Panhandlers. What do you do?

[Dzone]

TweetDriving home from work tonight. Its snowing and 20 degrees. I come to a stoplight and see a guy sitting on the side of the road with a cardboard sign, couldnt make out what it said. I dig up a couple bucks in change and hand it to him and say God bless you...He was smiling and thanking me like craxzy. His teeth were black.

Not bringing this up to make myself sound like some great guy and philanthropist. I often come to a stop where there is a guy like that and I stare straight ahead. I suppose most people do. Sometimes I like to go to 7-11 and buy a sandwich and go back and give it to the guy. The other day I stopped and there wasnt anybody there but I dug up a bunch of coins and tossed them on the ground for the next panhandler who comes along.

So is it good to give money to these folks or are they alcoholics and drug addicts just looking for their next fix? Are we enabling their addiction by giving them money? That runs through my mind often when I see those folks. But who's to say?

What do you think when youre walking and someone runs up "Sir, do you have some spare change you could give me?" What do you usually say to these guys?
It can be irritating.

[FUZO]

Tweetwhen i'm driving i'll give them change but if i'm walking with my wife and they walk up to me I'll tell them to go away I dont have any.The next thing you know is if you give them money they will get there buddies and wait for you around the corner and jump ya. Never give money if they walk uo to ya. If there sitting on the ground in a public area and thers a bucket or something i'll throw some change in there. But remember even though they look that bad some make alot of money and they shoot it in there arm

[Waterboy]

TweetI will not give them money, but will offer to buy them food or things they may need. If they refuse and just want the money, I suspect they will only use it to buy drugs or alcohol and keep going.
There is a couple of people here in an area in NC where I work. You see them by the intersection with hteir signs asking for money. Yet around the corner from them is a new full size passenger van with a nice enclosed trailer to cary their mobile wheelchairs. Kinda makes me think that something isn't exactly right with this picture

[daved150]

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I will not give them money, but will offer to buy them food or things they may need. If they refuse and just want the money, I suspect they will only use it to buy drugs or alcohol and keep going.
There is a couple of people here in an area in NC where I work. You see them by the intersection with hteir signs asking for money. Yet around the corner from them is a new full size passenger van with a nice enclosed trailer to cary their mobile wheelchairs. Kinda makes me think that something isn't exactly right with this picture

lol..when i was in fla a dude got busted by the media for doing that...guy had a fukin rolex!! (cheap datejust, but still!!!)...i quit giving then. now...i'm pretty selctive

[horsepwr]

TweetComing from a city that's not metro. More of a vacation spot. Growing up, I never ran into the bums in town. Hardly saw them with the signs at intersections. That's changed over the last 10yrs around her, but when I worked for a company based in Atlanta, GA, I learned quickly about those cats. It only took about 1 or 2, and as soon as I noticed one zero in on me/me & friends, I would hit him with it first; "You got $5?" If the b7um beat me to it, I'd come back quick with, "I was about to ask you." Most the time they would bust out laughin, crack a smile, and just say, "man..." like they got a kick out of it. Now and then the dude would get all bummed, and take it to heart. "sorry there bucko." Didn't feel too bad about it then. The economy was booming. There was plenty of work.
Then, I read a little report on how much these panhandlers make. It covere aboutr 20 metro cities. These dudes pull around $16-$20hr. $40k a year. Not too bad. I doubt it's reported either. Tax free. Then, I got to thinking about how many of these folks pull a monthly SS check or disability on top of their little "day job".
I pulled off the interstate a couple weeks ago for gas, and watched a younger panhandler set up. Dude was probably in his late 20s, early 30s. He went inside the store first to buy a new pack of menthol smokes, so he wouldn't have to worry about his [every 5minute] smoke. What really got me, is the dude had a baby pit-bull dog. This puppy couldn't have been much over 8wks old. That sucks. The dog's a prop. It's, of course, for added sympathy and compassion, to come in the form of dollars.
I'm not buyin. I'm not heartless. I'm just not sold on their sell-out. and I need a fund raiser. bake sale or some shyt.
I wonder if the panhandlers have felt the pain of the economy.

[O2BESOHUGE]

TweetI BOUGHT A GUY A WHOPPER COMBO FROM BURGER KING ONE TIME...AND WHEN HE CAME UP TO MY CAR, I GAVE IT TO HIM. HE SAID "WHAT NO COFFEE?"

THAT WAS THE LAST TIME I DID ANYTHING FOR ANY OF THEM

[daved150]

Tweetwell...sad part is i'm sure some are ligit...the druggys and scam artist ruin it for the people that really are hard up. but, the ones that are really hard up and want to do something about it can!!! a couple weeks ago, i heard an interview on the radio with this dude that had himself dropped of in the middle of nowhere, with onlt a couple dollars...his intention was to see how long it would take him to re-establish himself...he wrote a book about it, it was really fasinating how he did it and how much help is really out there. i believe he had an apartment, job and a vehicle w/insurance with in 90days!!!

[horsepwr]

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well...sad part is i'm sure some are ligit...the druggys and scam artist ruin it for the people that really are hard up. but, the ones that are really hard up and want to do something about it can!!! a couple weeks ago, i heard an interview on the radio with this dude that had himself dropped of in the middle of nowhere, with onlt a couple dollars...his intention was to see how long it would take him to re-establish himself...he wrote a book about it, it was really fasinating how he did it and how much help is really out there. i believe he had an apartment, job and a vehicle w/insurance with in 90days!!!

I think I know what you're talking about. or I saw something similar. The one I saw was the guy that did the Big Mac diet for 30 days or so. He and his wife tried to make it off minimum wage for so long. It was tough. That's about as far as I got. They started arguing and stuff. that was about all I got out of the story.
you probably saw something else.lol

[jamescb77]

Tweetsometimes i will give to these people but very rarely in the form of money. I will usually give them an extra burger i had or if i was just out eating and i didn't finish i will give it to them. I am not keen on giving money because it's usually a scam. I will feed there dogs sometimes and then walk off. I once had a guy tell me he was left in this city by the people he was working for blah blah, said he just needed money for a train ticket that was x dollars. I said lets go ill by the ticket and he declined. DONE in my book.

[daved150]

Tweetnope...different story. i'll try to find it

[Dzone]

TweetThere was a guy in the news here who put on a hard hat and full tool belt with a huge sign that said "Handyman. Skilled in all trades",...now thats the way it should be done. I would hire him. But I have hired people in the past who "wanted" to work. They did a shitty job and ripped me off...hahaha