Do You Help the Homeless??

[Racoon]

There are myriad reasons for Homelessness. ;)

Mental Illness, Drug Addiction, Lay-off's, War Veteran,on and on

 

There seems, Literaly, a Homeless man (sometimes woman) at every major intersection with a sign asking for help. There are an increasing number of homeless people around here.

 

"Homeless, Anything Helps, God Bless" is their usual battle cry

 

Is it a good thing to do? or is it enabling them to get drunk and high again?

Maybe you don't offer money. Instead you give them food or clothing, or batteries or whatever... (trust me, they like getting batteries for their walkmans :) )

 

Do you help out the Homeless?

why or why not

[Racoon]

I don't help the Homeless who I know/can tell are straight-up lying,theiving punk-*** Junkies :D :)

 

But there are some Homeless "people" that ARE worth considering...:eight: :naughty:

[Zythryn]

Directly helping the homeless with signs on street corners? No.

Help with donations to homeless shelters and food shelves, definately:)

 

Mark

[InfiniteNow]

If he's wearing calvin klein's and nikes, and has a lands end backpack full of food, cigs, and beer... absolutely not. If he's wearing pain and hunger and sadness... I try.

[Queso]

i'm severely poor living on my own,

I can relate with the homeless, except I have a home.

If i've got some change I'll give it to them,

Or if they've got a harmonica I'll give them both of my ears.

All the musician bums always know that I understand them.

It's in the eyes, or maybe the ears.

 

My mom gives them blankets.

I love her.

[Queso]

it is really easy to get yourself in that position.

 

Imagine realizing you don't want to work

LIKE I DID

and then your parents die or something (you know, no one to help you out)

 

NO ONE CAN HELP YOU

you're addicted to the greatest feeling ever

HEROIN

you spend all your money on it

you've got no place to live

and you just want to die because you're so cold.

 

F*** society, and overpopulation.

this earth is such a strange place for us,

it can be so menacing for some

and i feel it so severely.

[Queso]

anyone here that has smoked weed knows how it brings ANYONE together.

It's the most social thing ever,

Doesn't matter who you are, you're all doing it for the same reasons.

 

I've had my sessions with homeless people,

it's so weird to hear their side of the story.

 

We have this local bum in our area that everybody calls Dreadlock Jimmy.

He never asks for money

Just Acid.

 

He looks like the craziest guy ever, pushing his cart down the road like the mad man that he is.

Turns out he got arrested for possesion at my old high school when he was my age or so,

and everything just went down hill from there.

You should see this guy, I'll try to find a picture.

 

I feel it though,

He doesn't want to do anything.

He just wants to live.

 

If my parents weren't alive I would probably be a suicidal homeless drug addict.

[Racoon]

There is a Homeless man I have taken the task of helping.

His name is Shawn; he's an old-school ZZ Top looking guy.

Dude can drink! :eek:

He's smart, funny, and surprisingly nice and jovial :)

I rap with him when I can track him down...

 

He used to sleep under the I-5 bridge on the Portland, Oregon side until the D.O.T. put bars underneath

 

I help him because he is Not a Junkie; just a hard, non-violent boozer.

I bring him 40's, Clam Chowder, clean socks... whatever he needs.(usually 4:20)

I've even taken him to Pizza restaraunts and movies.

He admits being too far gone to be changing now.:(

but Shawn is a people too! :)

 

Learning fun sociology stuff,

Racoon

[TheBigDog]

I have no guarantee that anyone I have ever helped was actually homeless. I gave a pan-handler a buck once for directions to the nearest nudie bar. I gave him another five when I saw him again afterwords. :eek: I have taken in relatives when their house burned down. I guess that was helping the homeless. Mostly I try and prevent the homeless by preparing my kids for life's challenges.

 

Bill

[TheFaithfulStone]

If I've got the change in my pocket, it goes to them.

 

I give more to them if they're honest about it. Never much though.

 

It's a thin line - I suspect everyone on this board is just to one side of it. What would happen if you lost your health insurance (if you have it) and then got sick? Couldn't work? Don't have family?

 

Then you're screwed. And you're homeless. So I try to do what I can. If they ask, and I've got it, I give it. Then again - I don't live in a big city, so there aren't a dozen homeless on every corner begging for money.

 

I remember the exact moment when I became a liberal in fact - er.. well MORE liberal. There was a homeless guy sleeping in a corner. We were on a school field trip. I was just staring at him. Some of the kids on the back of the bus started throwing trash at him. He flipped them the bird, and I turned aroun and yelled some colorful language. I got in trouble for cursing on the school bus.

 

I fight authority, but authority always wins.

 

TFS

[Loricybin]

there was a choice missing on there, so i chose the closest to it, being the "sometimes" one.

 

i've spent some time with the homeless of various parts of northern california, mainly fremont and downtown/east side san jose.

 

they have a lot of strange things to say, (and even stranger things in their pockets) and it's fun to be around them . . . so long as they aren't the kind that are unable to properly communicate in a realistic way.

 

those crazy ones can be kind of scary.

 

but i know one bum who lurks about my area, and he actually has a good deal of money, but he likes living the life of a wild animal, and so he sleeps on the streets and takes his shopping cart everywhere with him.

 

dreadlock jimmy is a strange guy.

 

 

but as far as helping them?

that all depends on their intentions and their attitude. their location and methods.

 

i'd never give to those beggars that fly signs at onramps and major intersections and whatnot, that pisses me off because it's just standing around and getting money thrown at you for pity.

 

but if they are willing to actually come up to me and directly interact, i consider it.

 

 

but then again, i think my veiw is a bit biased, being that i've asked for my share of change . . .

[Racoon]

i'd never give to those beggars that fly signs at onramps and major intersections and whatnot, that pisses me off because it's just standing around and getting money thrown at you for pity.

 

 

Good for you Loricybin - most of that goes towards their next fix.

 

BUT I disagree on the "Work" aspect of it.

It's not easy to degrade yourself to the point of being at a major intersection "flying" a sign. :D

It IS Time spent. And despite the Money they Do/Don't always make, there are People who make it difficult by throwing things/yelling bad things etc...

 

Ever see those Dudes at corners flying the Banners of "Huge Mattress Sale!" or "Car Wash for whatever charity?"

 

It is work. It is exposure.

Not something you want your friends to see you doing. :evil:

[Loricybin]

Good for you Loricybin - most of that goes towards their next fix.

 

BUT I disagree on the "Work" aspect of it.

It's not easy to degrade yourself to the point of being at a major intersection "flying" a sign. :D

It IS Time spent. And despite the Money they Do/Don't always make, there are People who make it difficult by throwing things/yelling bad things etc...

 

Ever see those Dudes at corners flying the Banners of "Huge Mattress Sale!" or "Car Wash for whatever charity?"

 

It is work. It is exposure.

Not something you want your friends to see you doing. :evil:

 

that's very true, but odds are, if you're trying to raise money for the kind of habits these guys are supporting, you aren't much interested in maintaining the respect of your fellow peers.

 

people talk just as much as money, but they seem to have much less to say, so to speak.

[InfiniteNow]

When I was a smoker, I used to give them what was left of my pack of cigarettes... that would at least cut out some of the middle nonsense. Many guys (ever notice it's more often males than females standing there... hmmm) were really much happier with that than if I'd given them a buck or two.

[Loricybin]

When I was a smoker, I used to give them what was left of my pack of cigarettes... that would at least cut out some of the middle nonsense. Many guys (ever notice it's more often males than females standing there... hmmm) were really much happier with that than if I'd given them a buck or two.

oh, true, true,

 

everybum loves a few free cigarettes.

[Amber]

I volunteer my time and resources, donate things to the poor, and give spare change when I walk by if they play music on the streets. But sometimes I wonder if they are just homeless because they are lazy, so I'm a bit cynical that way.

[IrishEyes]

I have a story about this (of course :cry: ).

In the nearest town to us, Fredericksburg, I had the kids with me for some errands. We saw a man with a sign. My Mathew, who has the biggest heart I know, was learning to read. He asked what the sign said, so I read "Disabled Vet. Please Help. Will work for food. God bless you". When I finished, he asked why we weren't helping. "Mom, he needs help. He said he's even willing to work. So WHY aren't we helping". Not able to come up with a suitable answer, I asked what he thought we should do. "Give him a job, Mom". Well, that seemed like a good idea, but WHAT job could I give him? "Let him rake the leaves in our yard, Mom" No way was I inviting a man to our house while nemo wasn't home, especially a homeless person, when it was just me and the kiddos. So I made Mathew call Daddy at work and talk it out with him. Not able to think up a good readon why we couldn't give this man a job, I was asked to turn around and try to get a phone number. I did. Then I called him later and nemo went to pick himup at a friends house on Saturday, and he came and raked leaves at our house. We paid him, and fed him, and talked to him a lot. He normally worked in construction, but got laid off. He also got kicked out of his apartment, so was staying with a friend until he could get another job and a place. He was out on the street with the sign that day after putting in some apps at sites (we checked on this), trying to get money for food. His name was Gene. My son felt like he'd done something to help, and I felt very humbled that it took a child for me to get more involved than my usual yearly blanket/coat drive and holiday dinner at the shelter.

We saw Gene once, a year later. He was coming out of a grocery store. He looked good, and he remembered my son. They had a nice few words. He was working again, and doing ok. He thanked us again. I left feeling like I should be thanking him.

 

Nemo is just a bleeding heart with a twist though. He works in downtown DC. He's often asked for handouts. I can't count the number of times he's late with no cash. But he doesn't give them money, he takes them to a restaurant and buys them a meal. And he LISTENS to them. Sometimes they refuse when he offers to buy them meals instead of just giving them cash, but that's ok. Really, the guys in my house are pretty awesome, I think. :)