Ask HN: What is your decision making model when encountering beggars?

For many years, in many different countries and various cultures, I have encountered people who have asked me for money, in different languages. So far, I have hesitated to give any, mainly because I believe paying directly will encourage them to follow the same life style.

However, to be honest, every time it hurts. So I would like to hear what the HN community thinks. Do you have an alternative model to deal with such situations?