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Panhandlers

Do you give them money?


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LetsGoDuke301

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Apr 4, 2009
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At one point I did. But if I am being honest, it pisses me off to see a fully capable man walking up and down the side of the road holding a sign asking for money. People fall on hard times, and not all panhandlers are pieces of shit. But I have found that a lot of them in my area are in their 40's and younger with working legs and decent clothes. How is it in your area?

My motivation for this thread is having a younger brother who chooses not to work. He panhandles in Smithfield, NC. He often wears a Durham Bulls hat and holds a sign that says "can't find work, kids are hungry". He has no kids and the money he gets goes to drugs. So if you live in that area, look out for him by not giving him money.
 
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Sometimes. I will sometimes stop and talk to them and hang out for a bit. Sometimes just give a little, sometimes won't. I have enough to help out some and have known enough homeless in my life to understand some of them have serious problems. I get some of them are just lazy but that isn't on me.
 
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At one point I did. But if I am being honest, it pisses me off to see a fully capable man walking up and down the side of the road holding a sign asking for money. People fall on hard times, and not all panhandlers are pieces of shit. But I have found that a lot of them in my area are in their 40's and younger with working legs and decent clothes. How is it in your area?

My motivation for this thread is having a younger brother who chooses not to work. He panhandles in Smithfield, NC. He often wears a Durham Bulls hat and holds a sign that says "can't find work, kids are hungry". He has no kids and the money he gets goes to drugs. So if you live in that area, look out for him by not giving him money.
I see them every once in a while in Louisville. They’re usually posted up off highway exits with something similar to what you’re seeing. I never give them money, becuase like you said, it’s hard to see someone walking up and down the road in fine condition asking for others hard earned money.

The only time I will stop and give money to people is when it’s the Crusade for Children. I have no problem giving money to the people who actually need it and can’t get it themselves.
 
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Sometimes. I will sometimes stop and talk to them and hang out for a bit. Sometimes just give a little, sometimes won't. I have enough to help out some and have known enough homeless in my life to understand some of them have serious problems. I get some of them are just lazy but that isn't on me.
Some definitely have serious problems. I deal with a lot of them in my line of work. But I find that a lot of the ones who beg for money are cons. I admire your willingness to spend time with them, that is something to consider.
 
I’ve never met anyone who chooses not to work. That’s a bizarre stance that seems impossible to maintain.

I generally do not give.

I do feel terrible for most homeless and begging folks. It’s a horrible life, and i don’t think anyone would want it.
 
I don’t give panhandlers money. If I donate to someone it will be to a charity I’m familiar with. I’ll sometimes buy/give food to them if there is something close by.

I also tend to not add the extra dollar on at stores unless I’m pretty sure it’s going to the right places and not padding executive pockets.
 
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I’ve never met anyone who chooses not to work. That’s a bizarre stance that seems impossible to maintain.
I trust that you know they are out there? I have a 33 year old brother who has never held a job for more than a few months. He lives in motels paid for by people driving by. He refuses to accept help and chooses to not work.

I have a 30 year old sister that has NEVER had a job. She takes advantage of any man who is dumb enough to take her in untill she robs them and finds the next sucker.

I balme their failures on their upbringing, but they need to grow the fck up and take care of themselves.

I also deal with so many people at work that choose not to work. Even though it is a requirement for their conditions.
 
Completely depends on the interaction and how it goes. I usually only give food or clothes and not money.
 
I carry change just for that purpose. There are some regulars I know in the loop area that are friendly enough and don't bother people. These ones have good attitudes. Some of them are a bit off most likely due to mental illness. I did have one a few weeks ago scoff at my change, asking instead for paper bills... He wouldn't accept the coins.

Met one last night after bar close who had been evicted just three days ago. He played basketball at Illinois State in the seventies. Heartbreaking that he just started this new life on the streets. He had a photo album of his playing career.
 
Not the same, but what % do you all tip? Different for different services?

Five bucks for delivery.

Between 15 percent and 22 percent for tips. 15 if you sort of sucked... water left unrefilled for long stretches and waiting for the check a long time will get you down in the 15-17 range, charm, personal, and prompt, unobtrusive service will get you up to the 22 area. Rarely go higher than that.
 
Great service 25-30%
Average to good service 20%
Bad service 15%

Always rounding up to the nearest dollar.

Yeah, that seems about right. Even crappy service generally gets at least 15%. If we are on vacation there is no telling what we'll give. I am a big believer in tipping.


Also, there are definitely some homeless people that choose that life. I've known a few. Not sure why. The ones I've known who have gone that route are pretty crazy though.
 
I like what Lexington has done. The van isn't perfect, and needs to be expanded, but it seems to have worked better than I thought.

Locally we have some homeless people, but not as bad as other places. We have a church operated shelters that will give them a place to sleep, food, or just a place to get out of the heat/cold. Only catch is they have to be drug free. If they are on drugs, we have a place for that too. They just must be willing to accept help.
 
Yeah, that seems about right. Even crappy service generally gets at least 15%. If we are on vacation there is no telling what we'll give. I am a big believer in tipping.


Also, there are definitely some homeless people that choose that life. I've known a few. Not sure why. The ones I've known who have gone that route are pretty crazy though.

I tip more at local places so they remember and give food service the next time. If my friend is the bartender or server I’ll sometimes leave 50%.
 
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I dont think what some understand is that they could get a state job and like road construction, get paid okay, and still hardly do anything. If everywhere is like KY, only 1 person is doing the job while the rest watch, especially with minor road construction. I only feel sorry for the disabled homeless. The others chose that path whether they were influenced by drugs or being lazy, sometimes both. We all have equal chance to get a job. What I mean is that somebody isn’t going to hire you at a basic job like McDonald’s depending on your family history. They hire you because of you. Working there is better than no job at all so....
 
I trust that you know they are out there? I have a 33 year old brother who has never held a job for more than a few months. He lives in motels paid for by people driving by. He refuses to accept help and chooses to not work.
I'll take you at your word that your bro qualifies, but I think that's so exceedingly rare that it shouldn't end up being mentioned in every single conversation, and it does. Most people judge that based on what people look like in two minutes' observation at a stoplight. Considering how much time we spend pointing to mental health every time there's a mass shooting, you'd think we'd do a better job of seeing the disconnect. We usually have no idea what's going on in other people's heads and lives that have led them to that end.

I balme their failures on their upbringing, but they need to grow the fck up and take care of themselves.
How'd you avoid their fate? If it has anything to do w/ personal responsibility... how can you blame their upbringing?

But okay, if something in your bro's upbringing has contributed to his addiction, could that be a response to trauma from that same upbringing? PTSD? Mental health issues? Just like we get angry w/ people who commit suicide in ways we don't w/ people who die of cancer, we tend toward sympathy when we see a legless dude in a wheelchair and camo panhandling, but feel indignation and scorn when a disability isn't visible to us.

I also deal with so many people at work that choose not to work. Even though it is a requirement for their conditions.
I don't know exactly what you do -- something in the criminal justice system, but not PD and presumably not that close (?) -- but it definitely sounds like something that naturally does and has skewed your perception on it. If you worked closer, maybe you'd have more empathy. I suspect that's something that happens somewhat naturally for TheDude1 and me as a result of our work. I also know that the more a problem seems beyond my ability to do anything about it, there's an equally natural tendency to distance myself and harden myself against it, take a "sour grapes" attitude toward it.

I covered your post in sequential sections, but I want my last word on it to be my sympathies and regret for what you have to go through in relation to your brother. I'm sure that's painful and stressful.
 
I saw this just yesterday, though it was a couple days old already. It some small way, it restores some perspective to the conditions many panhandlers are returning to at the end of the day.
 
I saw some comedian's bit once where he said he wasn't going to give any change to a panhandler b/c the guy would probably just go buy booze w/ it... and then he realized that was all he was going to do w/ it himself anyway, so he gave the guy some change after all.

It's funny how we withhold change from the homeless out of some judgment about how they will spend it. It's somewhat like our paranoia over how any tax money is going to be spent...

Then we turn around and complain about the idea of a healthcare system that would provide actual service and prescriptions to some of these people who likely turned to substance abuse in a futile attempt to self-medicate...
 
Not the same, but what % do you all tip? Different for different services?

Like Steve Martin’s character said in My Blue Heaven, “It’s not tipping I believe in; its over-tipping.” My wife hates it. Sorry, but I’ve never had a job that requires tips, thankfully, and I feel for those that do.

To the original question, I’ll give war vets cash whenever I see em asking for money. Last week in Denver I gave an old man in a wheel chair an edible I had in my pocket. His sign said he accepted em and he had a dog in a hat on his lap. Why not?

I’ve been fortunate in life. I feel for those that haven’t. I’m not too concerned how their lives took that turn, just grateful mine didn’t.
 
Ask the people what they need. Most of the time, people want food. I'm more than willing to go in a restaurant and buy a hot meal for someone.

I don't want to be an enabler in any way. In a recent report, 44% of panhandlers have admitted to using donated funds on drugs. The reality is, the numbers are probably much higher than that. I'm not sure we'll ever get a really accurate number, as you don't know who's telling the truth... But I'm more than willing to spend $20-50 on a stranger if it's for a specific need that I believe has merit.
 
I saw some comedian's bit once where he said he wasn't going to give any change to a panhandler b/c the guy would probably just go buy booze w/ it... and then he realized that was all he was going to do w/ it himself anyway, so he gave the guy some change after all.

It's funny how we withhold change from the homeless out of some judgment about how they will spend it. It's somewhat like our paranoia over how any tax money is going to be spent...

Then we turn around and complain about the idea of a healthcare system that would provide actual service and prescriptions to some of these people who likely turned to substance abuse in a futile attempt to self-medicate...

A panhandler buying a beer with my charity money is different than me buying a beer for my own leisure.
 
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I also tend to not add the extra dollar on at stores unless I’m pretty sure it’s going to the right places and not padding executive pockets.

Does anyone know how this works? I'm not an accountant, but is it possible that these businesses simply add up the "donations" that people give, say that they donated the money (really just move money around, and did they donate any more than they already would have?), and take the tax write-off for themselves? Or are they forbidden from taking the write-off because the customer "donated" the money in the first instance? I think the former.
 
There is a local Facebook group that post pictures of the local pan handlers that are suspicious. Such as they have a sign saying they are hungry, but will not accept food. Or they walk away from pan handling to get in their Lincoln Navigator and drive off. Etc...

Allegedly you can make hundreds here just panhandling a few hours at the right spots.
 
I have a guy in downtown Raleigh that I see all the time. Have given him food on numerous occasions , even had him jump in bed of my truck and give him a ride. He forgets that he has ever talked to me everytime. I have probably interacted with this guy 20 times in the last 4 years. But he talks to you and looks at you exactly like Orlando Jones in "Office Space".
 
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Once when I was 18 I was broke, like, I had $20 to my name at the time. I was approached by a panhandler and I gave him the one $20 bill in my wallet. The heavenly karma from this storybook selfless act was going to be spectacular, I thought.

Nothing great was visibly presented to me for this and I haven’t given since.
 
Once when I was 18 I was broke, like, I had $20 to my name at the time. I was approached by a panhandler and I gave him the one $20 bill in my wallet. The heavenly karma from this storybook selfless act was going to be spectacular, I thought.

Nothing great was visibly presented to me for this and I haven’t given since.

You found this forum.
 
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