[royden]

How Does A Homeless Man Spend $100?

A great story. One gives and wonder how the money is spent. If you don't give, that person could be like the gentleman in this video. I have given to people on the streets, but sometimes I don't. In the future I will give and not wonder.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

[magkelly]

Helping the homeless isn't always about giving $$$. When I live where there is a sizable homeless population I go out with old blankets, coats, stocking hats, thermal socks, bags of bagels and jars of peanut butter. I will leave them wherever I see evidence of the homeless, people sleeping and the like, or I will hand them out if I see people walking around. Blankets, hats, and coats are easy to get cheap at thrifts. Thermal socks aren't that expensive by the pack. Being able to stay warm is one of the 2 biggest needs they have and not all homeless will go to the shelters because they are afraid of what might happen to them there. The other one is to stay fed.

Bagels stay fresh for a few days and PB is very nutritious. The combo is a good one for keeping people full. Many homeless get one meal a day if that. PB and bagels it sticks to their ribs for a while at least. They're also very grateful to get travel sizes of things like shampoo, soap, deodorant and toothpaste. My roommates and I used to make up little bags of stuff like that and hand them out. Water they can get fairly easily but things like instant coffee, tea bags, instant soups, sugar packs, cracker packs, they can come in handy.

Honestly, I don't know that I'd ever just hand out money to someone. I prefer to make sure that the homeless I meet are getting real help and this way I know the money I do spend it's not going towards an addiction. I have bought hot meals for people when I could afford it. I don't like the idea that anyone is going hungry but a lot of homeless people they're addicts and you do have to be careful about just handing them money. There are cons out there too, people who panhandle for money and who go home at the end of the day to the burbs or wherever. If I am going to give I want to make sure I'm not supporting that. If a person on the streets is refusing food, clothes, suggesting money instead, and yeah I've had it happen, you know they're not really homeless or they have an addiction they're feeding.

Food, clothing, toiletries, that's what will help them the most. Shelter if you can get them to accept it. This is a nice story but this guy, he's not the norm on the streets. There are homeless out there who will help each other and who are really decent people, but there are also a lot of mentally ill homeless who will practically kill each other for a few $$$. Charity is a wonderful thing and I'm a major advocate of doing stuff like this but you do have to use some common sense too. Most chronically homeless people are homeless for a reason. Help as you can, but be careful out there....

[crewl1]

Hey, this has been posted previously in New Testament Matthew 25:40

Merry Christmas!

[Tom S.]

How Does A Homeless Man Spend $100?

A great story. One gives and wonder how the money is spent. If you don't give, that person could be like the gentleman in this video. I have given to people on the streets, but sometimes I don't. In the future I will give and not wonder.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

You seem to be missing a link.......

[crewl1]

You seem to be missing a link.......

Hey now, no personal attacks !

[p38arover]

I've lived here for 40+ years and I don't think I've ever seen a homeless person around here.

[magkelly]

Are you living in Sydney proper? Or outside it? Most homeless tend to stick to the inner city actually though I've seen a lot more of it in the burbs of late. There's more by way of places they can hide and sleep out, and more places like soup kitchens where they can get food at least. We have a lot more here than there used to be. One park here has always had a few people coming and going, but lately I'm seeing encampments sprouting up in the woods near the overpasses and that. Homeless people are often very good at hiding their sleeping spots and not all homeless people look like they haven't had a bath in a month. Some of them can be very tidy.

There was a guy I knew once in NYC who doggedly slept out, in a sleeping bag every night, but he'd do his best to stay clean, use any sink he could find, and he spent most of his time in libraries during the day reading. He'd sometimes panhandle some, just enough to get food, or more often offer to sweep and stuff for a sandwich or some new clothes but that was all the "help" that he'd accept. He just could not live inside that guy. He was a vet and had seen too much combat. He just had to be outside. He said he could not stand to be indoors. We used to take him Thanksgiving Dinner and that. He was a nice guy. I felt really bad for him...

[luftfluss]

I think the OP meant to post this:

You Tube

You Tube

[royden]

You seem to be missing a link.......

http://www.coolestone.com/media/11235/How-Does-A-Homeless-Man-Spend-$100.../#.VJtnFl4AKA

Sorry. Hope this works.

---------- Post added 12-24-14 at 08:31 PM ----------

I think the OP meant to post this:

HOW DOES A HOMELESS MAN SPEND $100 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT - YouTube

Thanks luftfluss. I tried again but the link I gave is not clickable. What am I doing wrong here as I did the same at another forum and it worked

[Ratmagiclady]

Well, Mags, there's homeless people and then there's panhandlers. "What if it's a scammer or addict" doesn't apply if someone's not actually panhandling. So if you're seeking out places to do personal do-gooding, it's not like you have to micromanage that way. To the extent that much-vaunted charities exist, (Not so much as they say, especially if you're homeless for the same reasons people claim they're OK to do that to people cause they throw some food on the holidays, but even apart from that,) A holiday comes around and people's thoughts turn to the homeless and hungry, ...it's hardly bad to want people to not die while you're feasting, but it's also a time where people just don't 'live by bread alone' as some say.

If you'd ever been homeless, and/or spent a lot of time near to homeless, you might understand that someone who looks in occasionally might just not know, either the daily struggles or exactly what kind of details could save someone's night, or month, or year: like even if you could get to and get into the Rosie's Place feast that the media always made a big deal of, to show that the homeless were having a good time too, (as long as they approve of you, and before they ran out of space, and if you the homeless person doesn't think someone else needs a big meal more than you do if only you could give them the T fare... )

Basics of living are needed all over the place, but this trope that you may as well be buying someone crack if you gave someone funds, or, Hel, a gift card and bus fare to Wal-mart, say, if you're going out of your way to help the homeless, is very much mistaken. If you want to provide the basics, set up *systems* equal to the actual scope of the problem. If you want to be giving on a holiday, be the wildcard. Even if it's just 'You don't have to worry about tobacco tonight' it could be something. Something a real human being could work with.

The idea that private charity somehow feeds all the homeless left out by the system is of course BS. And every time they actually *test* people receiving public assistance for drugs they find out that ...No, not as many poor people are on drugs as you think. Actually almost none by percentage of those actually receiving aid.

When I was homeless, I was not the kind of person the churches cared for. The Sally Ann was actively hostile, in fact, seen as a price of failure if you had to ask them. You didn't. You'd go cold or hungry first just to keep your shred of humanity that wouldn't lie for her supper, never mind submit to what went on there.

So there I was, a homeless person. Yeah, missing meals was routine. If at any point there, if someone had dropped a couple rolls of Tri-X and a bag of D-76 in my lap, maybe one of these Canonet GIIIs that got some cachet later (Ironically cause a homeless person used a cheaper model,) but which I used to fix for other people, ....no one could give them away then but now they are worth bucks. Wish I'd kept some. ) .....well, maybe that'd have been something. Something I couldn't do otherwise. No one could possibly know what that was, not just from looking at some ratlady and I didn't panhandle. But if someone had ever put cash in my hand, that could have gone right to where I left off, "Hey, I'm out here in the dark, I may as well push a lot of film.'

I mean, a)You can't know what someone needs on an immediate basis or why, and b) You don't know what thing they're good at that their soul might need to do, ....I think that's worth the risk that what someone homeless needs most immediately is a drink or tobbacco, never mind drugs. People who are on drugs or are sociopathic enough to fake poverty to beg will come after *you.*

[Rupert]

I always receive more than I give by giving.....even small things or amounts matter. We can all do better....visit someone all alone in a Nursing Home, it costs nothing and is worth more than all the gold on earth to those shut in and alone. Listen to them, they have wonderful stories of life, and wisdom to share. You will be the winner and they will be more grateful than you will ever know.

Hey, this has been posted previously in New Testament Matthew 25:40

Amen

Regards & Merry Christmas!

[magkelly]

Well, Mags, there's homeless people and then there's panhandlers. "What if it's a scammer or addict" doesn't apply if someone's not actually panhandling. So if you're seeking out places to do personal do-gooding, it's not like you have to micromanage that way. To the extent that much-vaunted charities exist, (Not so much as they say, especially if you're homeless for the same reasons people claim they're OK to do that to people cause they throw some food on the holidays, but even apart from that,) A holiday comes around and people's thoughts turn to the homeless and hungry, ...it's hardly bad to want people to not die while you're feasting, but it's also a time where people just don't 'live by bread alone' as some say.

If you'd ever been homeless, and/or spent a lot of time near to homeless, you might understand that someone who looks in occasionally might just not know, either the daily struggles or exactly what kind of details could save someone's night, or month, or year: like even if you could get to and get into the Rosie's Place feast that the media always made a big deal of, to show that the homeless were having a good time too, (as long as they approve of you, and before they ran out of space, and if you the homeless person doesn't think someone else needs a big meal more than you do if only you could give them the T fare... )

Basics of living are needed all over the place, but this trope that you may as well be buying someone crack if you gave someone funds, or, Hel, a gift card and bus fare to Wal-mart, say, if you're going out of your way to help the homeless, is very much mistaken. If you want to provide the basics, set up *systems* equal to the actual scope of the problem. If you want to be giving on a holiday, be the wildcard. Even if it's just 'You don't have to worry about tobacco tonight' it could be something. Something a real human being could work with.

The idea that private charity somehow feeds all the homeless left out by the system is of course BS. And every time they actually *test* people receiving public assistance for drugs they find out that ...No, not as many poor people are on drugs as you think. Actually almost none by percentage of those actually receiving aid.

When I was homeless, I was not the kind of person the churches cared for. The Sally Ann was actively hostile, in fact, seen as a price of failure if you had to ask them. You didn't. You'd go cold or hungry first just to keep your shred of humanity that wouldn't lie for her supper, never mind submit to what went on there.

So there I was, a homeless person. Yeah, missing meals was routine. If at any point there, if someone had dropped a couple rolls of Tri-X and a bag of D-76 in my lap, maybe one of these Canonet GIIIs that got some cachet later (Ironically cause a homeless person used a cheaper model,) but which I used to fix for other people, ....no one could give them away then but now they are worth bucks. Wish I'd kept some. ) .....well, maybe that'd have been something. Something I couldn't do otherwise. No one could possibly know what that was, not just from looking at some ratlady and I didn't panhandle. But if someone had ever put cash in my hand, that could have gone right to where I left off, "Hey, I'm out here in the dark, I may as well push a lot of film.'

I mean, a)You can't know what someone needs on an immediate basis or why, and b) You don't know what thing they're good at that their soul might need to do, ....I think that's worth the risk that what someone homeless needs most immediately is a drink or tobbacco, never mind drugs. People who are on drugs or are sociopathic enough to fake poverty to beg will come after *you.*

I love how you assume I've never been that poor. FYI, I have. I've been through a lot Rat, and that includes losing the roof over my head, twice. I avoided living on the streets for more than a few days both times, but I do have a clue. I've been working outreach with the homeless (and in particular with homeless vets) for about 30 years now. It's not just a holiday thing for me. Never has been.

---------- Post added 12-24-14 at 08:58 PM ----------

I always receive more than I give by giving.....even small things or amounts matter. We can all do better....visit someone all alone in a Nursing Home, it costs nothing and is worth more than all the gold on earth to those shut in and alone. Listen to them, they have wonderful stories of life, and wisdom to share. You will be the winner and they will be more grateful than you will ever know.



Amen

Regards & Merry Christmas!

There's always someone out there who is worse off than you. That's what my one Gran told me to remember and I always remember that and I try to help. I'm not big on supporting addictions and I freely admit that. That's because chemical abuse is a really big thing in my family and I hate to see anyone like that, enslaved to chemicals. I don't want to add to that misery. But I am big on helping people if they can be helped, and I do. One bagel, one coat, one pair of socks at a time. I'm never too poor not to lend a hand, somehow. The way even when I had almost nothing I still had more than some and I am grateful for that...

[Ratmagiclady]

I love how you assume I've never been that poor. FYI, I have. I've been through a lot Rat, and that includes losing the roof over my head, twice. I avoided living on the streets for more than a few days both times, but I do have a clue. I've been working outreach with the homeless (and in particular with homeless vets) for about 30 years now. It's not just a holiday thing for me. Never has been. [COLOR="Silver"]

There's always someone out there who is worse off than you. That's what my one Gran told me to remember and I always remember that and I try to help. I'm not big on supporting addictions and I freely admit that. That's because chemical abuse is a really big thing in my family and I hate to see anyone like that, enslaved to chemicals. But I am big on helping people if they can be helped, and I do. One bagel, one coat, one pair of socks at a time...

Well, that's fine, it's just that if you've been street people, you ought to know darn well how to tell who's on drugs or not or who needs what or just how much small amounts of cash can do even in spurts of holiday food largesse. I haven't actually played the video that you referenced that I know is a thing, because this old Mac that is what I Web on till I either fix a nearly-equally old compy or unf* Windows 7 on another machine I've been loaned but still won't handle Corel photoprocessing yadda yadda, But I think I get the gist.

Street people have a whole different idea of money. That applies to us at our best as well as our worst. Hel, I wouldn't have *been* homeless if certain people hadn't thought that I 'must be on drugs' if I wasn't a certain kind of certain-people-approved individual. I have to tread around a lot of topics here, but I got into *Ivy league schools* and ended up on the street. Also a pariah as concerned most of the much-vaunted charities. For reasons. Intractable ones.

When some panhandler on crack or meth comes up and treats me like a mark my first instinctive response is 'Are you that messed up you think I got something for ya?' This was most clear to me when I was in Madison Wisconsin on my way to a party with my ex-sweetie's company. I mean, I realized when getting hit up by an aggressive panhandler that a) I was bewildered someone would even ask me like I was regular people, and b) I looked down at the rayon number I was wearing and thought, 'I only feel (badly) dressed up as regular people.' I guess, therefore, c) I still don't feel like regular people. I still feel like a homeless person trying to..whatever this is.

Point there is you can't *predict,* never mind *dictate* that. You *can* detect if someone is scamming you in a way you never ould have no matter how desperate you were, though. That's the thing.

Even in the 'straight world' there's a lot of 'All you have to do is lie.' On the street you know what that is, and if you're off the street you *don't have to.* Just look. Remember a bit, if you're worried. People didn't call me the Rat cause I was any kind of snitch, ...it was deeper and probably more Chinese than that.

"All you have to do is lie." Lying comes so easy to so many. Including a lot of those who tell you the poor are somehow all drug dealers. A lot of street people just can't. I couldn't.

Anyway, that gets to moralisms. My ex would even be like, 'You seem to be all for some homeless people and be ready to snap at others, or herd me away from them, what's with that,' and ... Well, she never did get it.

I guess all I'm saying, Mags, is that the problems are systemic and bigger than us. But what's individual and smaller than us is... Pay attention. Pick a place to take a chance. Don't act like all the homeless in the nation are aggressive panhandlers who are likely scamming.

[magkelly]

I never said they were. I just said there's more than you can do for people like that then to just hand them some money and then walk off. Cash in hand, it's not the best thing for a lot of them. You can't always tell, no, but why take a chance of adding to someone's misery? You can help them in other ways too. There's a reason a lot of people are homeless. It's because they're mentally or physically ill or yes, addicted, and falling through the cracks. They need more than money. They need help and the things that will keep them alive, like food, clothes, shelter. Like I said I've been working with the homeless most of my life. I'm out there giving out food, blankets, clothes because it's practical. I picked my "place" a long time ago. I don't think all homeless are aggressive panhandlers, far from it, but I'm not into going out there blinded by positive thinking either. I've met some really nice people who just happened to be homeless, but I've also met a lot of people who really needed help and who refused to get it, even when they were offered it. I've actually been nearly hurt several times by the homeless doing outreach. I'm not quite as idealistic as I was when I started, that's for sure. You can't just trust people anymore. On or off the streets. You just never know anymore what is in people's minds. I hate to say that, but it's true.

FYI, I've been stalked twice now, once for just trying to help someone who was addicted get into rehab. I've had a homeless guy I was working with threaten to rape and kill me. I had another threaten me with a knife, over a freaking SANDWICH. I gave one too many to the guy before him apparently. I do want to be of help but I've seen enough to know that I have to be careful about how I help. Most of the homeless I've worked with here have been addicts of some sort or another actually and some are violent. There was a stabbing in our local park where they hang out the other day. I'm sad to say the guy who was stabbed died. It used to be the homeless here they had a kind of community thing going on. Most of them would look out for each other. It's not like that so much anymore. I saw that a lot in the last city I lived in too. It was a much more violent scene than it used to be. I never used to see homeless beating on each other the way I do now. There's clearly more mentally people on the streets than there used to be. That's sad, and dangerous for everyone, including the homeless themselves...

[Rupert]

Hey girls......there is no shortage of people to help in this world....just help someone in whatever way you think you can, and don't assign a right or wrong to it.....just do it!

My old shut in pal at the Nursing Home got a fried chicken liver dinner with biscuits and gravy today...and a little conversation. It was all he wanted.....like I said, it doesn't always take much to lift some spirits and share the bounty.


Regards!