Do you give money to beggars?

[mamabadger]

My religion seems to advise giving to the poor when asked, but I run into internal conflicts over the practice.

Some argue that it would be better to give to a registered charity, so you know for sure where the money is going. However, (A) I do not always know where the money is going, since some charities use over half their donations for administration and salaries, and (B) if we are told to give to beggars, are we entitled to refuse them just because we are more comfortable dealing with organizations than with ragged street people? Are organized charities partly a way of distancing ourselves from actual poor people?

Another issue is the suspicion that some beggars will use the money for alcohol, drugs, or other unsavory purposes. I agree that some of them will, but is that supposed to be our concern? Should we simply give when asked, and not try to control what happens to the donation?

This brings up the Victorian concept of the "deserving poor," which was used by nineteenth century charities to control and browbeat the poor, who were expected to demonstrate their morality and their abject gratitude in order to receive help from charitable groups. It all seems to defeat the concept of charity. I find a little of this attitude in myself; I would much rather give money to nice, sober, well behaved beggars, and feel some resentment at giving to a beggar who immediately uses my money to buy beer and cigarettes. But...isn't that just vanity? Would it not be better to give without these strings attached?

It says in Hebrews that by giving aid to strangers, "thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Do we lose this opportunity by insisting our "angels" be pleasing to our senses and our self-importance?

Has anyone else dealt with the question?

[doubledutch]

pan-handling is an art. it's basically like being self-employed. many completely destitute people don't "beg" but choose something else depending on their personality and abilities. not everyone who pan-handles is homeless, and few people "have no choice" (although the other choices may be equally unappealing).

that being said, i do give money when asked, if i have it. if pan-handling is someone's livelihood, i guess it doesn't matter to me how they handle their finances any more than i care what the coffee girl or the car wash boys are going to do with the tip money i give them. i feel like crap when i have to pass someone by because i don't have cash. however, i'm not approached often because i never go anywhere anymore, lol. if this were a daily occurence, like if i passed the same guy every day or something, i would probably give him a dollar and a coffee once a week or less.

if you don't want money to go toward booze or whatever, i would suggest giving something other than money. you could donate food and your time to food banks / soup kitchens. if you're going to be downtown or wherever you normally are approached, pack a couple little lunch bags of things that won't spoil, like protein bars, fruit leathers, trail mix, and give that.

[lilyka]

yes I do.

i only have so much money so most of it goes to charities I am familiar with (I mean really I can give a guy a guy a dollar and he can wait till he gets more to buy a sandwhich or I can give the soup kitchen a dollar and they can make four sandwhiches...) Its not be judgmental, its being a good steward. however if someone is short and a some change no big (so long as they are willing to actually ask me) or if they find themself stranded I am more than happy to pay for a bus/subway trip for them. i might be stranded without bus fare some day ....

also people have to ask. I never give money to people passively begging unless they seem genuinely unable to get up and ask nicely. i am never swayed by signs that say "will work for food" (then seriously put your sign down and get a job. there are hundreds of jobs that will generate more income than spanging but you actually have to work hard) "pregnant teen needs money for food" really? oh really? let me take you down to the crisis pregnancy center and they will get you hooked up with everything you need - clothes, housing, medical, food, top of the line new baby equipment, transportation. unless you are not really pregnant and just need money for pot and munchies. . . .

honestly if I have a solution i would rather offer that than money (I don't have much money) and money I would rather give to organizations who offer soultions to the problem. but I am more than happy to give someone bus fare or a ride to the solution centers. be a reference on a job application.

[Epona]

Yes. But I prefer to give them food if I can. That way I know they have a full belly, and didn't spend it on something dangerous to themselves. But, yes.

[Liquesce]

I actually asked a religious scholar in my faith about this once ... he advised to give when asked -- and if the money is used for ill purposes that would still be a kind of a "good credit" towards me and a doubly "bad credit" to the one misrepresented himself -- but to reserve more for donations where the ends are at least somewhat more assured.

[jimblejamble]

I will give food if I have any with me, but I don't usually give money. I have a friend who will go buy a bunch of $5 gift certificates for places like Burger King or McDonalds and hand those out instead.

[MamaJenese]

I never give money. But I have purchased cups of coffee, bottles of water and on more than one occasion literally given the gloves off my hands. I try to satisfy some immediate need for them.

[texmati]

Somehow, not in the US. but abroad? I open my wallet more than I should, I think. I also give out food.

[zinemama]

When I lived in Morocco I always gave money to beggars. It was what people did there, as Muslims, and I just fell right into it.

Here, I keep ziplock bags containing a pair of socks, a granola bar, and some nuts in the car. I hand them out when we encounter people begging at intersections.

As I said on another thread about this, I realize that it's quite possible these people are not in need of what I give. But it's something I think it's especially important for my children to see me do. Our religion teaches us the importance of charity. My kids know that we write checks to different organizations. But that is abstract to them. Helping to fill the bags and then seeing them handed out is very immediate.

[FondestBianca]

no.

but, I treat them like human beings.... saddly many people do not. I don't turn the other direction, or avoid eye contact, or cross to the other side of the street. If in my car at a red light I make sure to make eye contact and smile. If I'm walking past I do the same and say hi. SO many times I've sat there in my car watching them standing on the corner with the most sad, checked out look on their face. Then when I smile and raise my hand and wave as I pass their faces light up in a way that giving money or food never seems to inflict. You can tell they are treated very poorly by most of the public just by observing their body language.

If I have food with me I share. If I have any bottled water or drinks on me I ask if they'd like it. I figure it might be a nice change to have someone ask and give them the opportunity to answer rather than just shoving things at them assuming they're on the street so they must need it. Even if they are holding up a sign or asking me for something and I do have something to give, I do so descretely. Just because they're publicly annoucing their hardships doesn't mean I can't respect thier dignity.

Now, if the person is a rude jerk or gives me a line like, "come on lady. I know you got money you can give me." then I treat them just like I would any jerk, homeless or not.

Giving should have nothing to do with your own personal reward wether it be here, in the afterlife, in church, or for your own ego. It should come from a place of instinct and compassion, to care for another living being reguardless of class, income, physical appearence, or personal belongings.

[Watershippy]

I'd like to say I always do, because I do believe that is what is commanded of me in my religion. The truth is sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, but I always will if it is after 5 or 6pm. That is because the shelters around here (and probably around you) don't let anybody in after that. The shelter was likely full, or they have a good reason not to stay there (they're dealer is there, or they didn't have the $6 a night it costs to stay at Catholic Charities). If they use my $ to buy a bottle of rum, more power to them. If I was looking at spending my 3 or 30th night under a bridge, I think that would be the first thing I'd buy, too.

Since this is the Spirituality forum, I'll share a couple statements that have moved me to give to individuals (though I give to charities, too):

St. Gregory the Great:"When we administer any necessities to the poor, we give them their own; we do not bestow our goods upon them. We do not fulfill the works of mercy; we discharge the debt of justice . . . what is given to us by a common God is only rightly used when those who have received it use it in common."

And St. Ambrose: "It is not with your own wealth that you give alms to the poor, but with a fraction of their own which you give back; for you are usurping for yourself something meant for the common good of all. The earth is for everyone, not only for the rich."

St. Basil: "When someone strips a man of his clothes we call him a thief. And one who might clothe the naked and does not -- should he not be given the same name? The bread in your board belongs to the hungry: the cloak in your wardrobe belongs to the naked, the shoes you let rot belong to the barefoot; the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute."

[dachshundqueen]

Yes, when I have some to give and often I'll ask if they want food instead. I carry granola bars for said purpose. I don't always have cash/change to give though. So another way I try to help out is preparing food for families in the church that need it or driving the neighbor lady around.

Liz

[lilyka]

I also wanted to add that when i do give money to people I don't care what they spend it on. it gets cold here and smoke and alcohol could really go a long way to warming you up. and honestly if I was homeless you better believe I would need a drink every now and then. heck, if someone was bold enough to ask me for moiney for a drink I just migh go buy a bottle and raise a glass with them. . . poverty sucks. It just bugs me when healthy abled body people would rather sitting around smoking dope than get a job. i have a lot less sympathy towards young homeless people than I do towards the old or disabled. alcoholism, mental illness, sickness, I get those. laziness....not so much.

[Tradd]

When I lived in the city (been in the burbs about a year), I was often approached by beggars when either taking public transit (at the entrance to the train stations) or at the end of the freeway off-ramps. I've had plenty of people *refuse* food when I offered it - and I've done enough work with the homeless that I know they prefer soft things like bananas if they can get them - such as bananas, single serving applesauce, strawberries, those soft Kellogg breakfast bar things (I would often offer something I had on me as part of my lunch that day). I've offered McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc., whatever was near, and been refused, too. The refusal was more often than not rude and made me uncomfortable about my safety (folks getting very into my personal space while aggressively demanding money when I offered food), even on a crowded downtown street.

When I lived in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the director of a local shelter even spoke at a church I belonged to, telling us *not* to give cash to beggars, as it mostly went to alcohol. Given that I grew up in a household where things were difficult in my family due to my father's alcoholism, there's no way I'm supporting *anyone's* alcohol habit.:

Since I've lived in the burbs, I volunteer at a homeless shelter (only operates in the colder months) and give lots to the township food pantry via the barrel that's in my church's entrance.

[umsami]

When I was living in DC, a lot of the beggars and such would congregate outside of restaurants. So, I would always offer to buy them a meal. I felt that was a better solution than cash.

I also have donated to various homeless shelters.. both with money and time.

Sometimes I do give cash, though. I sort of feel that it's my duty to help them... and God will honor my intention. In Islam, there's a few teachings on helping one's neighbors... and it doesn't matter which religion, if any, they are. One should not eat if one's neighbor is hungry... and in Islam, one's neighbor extends 40 houses in each direction. (Of course, some people believe that 40 in Middle Eastern culture for lack of a better word simply means a lot. That's why we have it rained for 40 days and nights in the story of Noah... Ali Baba and the 40 thieves... etc.)

[Teensy]

I give to charities that I have worked with that provide food and shelter to the needy. I volunteered a little with the downtown soup kitchen and feel very comfortable that any donation I give will be well used towards providing meals. There are websites that provide breakdowns of how charitable organizations spend their money, so that (or volunteering directly with the group) might help you feel more comfortable donating money to a group effort. I feel my money provides more substantance through shelters and pantries than it would through an individual handout.

[artgoddess]

Yes, and I have no issue with how a person in need chooses to spend any spare change I may give to them. It's a gift with no strings attached.

[Tuesday]

Oh yeah, I've given a lot of money to people. I used to live in downtown Toronto and regularly walk over (literally) people to get to work or home. Honestly, if someone is so far gone that they are sleeping in filty clothes, stained with urine, on top of a subway grate and picking food out of garbage cans, I figure a few bucks or more might soften the pain of their life. Whether they use the money for food, some booze or some aerosol paint cans to sniff, I'm not the judge - I just want to give them something. Perhaps I'm adding to the problem, I don't know. But some people are desperate and need a fix and some help - even if it is temporary.

There are some outright scam artists, though. There was a couple that begged every day at Bloor/Yonge. I would see so many people give this "team" money. I had my suspicions! Then one night, further uptown in Toronto, I was grabbing a subway and see the couple - well dressed and buying subway tokens! A ha! My suspicions confirmed.

Most people I give money to - I "know" or I sense are truly in need. If I'm wrong, so be it.

I would rather give a large chunk of money to an "Out of the Cold" program than an individual.

[Peppermint]

So glad this thread is here, I have been really struggling with this as of late.

DH and I *always* gave cash if we had money on us when we saw a person begging at the end of the off-ramp (the only place we regularly encounter people begging). We just felt that, well, yes, they might be buying things we wouldn't buy- it wasn't our place to judge or worry about that.

So- then, I was teaching First Communion Class one day, and my purse was stolen from the church, by a man who had just begged in the parking lot, and was given money by some of the parents:. I looked at it as "I hope he found the Wegmans GC in there" b/c I had like no cash, and of course canceled my CC right away. But- when talking to the cop- we discussed the "begging" issue and she told me that the people we regularly give to are not homeless at all, and that there was a well organized system in our city of several people who simply choose to make their living in that way. According to her, they all have cars and homes, etc.

So- anyway, FF to a couple of months later- DH was drinking with his friends at a bar a couple of blocks from our Church when some guy came up and asked him for money (they were sitting outside on the deck) and DH gave him some. After he left, one of DH's friends says "Did you just give money to Art?" and DH realized- "hmmm... likely the same "Art" that stole Patty's purse from Church- lovely!"

Anywho- since the cop telling me about the huge "ring" of people doing the exit begging, I am not sure what the heck to do, and my kids have asked me why I don't give to those people who are asking for money any more.

I do know a woman who actually offers to take a person who is begging to a restaurant for a meal, and has had some people take her up on that offer, and I just that, but- I can't bring myself to do it with my kids in the car (which they pretty much always are). Which- I find pathetic about myself.

[Green~*~Tara]

Originally Posted by MamaJenese

and on more than one occasion literally given the gloves off my hands.

Me too!