So what's your policy about giving money to homeless people?

What is it with you people apologising to homeless people asking for money? They should be apologising to you.
 
seek said:
When you get asked for money on the average trip to the shops, do you ignore them? Or do you empty your wallet?

If you ignore do you feel guilty?
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Never been asked for money, but I'd probably just say no.

It's pretty easy to sign up for benefits in this country.
 
Yeah sometimes when lashed. Especially if they're honest - one guy came up and asked for a quid to buy some cigarettes so I thought fair enough. :p Or if they do something, there's a crazy Irish dude in Camden Town who reels off quickfire oneliner jokes that had us laughing our asses off so we gave the dude a few quid.
 
Heh I recently had an incident, some young lad who looked half reputable said he was 50p short of his bus fare, now he also put puppy eyes on so I gave it to him. On the way back from work when I was going to catch a bus I found him lying drunk out of his face on some steps!

From now on I only give money to those guys who sing/play guitars/do something creative.
 
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No, why should I what are they doing for the money?

Sorry for being ignorant, but how does someone get in this position on the first place?

Expect the usual drug problems.
 
I normally don't, unless they do something to earn the money. For example, here in Michigan car windshields can get quite messy during the winter and sometimes the washer fluid just isn't enough to get the salt and spots off. Sitting at a red light, they will sometimes run up and clean your windows (pretty good job, too). I'll slap them a couple bucks for it.

But I had one time, while I was in D.C., parked on the curb and was going to run in to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up my wife (then girlfriend). My car was secure, so I really didn't care. But the guy came up and asked for some "spare change". I told him wait until I got out, and keep an eye on my car for me.

Well, when I came out there was another brother looking in the side of my car, checking to see what I had in the dashboard (then, a nice Alpine stereo), and sure enough the guy that approached me was heading over and gently pushed the guy away from the car. He never saw me come out of the building, so I had no reason to think it was staged. They didn't fight or anything, the other guy just walked away toward the next car.

He got a fiver from me.


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DB_SamX said:
I do spare a change for the buskers though. Some of them are great and really liven up the street.
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What's a "busker"? I know, dumb American question. :p
 
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It depends for me, sometimes I do but more often than not I simply walk past particularly when it is the same people who keep giving you the same sob story of how they've come into town with their kid but need 50p to get the bus back to the hospital to visit their sick mother...... The first time I might believe it but after that point I start thinking that they'd be better not coming into town every day since they only have to leave again. Like a few people here I'd have more respect and be more likely to give money if it was honestly done rather than some fake story that they won't even look you in the eye while telling.

On a similar note the chuggers who come into pubs looking for donations or hang around in supermarkets are quite annoying too - I don't mind so much as a one off or if they are on the street but when it happens every single week it is going too far. If I wanted to give a weekly subscription to the charity I'd do so rather than people hoping I'll want to keep giving when I'm meant to be out enjoying myself.
 
I'll give what change I can spare. I think there should be some kind of food voucher that you can purchase though - I would spend a few quid on these and give those out instead of money.
 
semi-pro waster said:
On a similar note the chuggers who come into pubs looking for donations or hang around in supermarkets are quite annoying too - I don't mind so much as a one off or if they are on the street but when it happens every single week it is going too far.
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The supermarket scroungers really annoy me. They give the same story every time; "I need a quid to get the bus back home". Funny that they seem to get stuck outside Tesco every bloody day.

It has got to the point where I now refuse to go to Tesco, I go to Sainsburys instead because there are no pathetic stinking vagrants loitering outside of it begging for the bus fare to Specialbrewsville.

I have considered writing to Tesco to inform them but I couldn't be arsed. Besides, Sainsburys has nicer cheese.
 
a chap recently on brick lane asked if I had a spare 870quid for a flight to Barbados. most original line I have ever heard.

usually buy a big issue if I stumble upon a seller.
 
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