I go with them to whichever close market or restaurant and buy them what they really need, I don't usually put a money limit but rarely goes over 20 bucks with a nice food basket.
Part of these process is also listening to their stories, sometimes you can even hire them for some tasks and I usually tell them to help others in the same way if they have the oportunity (or to teach their children this lesson).
Of course they could sell these items later but I really feel good about this and I don't think they do that.
I'm not saying that you're not telling the truth, but I am saying that most people who say that they give food actually give nothing (neither money nor food), but tell their friends and random message boards that they give food, because it avoids looking miserly (if you give nothing) or naive (if you give money).
And I agree with you completely - most people that help, do that because they think that helping people is the right thing to do.
I'm saying that there are a whole other (much larger) class of people who actually don't help at all, but say that they do (to their friends, on HN etc) because they don't want to be thought of as miserly.
Just look at the comments on this thread. At the moment, by far the largest number are saying that they don't give money, but that they buy food or other goods instead. If that were true, I would expect to have seen someone give a homeless person food at least once in my life, or offer to take them somewhere they could buy food, or just stop to talk to them. As it is, I've seen zero people give food, maybe a few hundred people give money, and hundreds of thousands do nothing.
When we are at a supermarket we don't usually notice anything beside our own grocery list...
I tend to give money to older people and people who are offering a service. There was a guy who hung out at a grocery store with a bottle of window cleaner and rags, and he'd clean your car windows for whatever you gave him.
If they're young, look fairly healthy, or look like druggies, I don't give. If they demand a certain amount (I've had someone demand $20 from me!) I definitely don't give.
I don't see beggars close up all that often. Here they're usually standing at an intersection with a sign. If you're on foot in the City, there's a lot of panhandlers, and I think you'd be begging yourself pretty quickly if you gave everyone a few bucks.
Also, trust your instincts.
I've been homeless, sleeping rough under bushes and on building sites. I was homeless for over 2 years when I was much younger.
I begged on a few occasions, perhaps 3-4 days in total. The rest of the time I attempted to earn money however I could (minus the dodgy offers I received to give blow jobs for toast and butter and other sexual services).
When I begged I did it because I really needed to, I had nothing else.
I did it because I was that hungry that I could no longer offer to knock down walls for £5 if someone could just lend me a sledghammer. I was too weak, or I was ill and unable to.
When I begged, those very few times, those people who gave me money were my saviours. I sometimes reflect that I shouldn't have made it off the streets, the odds were against me. I should be dead, never known enough to be forgotten.
Can you tell a person in need from one on the take?
Do you think it's race, or gender that defines that?
Do you think it's age?
Do you think that a person who appears more run-down has a more urgent need than someone who washed recently?
Do you think the urgency of need can be told from how they smell?
I can guarantee that you'll get it wrong some of the time.
I give today, without question. I know some are on the take, that most are not in that level of need. But I'm not going to walk past the person that is in that level of need and I know I can't tell the difference either.
I'm also not going to dictate that I'll buy some shitty fast food meal. I was ill so much on the streets. It's hard to be healthy when you're cold, damp, and frankly eating food that makes it hard to stay healthy at all. And sometimes I would skip meals, I'd feel hungrier if I ate... it stretched the stomach, created a bigger emptiness inside. Sometimes when I had money I needed to ration it on food I could digest over a long period of time... buying me a sandwich wouldn't have helped me greatly, it satisfies your need not mine.
This may be different in San Francisco (I've seen that you have a hell of a problem there)... my experience is in the UK where you may only pass a person begging every few days at most.
But seriously... that few quid in your pocket, it's not going to make a difference to your life, you'll still be at whatever your wealth level tomorrow. But it could really make a difference to the person you give it to.
In many places in South Africa you are encouraged NOT to give money to beggars.
http://www.capetowncid.co.za/docs/6268/Image%20from%20Best%2...
Every cent given to street beggars goes for their comfort, not their survival. I'm not implying that is a bad thing, just don't think you've saved a person by giving them some quids.
A survey was done last year and it found that on average white beggars earn about R172 a day. But it's not uncommon in busy areas to net over R1000 in spots especially if there are a lot of tourists.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/White-beggars-make-R1...
If I can afford to help strangers then I can afford to help my family and friends, who are more important to me.
And why do you help your family and friends? Why not focus on yourself only?
My point is, why did you draw the line exactly at friends and family? You don't owe anything to the rest of society, nor the rest of society owe anything to you? Why do you owe anything to your friends and family?
Additionally if you want to reason in a framework of debts, then you probably owe the most to your friends and family. You owe your entire existence directly to your parents -- it's hard to top that! Might as well stop there and just accept you have some unquantifiable amount of direct debt to the family who raised and protected you and the friends who spent time with you freely as opposed to doing something else. You can try to talk of indirect debts owed to and by "society" etc. but those quickly become spaghetti and in my opinion nonsensical. They're diffused and for some groups entirely non-existent, their lifespan is indefinite (you owe a part of your existence to all the warriors on whatever side of the conflicts your victorious (where victory means they could reproduce or their existing children were spared) ancestors took part in!), it's usually very unclear just how much is owed to whom, if it's even quantifiable, and how or if one can repay, and if you allow counterfactuals (like indirectly owing part of your existence to anyone who has had ill-thoughts toward your mother while she was pregnant or you during your life, but who didn't act on them) it becomes ever more ridiculous. And this is just as a reasoning framework -- can such a ridiculous construct actually motivate people to donate to some charity feeding starving kids in Africa and generate warm-fuzzy feelings of similar magnitude to gifting and helping out friends and family?
I think if you study those things, you'll realize that it's not at all obvious. Clearly there's a difference between your blood relatives and the rest of humanity, but we collaborate and dependent on non-related strangers far more than any other species, and we have morals that support that kind of behavior. Why, do you think, we accuse people of nepotism, when they favor family in some scenarios (particularly in business and politics)?
I think the slogan "charity begins at home" is not appropriate to excuse one's ignorance of others' plight, and the fact that we have this debate is a good proof that human ethics are, in fact, more sophisticated.
> Why not focus on yourself only? Because I will help those important to me, that I care about, and/or are my responsibility.
Homeless people and charities for every animal, nationality, and disease in this world, can not ALL be my responsibility. Another point that I think about a lot, I can not justify giving to just one charity and not to all charities. So I give to none.
I realise that my opinions may be unpopular but I have no problem with that.
I don't work on the streets either, I work in an office or at home.
The streets are just the transport to and from places I actually work and live. They're not somewhere I do anything other than pass through.
http://www.thamesreach.org.uk/news-and-views/campaigns/givin...
As someone who used to work in this sector, I no longer give money to beggars. Support the charities instead.
I completely agree with others' points about being non-judgmental. However, the point I see is to _help_, and (statistically) that doesn't mean giving money directly.
(Over the autumn/winter, I volunteer with Hackney Winter Night Shelter (http://www.hwns.org.uk/) and chat to workers from Thames Reach quite often.)
When panhandlers or other street people behave more aggressively I simply run away like a scared animal. They do not have a moral right to touch or yell at me, but neither do I have the right to use violence against them for that.
The good you need to do to solve "the problem" of homelessness and poverty involves gradual systemic change - handing out cash to one person at one time is going to maintain the status quo. You have no way to know whose story is a truthful one when you are so suddenly confronted by it - it is like making a blind investment. Only invest if you force them to commit time to you. If they refuse they are up to no good and you should run away.
One more thing. Sometimes I see a lot of people asking for money for a "bus ticket" or "gas" because "their car broke down" I always tell them that I know they are full of shit, and that they should change their line. they will still get few $, as I prefer that they ask for money instead of robbing someone else.
And in all honesty, do beggars do anything different than your average sales person? Instead of a product they are selling their poverty. If they good at doing that why not reward them :)
If you're concerned about the burden on social services, you should demand that your local government provide no-questions-asked, no-strings-attached SRO apartments for anyone on the street. It is far more cost effective than constant EMS and police attention. And despite your claim that "vagrants" will not accept organized help, I guarantee that almost all of them will if you remove the arbitrary and unnecessary rules and restrictions. There's a reason that many european nations have effectively no homelessness, and it's precisely because free housing is a given.
If our society treats getting someone into an apartment as a <i>goal</i> that we need to work for rather than a <i>favor</i> they need to work for, it becomes much easier.
If you mean "how do you know you can trust GiveWell", I guess you don't.
Maybe they don't succeed in their mission, and they are the first to point out their limitations.
As for my answer to the question, I try to limit my charitable contributions to charities praised for efficiency and effectiveness on the various watchdog sites, but I usually end up cracking and giving in person as well.
On a related note, writing my post reminded me of an old LessWrong post [1] I saw.
[1] http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_sepa...
If they need money for the Bus or Train to get home, then buy it for them. Get a taxi (you hail/pick it not them) to the train or bus station (don't walk there in case its a setup and you get robbed on the way and don't use your own car)
However, everyone has a story. For every person who is desperate and needs money, they are others who abuse peoples kind genorisity. They may use the money to buy Crack or Heroin or they made need it to buy their baby some food. You simply don't know.
[1] http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/14208/1/The-History-of-B...
In my opinion, you are better off buying them the meal and food or the ticket yourself at the next stop. Never give cash.
The national government provides them with monthly income (welfare). Which I will agree isn't much, but should cover the absolute basic necessities, especially combined with all the other help available. The local government also helps people to actually receive this money, to prevent the bureaucratic nonsense of homeless people needing to supply an address to apply for welfare.
To accomplish all of this, we pay a relatively high tax. But many people still give quite a bit of money to their favorite charities.
Of course, all of this requires the homeless person to cooperate. The system handles most of cases quite well, there aren't many beggars around, despite being a popular tourist destination. The groups who are not covered fall mainly in the categories: criminals, drug addicts, people with psychological problems, homeless by choice or lifestyle. For each of these groups I feel giving them money is a bad idea, but I hope they all find the help they need.
So no, I don't give money personally to beggars on the street. Yes, I happily pay tax and support charitable organisations.
http://www.utilitarianism.net/singer/by/1972----.htm
Singer is arguably the 'greatest' philosopher of the last fifty years [1]. Agree with him or not, he has thought deeply about the issue and his reasoning around it and expressed these thoughts within a framework of rule based utilitarian philosophy.
Singer's Ted talk on the subject:
http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_singer_the_why_and_how_of_eff...
Singer's homepage at Princeton, the link page includes links to most of his papers:
http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/
[1] Not that I am interested in arguing. I only use the term to suggest that the list of candidates is not very long, at the moment. In fifty years who knows?
I think the worst thing about being in their situation would be that most people wouldn't listen, and sometimes that can be just enough to get you through the day.
About 5 years ago, I gave one beggar some money. This was not the first time I'd noticed him, that had been when I walked by with some shirts and he said to his buddies, "See that guy? He's in the Klan!" ('Ku Klux Klan' for non-Americans.) He's an old black guy, in his 60s, with a sense of humor. He doesn't always ask for money. He always says "hi," even shouting it from across the street. We talk about happenings in the neighborhood, sports, etc. It's just a few minutes, once or twice a week; but it's more interaction than I have with some co-workers.
About a year ago, I found out that he had put the word out for no one to bother me. He figured out I can't help everyone, so he doesn't want someone ruining it for him. (I've only been asked by someone else once in the past year or so and I did help her.)
There is a courtyard right out front of my office building. It attracts all sorts of people, probably because it is "downtown" and right by a main exit from the underground train. Most of them just sit around smoking pot, being loud & making a mess. There are at least 5 trash cans positioned around this courtyard... yet these vagabonds just throw their crap on the ground. Not having a home is no excuse for not being a decent human being. I don't give money to them.
On some days people come to perform. Sometimes it is a band that is trying to sell their home made CDs. Sometimes it is just a guy playing bucket drums. I give to them on occasion. I'll give money to a guy playing bucket drums before I give to a guy sitting with an overturned hat and a sign.
When I am not worse off than the homeless or domestically compromised, I still help the ones whom I am personally acquainted with, providing cash sometimes or rides in my vehicle.
There are numerous needy individuals I encounter regularly and they are not always worse off than me.
With needy strangers, until I am out of debt or at least have positive cash flow, I can usually be honest, and get an honest reaction when I ask if they have lost everything. If so, it's easy to relate how I'm looking forward to working 12hours a day, 7days a week for a couple years so that I will recover well enough to then have nothing myself.
For someone who is truly homeless, it's usually easy for them to understand that I am non-domestic myself, plus it takes a lot to keep a vehicle on the road so I really don't have anything to spare sensibly.
Since I'm older than most, the sensible beggar recognizes he may be worse off in my position.
This year I often have food with me when I am driving, so I sometimes can share some of my rations or occasionally even have surplus to give.
I am a surplus-seeking individual. My entire (ruined) operation was built with recycled or surplus materials.
One man gathers what another man spills.
I don't plan to beg on the street, I'll learn how to accept financial help from a capitalist instead, and I'm not looking for a donation unless a venture turns out to be a non-profit org. Otherwise I'll make them as much return as they prefer.
But it has to be a generous capitalist with surplus funds to combine with my surplus technology, then we fly. The same backing from a greedy partner could only offer further deficit for me, may still get off the ground but not true flight with that baggage.
I look forward to the time when I can once again exersize my generosity to a greater degree. __________
- now you're considering street performers while I was typing, so I'll post this here. Don't think I'll do that either unless I finally lose critical mass of industrial surplus which could happen any time, but looks like I've got a better chance singing for my supper at my favorite restaurant than I would in the street, which is illegal here except in the (uncrowded) museum district with a very restrictive permit.
sorry this message turned out to be so personal, hope it helps anyway, this one hit "home"
I have had a few occasions where people ask for money for food, and I tell them I'll just buy them food and they refuse. But I've had many more times where they are excited about it. Generally they ask for very little, sometimes just a cup of coffee and a bagel.
So instead of giving them money, it's much better to buy them food or something else what they really need.
Couldn't really find great english articles about this phenomenon so I don't know how reliable these sources are, the local media usually calls it "begging mafia" or "organised begging":
- A paper dealing with this topic: http://webs.schule.at/website/Texte_online/Organized_Begging...
- http://www.neurope.eu/article/slovak-clans-control-organised...
- http://www.viennareview.net/news/austria/end-station-for-u-b...
- http://viennatimes.at/news/General_News/2010-09-06/25437/Beg...
If I'm in your position, I think I will give them snack or meal.
[1] http://www.bubblews.com/news/727796-woo-the-income-of-the-be...
I prefer to know exactly what the money is being spent on. I'm happy to help them, but I don't want to fund an addiction.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again. Pro 19:17
The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Pro 22:9
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38
"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." - 1 Timothy 5:8
Give money to beggars or don't, give money to charity or don't, give money to random people or don't.
Just figure out why you feel the way you do, I don't think anyone can do that for you.
Single datapoint: there is a beggar near my house who people give money to. He's been there for /years/. Is his problem being solved? I presume not.
Otherwise, give them money if you want to. Don't give them money if you don't want to.
Maybe share your lunch if you've got some to spare.
I'm not making this up to be combative. I use to carry a bunch of coins in a quickly accessible pocket just to give to anyone who asks because I hate having to internally debate it every time. The passive beggars are always fine, but I've had frustrating experiences with the active ones (especially the drunk and mentally disturbed).
Succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
Book of Mormon, Mosiah 4: 16-19
When I see bums nowadays I think I should always give to them, but two beliefs have saved me from letting guilt get to me since about 99% or more of the time I don't give. (Especially if I'm in a bum-heavy area like Vancouver or Seattle or if I can quickly rationalize it away by the fact I don't usually carry cash or finding a place to buy a banana or whatever would be out of my planned way.) First is my relative lack of spare money since I've only recently finished college and don't have a nest egg (I do believe in paying myself first), second is my belief in optimizing charity (see the GiveWell comment). Every time I see a bum and don't give, I try to make a small mental note to donate an additional $5-$10 to my chosen non-profit at some point in the future. I've got a few hundred dollar backlog right now due to financial constraints (fortunately I don't see too many bums in my area), but this has worked out in the past. Sometimes I do give anyway, and I do feel good, and it's not just the feeling of guilt relief. Though I feel a lot better helping people who are trying to help themselves, I do judge, and I feel best helping friends and some family especially when they don't ask. In the end I'm glad when I can live with my decisions and am able to "repent" mistakes not for fear of perishing forever but because they were mistakes that I eventually recognized as such.