me a liar.

No, it's not some made up shit from a movie. What kind of movies do you watch that have homeless people scamming folks for money?

I'm not literally calling you anything, I'm just saying your unconfirmable anecdote sounds a lot like a scene from a movie and one that is often repeated without variation and that sticks out.

Maybe you shot up a fast food restaurant because they wouldn't serve breakfast past 10:30 as well. I don't know.

And again, it's not an excuse because I do give. Rarely just outright money, but I've happily given other shit. Whether it's food, gas, whatever.

You don't get to decree that other people aren't interested in giving just because they're wary. That's a fucked up stance.

No, a fucked up stance is assuming people literally living on the bottom of society are doing it all as an elaborate scam to get your spare change and then go to drug orgies. Or to decide that because they don't need food immediately they won't need it later and any attempt to get money to buy food when no one is around to condescend to them is part of their elaborate ruse. That's some fucked up shit right there. That's some unfounded judgemental bullshit that is in place to make yourself feel better for not giving a shit.

[Luziyca]

Because I don't have the cash on me. If I do have cash, I try to give some if they ask, but I haven't given anyone cash since early 2020, given, well... *gestures at COVID*

This makes me want to start another thread about the danger of a cashless futures. But I won't, at least not tonight.

I wear a mask whenever I am in an indoor public place but I still pay for everything possible in cash. And honestly if a cashier didn't have hand sanitizer provided to them by their employer, first of all fuck their capitalist exploiter for not shelling out a few bucks for hand sanitizer, but I would gladly pay for it myself if I had to, I truly would. I would rather buy every cashier hand sanitizer whose employer doesn't provide it than stop using cash.

The prospect of a cashless society is terrifying. Every purchase can be tracked and if you think that is conspiracy theory crap, I direct you to credit reports, something we all accept as normal despite the fact we should see credit reports as dystopian as fuck. Seriously, if you pay your full credit card balance every month, you will be punished with bad credit for not going into debt and paying interest to leeches. If you don't believe me, look it up, that is a verifiable fact.

Anyway, to not get too off topic, going cash free discriminates against the homeless. In fact, it also discriminates against working class people with homes who can't afford new phones right away to use payment apps. If there was a payment app truly anonymous that neither the state or corporations could ever get their hands on and if every homeless person was given a free phone, I would gladly transfer them money instead, but that's not going to happen any time soon.

Everyone who is going cashless cause of Covid is helping the rise of totalitarianism. If it's really about health than bathe your cash in alcohol, I'm not even kidding, and wash your hands every time you exchange cash. Better than helping bring about a totalitarian society where you employer tells you that they checked your purchase report and they will fire you if you spend your next paycheck on a new video game instead of a new suit.

To be fair, the reason why I've gone cashless is mostly because I deposit my cheques into my bank account and my student loans are deposited in my bank account: the last time I used cash was when I was given $20 to buy some cola for my parents.

[Thermodolia]

I do not want this to be a discussion about WHETHER homeless people tend to spend cash on cigarettes, booze, and drugs. Instead, I think a better question for discussion is: Why shouldn't they?

Because it doesn’t help you. Drugs, booze, nicotine, and other things won’t feed you and nor will it shield you from the cold.

A blanket and food is far more valuable to the homeless than money and I should know as I was homeless for a few months after leaving the military.

[Dawhia]

As someone who was a homeless dopehead for 6 months, we're taking your money and buying heroin. The ones under bridges all work together, pool the money and buy huge amounts of drugs and get hella rekt that same night, then do the same the next day. We'd work in shifts and take breaks every few hours of panhandling. Give them a sandwich or walk away. Your money does not help anything. They will use children to instill guilt, get free money then neglect them. We will lie about not having money for gas, get 5 bucks from someone, and repeat at a different gas station. Your money buys drugs. The homeless then kill, r*pe, and assault each other over those drugs. I saw a pregnant woman who was a regular heroin user get beaten over 7 dollars worth of methamphetamines. Befriended an older homeless lady during my days on the street who was around her mid 50s who ended up being gang r*ped because she wouldnt give up a sherm stick (pcp if you don't know), and she still managed to put on the happy face she had always worn the next day to go panhandle some more. She ended up dying in the hospital because she had contracted aids. She was like an aunt to me and she died because she got a disease from some scumbags who wanted her drugs. Those drugs were worth like 15 dollars. I've had friends die from overdoses. You holding your money lessens the chance of someone rolling over at night to see someone they care about foaming at the mouth and suffering a life ending stroke or seizure. I understand the homeless will always be able to obtain money, but don't be the person to support their habits.

[Torisakia]

Because I never carry cash anymore. And I don't think many of them accept payment via debit card.

[Upper Yationd]

The government should be giving homeless people money. Not all homeless people are drug-addicts or low-lifes and even so everyone deserves to eat and have shelter.

[Greater Miami Shores]

The government should be giving homeless people money. Not all homeless people are drug-addicts or low-lifes and even so everyone deserves to eat and have shelter.

The homeless one's who can work but don't want to work, like the one's I posted about on my previous post should work for it.

[North Silldistia Cita]

I think we absolutely should give cash to homeless people, if we truly would like to help them. The reason they are homeless/ in poverty isn't because they cannot budget. You simply cannot budget yourself out of poverty. The most at risk people deserve resources and housing without conditions. Houseless people should be able to have spending money to make their day to day life more pleasurable, and be able to get resources more on top of that.

[Thermodolia]

The government should be giving homeless people money. Not all homeless people are drug-addicts or low-lifes and even so everyone deserves to eat and have shelter.

But it would be better just to hand food and shelter out for free since most homeless don’t have anywhere to send the money too

[Dakini]

If I have the cash on me, I give some to homeless people. I've also gone into shops on their behalf to procure supplies (one guy wanted some coffee to warm his hands because it was cold, I've also bought sandwiches, snacks, fruit) and shared beverages with them (either I've bought a multipack of booze and given them a can or I've given them some liquor from my flask). I've also given food (usually granola bars) if I have it and they want it. My partner regularly gives them cigarettes too (either they smoke or they're good for trade).

I don't usually give a lot of money because I'm not fabulously wealthy and ideally, my taxes would go toward putting them in homes and helping them get on their feet, but sadly this isn't the case. It is not only more humane, but also much more cost-effective to just give people places to live than it is to have them live on the street.

[A Thousand Islands]

I work hard and pay taxes. The government gave my taxes to the homeless.But will tomorrow's homeless become unhomeless just because of the cash?I don't think it's possible. Few homeless people have a steady job.Why not use the money to create a profitable business? In this way, the government will no longer bear the additional tax burden, the homeless will get jobs, dignity and shelter, and the society will get stability, security and more economic vitality.If the operation is good, the government can get a return on investment as an investor, while enterprises can expand to provide jobs for more homeless people.
Offering cash to the homeless is the laziest, least effective, and most responsive of all.It can give government offices a bit of a good evaluation among some people, but it can't solve the problem

That all assumes the businesses in question would actually hire the homeless people in the first place.

[The Lone Alliance]

There is something called an addiction.

I'm aware, my point stands.

I've seen an addict starve themselves because eating got in the way of their addiction. So yes it happens.

[Kanadorika]

Homeless encampments here in Los Angeles are a scourge. The homeless assault people for just walking by and rape is not uncommon. Property crimes near homeless encampments are through the roof.

But so many homeless here either have conditions and should be institutionalized, or they frankly want to be homeless. At this point building a massive encampment in the desert and making them stay there seems like the best choice if simply locking them up and treating whatever condition they have proves controversial.

There are so many homeless people I'd be broke if i gave each one a dollar. I'd also rather not get assaulted for existing. Too many stories of people rolling down their windows and getting punched by a bum for trying to give them money.

[Cannot think of a name]

Homeless encampments here in Los Angeles are a scourge. The homeless assault people for just walking by and rape is not uncommon. Property crimes near homeless encampments are through the roof.

But so many homeless here either have conditions and should be institutionalized, or they frankly want to be homeless. At this point building a massive encampment in the desert and making them stay there seems like the best choice if simply locking them up and treating whatever condition they have proves controversial.

There are so many homeless people I'd be broke if i gave each one a dollar. I'd also rather not get assaulted for existing. Too many stories of people rolling down their windows and getting punched by a bum for trying to give them money.

I've experienced none of this, including times riding down the LA River bike trail as well as other encampments. There's a bridge used as an encampment in noho near a place I go to all the time and haven't experienced any issues walking through it.

[Resilient Acceleration]

Instead of giving cash, I tend to buy from those who still try to sell food, do street business, or even just play music or do street performances as a means of living. Admittedly, I don't actually see homeless people that often, likely because they are regularly rounded up and kicked around by the thug-police, private security, or mafia gangs associated with the local government.

[Cannot think of a name]

Instead of giving cash, I tend to buy from those who still try to sell food, do street business, or even just play music or do street performances as a means of living. Admittedly, I don't actually see homeless people that often, likely because they are regularly rounded up and kicked around by the thug-police, private security, or mafia gangs associated with the local government.

Buskers (street performers) and street vendors are not necessarily (or even often) homeless.