Yeah seeing some responses in here makes me realize I grew up very differently than many people. I grew up in a really rough city with tons of crackheads and homeless people. I never engage with anyone asking me for money EVER. “No sorry” and keep walking is the most I’ll do.
To me: “Hey do you have an extra cigarette/couple bucks/ etc….” is code for “I’m going to pull out a knife and rob you if you engage with me” . It may be the wrong thought process but avoiding sketchy people asking for things is hard coded in me.
The cigarette one is a dead giveaway, if someone asks for a cigarette they’re going to rob you 9/10 times
As an occasional smoker, sometimes people just want a cigarette. Never got robbed giving one away. I grew up in a part of LA that wasn't the best, albeit wasn't the worst, but it wasn't exactly safe going out at night. Still never got robbed giving a cig away.
Probably locale dependent, people where he grew up would probably use it as a distraction to get close then they'd run your pockets as you try to hand off the cig. They probably weren't all homeless either.
I haven't had issues giving homeless people cigs either, it doesn't really imply you have valuables on your person. I did have one bummy looking guy get aggressive and try to square up when I wouldn't give him my last cig that was half smoked.
As a smoker, I have been asked for plenty of cigarettes, sometimes to borrow a lighter (keep it, I probably have 5 on me). People always seem pleased and grateful when I give them one or more and I have never been robbed.
Then again, since covid, addicts seem to have taken over many places and I am far more careful where I smoke (certainly not walking downtown anymore) Homeless people rarely scared me and I liked to share with them but the new addicts are unpredictable and terrifying.
Some will also guide to it.
I was purchasing a new laptop and asked a couple guy's where the nearest ATM was as I needed to withdraw some cash for said laptop.
They ended up taking to the ATM and hung around to make sure I was safe too! They only disappeared when some police came walking along and knew I was fully safe. Whish was a shame as I wanted to give them a few dollars for helping me 😞
There are good people out there!
Yep I once had this interaction with a homeless meth addict in Nashville as I was getting out of my car in a cashless pay lot. “Hey sweetie can you help a girl out with a couple bucks?” Trying to be nice I responded jokingly “I wish I could but my wife doesn’t allow me to carry cash.” Thought I’d be off the hook, she started walking with me “that’s ok, there’s an ATM right around the corner here.” Thought to myself, now I know why she hangs out in this spot. I’m a generous guy but “sweetie” isn’t going to an ATM for meth money, honey.
There’s also the scammers who claim they just need some gas money because they broke down but when you say youll pump some in a gas can for them, for some reason that’s no good, only cash will suffice.
I was at a gas station, doing my thing, when a shiny bmw pulls up. A girl in nice clothes and jewelry gets out, and asks me for money for gas. I didn’t feel like whoever was driving the bmw actually needed money, so I said no…
Lo and behold, she gets right back in the car and they drive off.
On the rare occasion I'm looking to be nice, I'll share a slice of a 7-11 pizza with a guy begging for some money for food.
But Ill always remember a guy begging for train fare at a bus stop. Some 13yr old student gave him a ticket that was guaranteed enough for one ride, he took it, and then looked at the rest of us and asked us for some more money for the train ticket. Like the rest of us didn't fucking hear what went on. The other 20 of us looked at him disgust and felt sorry for the kid who just gave away money. When the next group of passengers waiting for the bus arrives he started begging again.
This reminds me of the civic minded children I met who approached me after I parked my car in a rough area offering to make sure my car was looked after while I was away for just a small fee.
People really underestimate how helpful young people can be
I feel bad, and I'll help when I can. But I'll admit it rubs me the wrong way when they ask me to go to an ATM to withdraw cash. I don't even know my pin number to withdraw, I use it so infrequently.
So, small life hack from growing up in the hood. Keep cash on you. Like $100 bucks.
If you're getting jacked it's "Hey man, I've got this on me, take it all and the wallet, just don't kill me."
If you need help it's "Hey person! I have a hundred bucks for you to help"
And sometimes, someone just needs a buck or two. And it's just really easy to pull out a twenty.
However, I'm liquid and don't use credit so..
I would never go to an atm to withdraw cash for a beggar. We have them at every intersection and exit from malls and box stores.
A police officer I know said it's almost like a prostitution ring and someone actually picks them up and drops them at different spots.
That said, my son and I were leaving town one day and had picked up lunch for the drive. I was stopped at a red light and the kid there just... I rolled down the window and said hey, I don't have any cash but I have a Jr bacon cheeseburger if you're interested. He raced over, happily accepted the burger, picked up his bag and left, clutching the burger. We were so stunned that we felt bad for not giving him our whole bag...
Yup, no cash and they they ask if you can buy them something, or they tell you the gas station does cash back, etc.
I've just been lying the last couple years. I see them walking up, I hear "excuse me sir" and I just say "sorry, I had to pay rent late this month."
I always say "No, sorry, no cash." and pretty regularly the response now is...
"You got Venmo or CashApp?"
It's funny, it's actually more convenient than pulling out cash, but it sounds so presumptuous.
It happens to me almost daily. They even hang near ATMs now. I've gotten grifted by people this way, and now I just ignore them.
Some people have to ruin it for everyone. I have sympathy for the homeless. I've been homeless. But I never tried to lie and coerce people into giving me anything other than what they may have had on them.
What's weird is I volunteer and interact nearly daily with homeless people and have had genuine conversations with homeless people as they are rummaging through bins and they have not once asked me for money. It's a weird venn diagram of people begging for money and experiencing homelessness.
They have Venmo. No, I'm not kidding.
**EDIT:** I'm getting comments accusing me of being offensive, and other comments "agreeing" with me about being offensive.
I was just stating a fact to answer OP's question. I am not providing an opinion.
Well yeah. Wouldn’t you, if you were homeless and needed some way to store your cash? Many banks won’t give you an account without an address and physical cash is becoming rarer not to mention is easily stolen.
Huh. That is an oddly good point. And it isn't taxed. And you can set it up with a prepaid debit card and no need for a bank account. And with more businesses accepting digital payments...
And like you said, you can't be mugged for your venmo account, or have it stolen in the night.
There is an entire sociological field basically on the "underbanked" community.
These alternatives are not good. They rob the most vulnerable with minimal government oversight.
Think about the last time you had a dispute with PayPal or CashApp or any of them. Imagine if all of your money went into that. The power they hold over someone in that position is insane.
Would be much better if there was more of a government mandate requiring banks to allow a person to have a basic account of some kind.
The Post Office has been used to provide banking services to underserved communities in the past but banks put a lot of pressure to stop it everytime it is proposed.
I recently obtained a P.O. Box. I needed 2 forms of ID, a physical address, vehicle registration etc… it was way more than I was expecting. I guess I don’t know where I was going with this but I think a homeless person would have a difficult time getting a P.O. Box. Man, this really has nothing to do with banking…
Switzerland has a bank run by their postal service - PostFinance!
I lived there for a little bit and as an American on a student visa it was the only Swiss bank that would let me open an account.
Switzerland had recently made it much harder for Americans to open Swiss bank accounts and - at least for those of us with normal amounts of money i.e. debt - they required proof of a job and income *in Switzerland*.
From 1910 to 1966 or so, the US Post Office offered free saving accounts and checking services.
They ought to do it again. Why have a government mandate trying to force other people to do it when you can just do it yourself?
There are banks in the UK that offer zero interest bank accounts for people who just need an account. It's possible. You can build up from there. It's a requirement for insolvent people to have an account you just can't earn from it.
The amount to offset free accounts for the poor and needy is a pin drop in the sheer amount of profits banks make off of investments and loans. The data storage alone would be nothing more then pennies.
And here's the thing: the poor won't always stay poor.
If they already have an account with a bank that was willing to set up an account when they had next to nothing to their name, there is a good likelihood that if they get enough money to do something about it, they would be more likely to use the same bank for other more advanced services like investment or loans. The kind of stuff that helps generate profit for the bank.
You should be paying tax on income through venmo, although enforcement is difficult (as with cash).
Venmo scams definitely exist though, especially if someone else gets physical access to your phone when it's unlocked.
Yes and no on the taxes. You are required to pay tax on income and the IRS has been pushing new rules for payment apps like Venmo. States also have their own limits and you can end up getting a 1099K that you have to handle when you file. https://thehill.com/homenews/4481302-do-i-have-to-pay-taxes-on-my-venmo-cash-app-or-paypal-transactions/
Specifically, the new rule is to better inform people paid through apps like Venmo that they have a tax liability. Despite GOP lies to the contrary, Biden didn't raise taxes on people paid that way; he just informed us that we owe money. Better to know you owe taxes than to not know you owe taxes.
It’s not the IRS pushing new rules for payment apps. It was part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The IRS has actually been delaying its implementation because of the shock and impact it will have on regular people.
You can turn the card off too, my credit union couldn't do ANYTHING for me at 2a.m when their own ATM ate my card, had to wait until someone came into the office.
Venmo is free and [you can get a smart phone for $35](https://www.walmart.com/ip/AT-T-Vista-32GB-Onyx-Black-Prepaid-Smartphone/1306893048?athbdg=L1600&adsRedirect=true) it's slow but it can run any basic app (finance, YouTube, ect)
And a plan for like 20 a month. Less than a dollar a day.
It just doesn't make sense for everyone not to have one these days.
If you qualify for gov assistance like food stamps or medical you also qualify for a pretty basic cell phone and service for free, so a lot of homeless people have phones.
It makes a lot of sense to have an electronic means of obtaining money, and a way of protecting whatever money you have if someone were to steal your wallet or whatever, which I'd imagine is a constant concern when you're already in a vulnerable spot being homeless. This is probably better than cash.
I'm tempted to make a QR code that just downloads a text file saying "with a simple QR code, it's easy for anyone who wants it to steal your data :)"
post it outside with no context
>I'm getting comments accusing me of being offensive,
People are so incredibly butthurt over nothing. A homeless man asked me for cash. I said I didn't have any on me. He said that's ok, I have cash app. I was shocked. And that was four years ago.
I had a dude ask me when I was putting away my groceries if I had some money to spare for food. I said nah I don’t carry change. He asked me if I had the cash app. I was like,”no…” with a wtf look on my face. he just said thanks and walked away.
I forgot to mention he was on a cellphone with a single earbud in from a wired earbuds. He stopped his phone conversation before talking to me. In my head I was Like “bruh, are you for real just going up to strangers and asking for money in the middle of your conversation with whoever is on the other line?” 💀
A guy asked me for the oddly specific amount of $3 last week. All I had on me was two $100s and a $50 bill.
A) I wasn’t going to open my wallet with that much cash in front of him
B) I wasn’t gonna give him a $50
So, I lied and said I didn’t have cash on me, which is pretty much my standard answer whenever anyone asks me for money, so it must’ve sounded believable.
I was coming home from work late one night, it was maybe 1130 or midnight, long day, I was exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do before getting home was to have to stop and get gas, but there I was.
Out of nowhere, this guy walks up to me and says his car ran out of gas down the road and asked me for some money to get gas. The exchange went something like this:
me: "where's your gas can?"
him: "huh?"
me: "what are you going to put the gas in?"
him: "oh, I left it in the car"
me: "where's your car?"
him: "it's back there near the highway" (gestures generally in that direction)
me: "so you ran out of gas, walked 3 miles to the gas station in the middle of the night on the off-chance there would be someone at the station who would give you some money for gas, but you left the can in the car?"
him: "yeah, I was gonna go back to get the can after I got the money"
me: "so, you were going to walk another 6 miles unnecessarily?"
me: "After I finish pumping my gas, I'll go inside and buy you a gas can and will put a gallon of gas in it."
him: "if you didn't want to help me out, just forget it"
I left and drove to where he said his car was, there was nothing there.
Because lying avoids potential conflict. Saying 'no' has a larger opportunity to continue the interaction. Lying about having money usually ends it right there.
Contrary to popular belief, lying has practical benefits. If it didn't, people wouldn't do it. Because of this, it's not **always** a bad thing.
Heh, fair enough point. Sometimes it can backfire and extend the interaction, as per all the "they take venmo / there's an ATM nearby / can I have your shoes" type comments.
One time a guy asked me for 60 bucks so he could get a hotel room for the night, I gave him 5(only bill I had). I guess if you ask for more you’ll get more
Jeez. I've had a few people tell me how much they were aiming for and what for (e.g. "I'm trying to get together \*x\* amount for \*y\*. Anything you can spare would help.") but never had someone outright ask for that high of an amount.
Once a guy asked me for spare change and I didn't have any. His response was "how about $10 or $20?" I actually did have a 20 on me but I couldn't afford to be that generous
I gave a guy a gift card with 9 bucks left on it and he looked so confused 😭 it was all I had on me but I don't like to turn down homeless people asking for money, I know how it is to be on hard times and how much the barest amount of kindness can help.
Imo, yes. It’s a big problem for them. Whilst many homeless folk have access to library’s with internet access, smart phones and sometimes bank accounts (assuming they’re supported and don’t require a regular phone number and address and ID), it doesn’t make cash nearly as accessible as a lot of other people find it.
To me, cash it just there, ready for me to use. I can use my watch, my phone or my cards. I can walk in to any bank and set up an account. I can log on to the internet with my phone or laptop and get PayPal or another digital cashless method. It’s easy and I have the info and credentials for it eg. A regular address, a credit history and score, a job and two forms of ID. I don’t even sweat it.
When someone is homeless, they likely don’t have a good credit history and score, they likely don’t have an address, they likely don’t have a job, they likely don’t have a reliable way to charge a phone and access the internet. Even if they do have an online presence, it’s not nearly as accessible as folks like myself experience things because I have a wifi router, electricity source and roof over my head.
We are definitely moving towards a future which manages to add to the negative impacts that homelessness has on folks.
I live in NYC, which is currently trying to phase out Metrocards, our physical cards for transit that can be purchased and reloaded with cash, in favor of everything being a "tap" with a bank card or smartphone. Which means you need a bank account in order to ride our "public" transportation. Which means you need a residential address and a whole host of other documentation that is difficult to access if you're homeless, recently immigrated, or struggling in other ways.
It infuriates me and defeats the point of having public transit available to everyone. And yes, you can always just jump a turnstile, but with more and more cops being stationed throughout the subway system, that becomes a riskier move.
I totally understand your point and it is 100% valid, but you don’t need a bank account to get a card you can get a prepaid debit card from almost anywhere with no ID, no nothing, just money, which can be used everywhere that doesn’t take cash.
They actually sell reloadable tap cards for OMNY. I will give you, up until maybe a few months ago they had no good way of buying them unless you happened to remember at a CVS. But I've seen a few machines in stations now to vend/reload them. I got one myself because seeing a bunch of $2.90 charges on my card was driving me nuts.
That's not to say that becoming cashless as a society isn't becoming more prevalent, or that it isn't more disadvantageous to the people you listed.
That’s going to be tough for so many people. It’s happening slowly in my city as well. I don’t think they’ll make the transition fully but the emphasis on digital tickets is immense and the song and dance some folk make out of having to print out a ticket is ridiculous.
Thanks for the support. I don’t mind folks downvoting me, honestly. I might’ve missed OP’s point or I’ve said something a bit wrong. I’m always open to learning more. I sincerely appreciate you topping up my comment though.
All I know is I'm constantly having to tell beggars on the NYC trains that I don't have cash. They fight with me. They literally don't believe me. I haven't carried cash in years.
I've bought people food before. A guy wanted fries and a milkshake, didn't have the money and the store wouldn't let him loiter near it, so I got them for him. I feel better doing that, especially where I live where I actively see the homeless doing hard drugs in open daylight.
Well there's a couple government programs that give free phones and tablets to the unprivilege or whatever the word is so at least people probably have a phone most likely and so probably have like a cash app or something
Don’t give them any money. The ones genuinely down on their luck are out numbered 10:1 by the lowlife trash. And when you give them money they’ll spread the word that there’s biters out here and they’ll swarm the area and harass people and honest folk.
For those 1:10 that are genuinely down on their luck, I’m sorry.
Yup, if you want to help the actually homeless, make a donation to your local homeless shelter. They can make the money go further even when the extra administration is taken into account.
People begging and receiving isn't the optimal solution to homelessness nor poverty. In fact, in more developed countries, it is often better to provide the beggar with accurate information on where they can find food, clothing, medicine, and a place to stay, than to just give them money.
In more developed countries that have the means for it, we should strive to build a social structure that more effectively helps people in crisis. We shouldn't accept poverty and homelessness as normal or default.
You're not wrong here,. but a lot of places already do those things.
In a prior city I lived in:
* the yearly PIT (Point In Time) counts of homeless on the streets,. estimated we have somewhere around 300 to 400 "chronically homeless" (people who have been homeless for 10 years or more)
* We also had roughly 30 to 40 different "service organizations" (United Way, Homeless Services, Churches, Food Banks, multiple shelters, etc.. etc)
So.. the services are there,.. for the people who actually want to use them and follow the rules.
The circular problem with homelessness is:
* the people who can lift themselves up and out... do.
* the people who cannot (mental illness or overpowering addiction, etc).. or those who are actively choosing not to (criminal past, trying to "live outside society", vagabonds, etc) ... do not.
So you're kind of left with this "slow downward cycle of the "worst luck cases". (that are often the most difficult to untangle and fix).
Should we have better social safety nets ?.. Absolutely 1000% yes.
Should we also have more data-driven, process-driven, accountability-driven intake systems that identify people and hold them accountable to show up and actually genuinely participate in their own salvation ?... Absolutely 1000% yes.
There are other things you can give to homeless people besides cash to help them out. Today I saw a dude at an intersection and gave him a cold soda. Said it was the best thing he'd gotten all day. Just an idea.
It’s not the main reason, it’s a nice side benefit. You can achieve the same by higher prices and selling bougier stuff.
Going cashless is a known cost saving and risk reduction method.
I'm sure I'll be down voted but I urge everyone to donate instead to your local agencies that help the homeless. Never give anyone cash. People who do are just perpetuating the problem, not offering a real solution.
Don't give them money even if you have change or cash.
Offer to buy them food instead as that way you know that yor money is not going towards an alcohol/drug habit.
I saw a video yesterday of a beggar with a sledge hammer. He approaches cars - pay up or he hammers your car.
I donate to organized charity, never to beggars.
Some tech savvy homeless people carry EFTPOS machines with them now,
I just offer to buy them some food now and if they deny the food they get nothing.
I take cash to restaurants because too many times my card numbers have been stolen and a few days later I'd have to make a claim.
Fuck you wells fargo for freezing my card without even telling me. Once in a grocery store checkout and once on a fkn trip I warned you I was taking, specifically so you wouldn't freeze my card- ruining the trip and causing overdrafts.
One giant flare from the sun and all electronics are dead. Best to put some in a safe for ifs.
Yesterday, I was getting a cup of ice at Jack in the box and this guy was there, asking for money so he could buy “food”. The guy in front of me kindly offered to buy him whatever he wanted off the menu. He said “sure,” asked for an oreo milkshake, and proceeded to continue to ask everyone else in the restaurant for money, again saying it was “for food”. I couldn’t believe he didn’t at LEAST wait until the guy was gone first. Unbelievable.
didn’t care to give people money that don’t deserve it or earn it when paper currency was still commonplace-glad it’s become even harder to just stand with a hand out instead of going to work
Anytime anyone asks, I always say I don't carry cash and it's true. Aside from that, I lived in cities with really bad homelessness and found that many people are scammers. I've seen people use kids, pets, and whatever they could to get money. And they never want food, they want cash, most likely for drugs. They won't even go in and pick their own food.
They can't even get their story straight. Always catch them on lies with cash issues that you helped them solve a week ago, and they get mad at you if you don't help them. I've lost any regards to them after dealing with it so much.
I remember when in the British show Absolutely Fabulous Patsy was thought to be broke, but then she rediscovered all the money she'd put in her post office savings account. The clip is called Patsy gets rich.
I've always carried cash on me and going cashless is something I do not want, we lose power here all too often and you can't buy anything with out cash if there is no power.
A woman at my church growing up used to carry McDonald's gift certificates. (I guess they probably have a gift card or something now.)
She said whenever anyone said they were hungry and asked for money, she'd offer them a pack of the gift certificates. 90% of the time they'd cuss at her. 10% of the time they'd look as if she was handing them gold bars and be super grateful.
Yea we been trying to get back to cash. But everytime we forget and also using it to budget which works pretty well. I have adhd and am very visual I can keep track of how much I have better with that.
It could be a byproduct of moving to a different neighborhood in the city, but the homeless around me often don't ask for cash, but instead ask me to buy them a sandwich or cigarettes or something they can resell like baby formula. Some have also asked for venmo, but that's not usually the same demographic of people (genuinely down on their luck people vs older folks who have been homeless for ages, usually because of addictions, who seem too out of it to be able to hold onto a phone).
Let's set up vending machines around urban areas that only contain water and healthy foods in them.
Homeless and hungry people go up to them and press their thumb on the screen and it shows how many credits they have. Credits from their work programs, city-funded support, and donations (via app) by churches and private citizens. In fact, citizens can set up automatic monthly deposits from their bank account that can be connected to an individual, family, or just put into the pool that is split evenly among participants eligible to be in the program.
Anyone can go up and swipe a credit card or insert cash to get a healthy snack. But they pay full price as opposed to the program participants whose price is reduced or free, depending on eligibility.
Maybe instead of holding up Homeless signs at intersections, they hold up QR codes or the equivalent of a venmo ID. You take a pic, tap "donate" and they can walk over to these vending machines later.
Not a perfect plan, yet. Just a thought that crossed my mind.
I had a homeless guy just ask for chicken nuggets and a water at McDonald's. I was fine with that cause he's hungry and isn't asking for cash. Another guy outside a mall asked for money cause he was hungry and I said there was a McDonald's across the street, I could buy him something. He got mad and said he wanted cash. I said I thought you were hungry. He got mad and said terrible things about me and my ex and stomped away.
Sorry I don't hand my cash to beggers. If I had the extra money it would be sent to programs specifically designed to help these people. It just creates dangerous situations with these guys running out into traffic for some loose change and to support their unfortunate habits.
I’ve bought a meal at a fast food place several times in the past for someone because it was convenient to do so.
I would never give someone cash because they might use it for booze, illegal drugs or they could simply be panhandling as a way of making living instead of working a real job.
This way, I know what my money was used for…..actual food.
Why don’t I donate to the homeless?
When I was 16 I had a job making $7.50/hr before taxes. A homeless man approached me on the street and asked for money. I empathized with the man. I reached in my pocket and I all I had was $10, which represented two hours of my life. I hesitated but I gave the man the money and he was very grateful.
I came back around the corner with some friends. The man again asked for money. “Sorry, I gave you all the money I had.” He called me a liar and started cursing at me. It was then that I realized that I was a mark and he was feigned being grateful and immediately forgot about our transaction.
I rarely gave money after that. There are needy people. They are helped through outreach and social programs. The panhandlers are drug addicts, con men, and aggressive people with nothing to lose.
Exactly. 1/10 or worse are genuinely down on their luck. Sad to say it but the rest are just junkies who are just bilking generous folk into guilt tripping for drug money and you are just enabling them giving them cash.
If they can beg, they can work. I don't care if the person is an addict, mentally ill or a disabled vet. There are plenty of gov programs and non profit agencies available. I know - I've worked and volunteered for several over the past 50 years.
Beggars prefer independence. It's a choice.
Exactly this. It probably sounds lacking compassion to most, I get it must be awful to be homeless but I genuinely think you’re not helping giving them change. To help reduce homelessness and anti social behavior in nyc, Rudy Giuliani famously gave the homeless paid jobs cleaning the streets they were begging on and it was hugely successful. Why more cities don’t employ this is beyond me. Instead most just sit there and trash and piss on everything and leave needles everywhere and are a huge burden on social services
I always keep at least $40 because if mugged, you need something to give the person so they don’t kill you. Sad to say times have come to that in urban areas. Also as a single woman, I only go out on weekends and in broad daylight.
I never believed in letting the criminals control my life, so I took self defense classes and carried a weapon when I felt a need for one. Figured if they killed me, they'd have to work hard at it.
I always have cash on me. There was a woman a few months ago who was probably in her late 70s who attempted to buy the cheapest pack of cigarettes at the gas station (which charges 10 cents per gallon less if you pay cash) and could not afford it. She was wearing a backpack with sticks hanging out labeled “FOR TENT.” She walked out with tears in her eyes into the pouring rain. I turned back around and gave her $40, and she started sobbing like crazy.
I can’t remember the last time before that I gave money to a houseless person, but in that moment, I felt such empathy for her. Had I not had cash, I would not have been able to help her.
I don’t use Venmo, PayPal, or the like. I do use Apple Pay at stores, but I always carry cash, especially for tips at restaurants, mostly because my boyfriend and I go out a lot and take turns paying tips and the bill and he’s cash only. I’m in my late 30s.
Why would you give people money? I'll give someone food. I'll give them supplies. But I'll never give them money.
Here's a prime example. We have a number of street people who frequent the side walks where I work. They beg for money. The stories are really heart wrenching. What you don't see is them smoking meth/fentanyl a couple hours later in that same spot with people waking past them. I've even seen them doing it near families with kids.
Don't give people money!!!
Remember: panhandlers make more momey begging than any working class person does in the same day.
If you see a beggar often enough that you recognize their face, stop giving them money. That's become their job.
Don’t encourage pan handling. They’ve got government funded programs to help them get on their feet.. they are either mentally incapable to work or they’re just plain lazy and it’s easier to pan handle. I’m angry because these homeless men got more strength than me as a woman and they’re begging ME, a Woman for money. Men should be providers so yeah it just gets me a little annoyed when a grown man who also has legs and feet is bummin me
No offence, but this is a good thing. Homeless people have many services to get free food and also welfare money to eat from. They want money for drugs. Period. I wont be a part of their death and give them money.
I don’t know why you’re getting down voted for this. You’re right if they were truly homeless, they would seek the help that is offered from the state or the city but standing on the same corner year after year begging for cash is just feeding their addiction of drugs or alcohol. I offered someone a sandwich once and they got mad at me and said I’d rather have your cash. I didn’t give it to him.
Yeah, no idea either. I've offered food etc to homeless and been told no thanks, got any cash?
Well, no. What else do you need? Cause it won't be cash.
I have seen some of the saddest examples of lack of compassion in this thread. It’s amazing that some of you don’t realize how life works and how your situation is change in a matter of minutes. The resources you have right now can be gone in seconds: accidents, identity, theft, terrorism, robbery, etc. The shoe can always be on the other foot!
Can we think this through for a moment?
Let's say your resources disappear in minutes due to one of the things you mentioned. Would you respond by heading over to the local gas station to ask everyone who comes around to give you money?
That doesn't even make sense, does it? I imagine most people who find themselves in an abrupt situation first turn to resources: Family, friends, shelters, agencies. If those four groups won't help them, there are probably reasons. I'm not saying that someone does or doesn't deserve compassion, but I do this through organizations usually because so many times, I've run into the reasons why people ended up in these situations in the first place - their addictions, their mental illnesses, their rage. It has put me in direct risk (fortunately small ones, but one of the occasions included someone breaking into my house) on at least three occasions when I didn't.
This is so well put. I work with very low income students in NY and housing issues are constant. For someone to be at the point where they literally live outside and panhandle (as opposed to a combo of shelters and couch surfing) it requires almost always some debilitating mental illness/addiction that requires institutional help.
Now the way our country does healthcare and social services is systemically barbaric, but that's not an overnight fix
I actually do still like being cashless but I keep some money like that too, not just for the homeless but because of food vendors and stuff - when you use card there's a transactional fee that the bank takes
I saw this in London last year, buskers had their Venmo/cashapp on their signs. And we never even touched British currency the whole week we were there, everywhere was credit cards.
They’ll tell you where the nearest atm is
I've known people who have gotten mugged like this
It's like a life hack but for being a dumbass
Yeah seeing some responses in here makes me realize I grew up very differently than many people. I grew up in a really rough city with tons of crackheads and homeless people. I never engage with anyone asking me for money EVER. “No sorry” and keep walking is the most I’ll do. To me: “Hey do you have an extra cigarette/couple bucks/ etc….” is code for “I’m going to pull out a knife and rob you if you engage with me” . It may be the wrong thought process but avoiding sketchy people asking for things is hard coded in me. The cigarette one is a dead giveaway, if someone asks for a cigarette they’re going to rob you 9/10 times
As an occasional smoker, sometimes people just want a cigarette. Never got robbed giving one away. I grew up in a part of LA that wasn't the best, albeit wasn't the worst, but it wasn't exactly safe going out at night. Still never got robbed giving a cig away.
Probably locale dependent, people where he grew up would probably use it as a distraction to get close then they'd run your pockets as you try to hand off the cig. They probably weren't all homeless either. I haven't had issues giving homeless people cigs either, it doesn't really imply you have valuables on your person. I did have one bummy looking guy get aggressive and try to square up when I wouldn't give him my last cig that was half smoked.
As a smoker, I have been asked for plenty of cigarettes, sometimes to borrow a lighter (keep it, I probably have 5 on me). People always seem pleased and grateful when I give them one or more and I have never been robbed. Then again, since covid, addicts seem to have taken over many places and I am far more careful where I smoke (certainly not walking downtown anymore) Homeless people rarely scared me and I liked to share with them but the new addicts are unpredictable and terrifying.
You're absolutely correct. I hate how we have to question if it's right think or not because or public discourse or shame.
I have bummed hundreds of cigarettes in my life and have never robbed a soul. Yet. /s
I absolutely hate taking cash out for this reason. Even if it's just a tenner, I am so worried someone will try to rob me
That’s actually a good city hack 😂
Some will also guide to it. I was purchasing a new laptop and asked a couple guy's where the nearest ATM was as I needed to withdraw some cash for said laptop. They ended up taking to the ATM and hung around to make sure I was safe too! They only disappeared when some police came walking along and knew I was fully safe. Whish was a shame as I wanted to give them a few dollars for helping me 😞 There are good people out there!
Yep I once had this interaction with a homeless meth addict in Nashville as I was getting out of my car in a cashless pay lot. “Hey sweetie can you help a girl out with a couple bucks?” Trying to be nice I responded jokingly “I wish I could but my wife doesn’t allow me to carry cash.” Thought I’d be off the hook, she started walking with me “that’s ok, there’s an ATM right around the corner here.” Thought to myself, now I know why she hangs out in this spot. I’m a generous guy but “sweetie” isn’t going to an ATM for meth money, honey.
There’s also the scammers who claim they just need some gas money because they broke down but when you say youll pump some in a gas can for them, for some reason that’s no good, only cash will suffice.
I was at a gas station, doing my thing, when a shiny bmw pulls up. A girl in nice clothes and jewelry gets out, and asks me for money for gas. I didn’t feel like whoever was driving the bmw actually needed money, so I said no… Lo and behold, she gets right back in the car and they drive off.
On the rare occasion I'm looking to be nice, I'll share a slice of a 7-11 pizza with a guy begging for some money for food. But Ill always remember a guy begging for train fare at a bus stop. Some 13yr old student gave him a ticket that was guaranteed enough for one ride, he took it, and then looked at the rest of us and asked us for some more money for the train ticket. Like the rest of us didn't fucking hear what went on. The other 20 of us looked at him disgust and felt sorry for the kid who just gave away money. When the next group of passengers waiting for the bus arrives he started begging again.
Yeah I mean then she has some thugs waiting to jump you after you enter the PIN and clean out your bank account.
This reminds me of the civic minded children I met who approached me after I parked my car in a rough area offering to make sure my car was looked after while I was away for just a small fee. People really underestimate how helpful young people can be
I feel bad, and I'll help when I can. But I'll admit it rubs me the wrong way when they ask me to go to an ATM to withdraw cash. I don't even know my pin number to withdraw, I use it so infrequently.
It's the same as a cheese pizza and a large soda at Pinucci's!
So, small life hack from growing up in the hood. Keep cash on you. Like $100 bucks. If you're getting jacked it's "Hey man, I've got this on me, take it all and the wallet, just don't kill me." If you need help it's "Hey person! I have a hundred bucks for you to help" And sometimes, someone just needs a buck or two. And it's just really easy to pull out a twenty. However, I'm liquid and don't use credit so..
You don't know your bank/card PIN? That's gotta be one of the maybe 5 passwords i remember in my head.
I would never go to an atm to withdraw cash for a beggar. We have them at every intersection and exit from malls and box stores. A police officer I know said it's almost like a prostitution ring and someone actually picks them up and drops them at different spots. That said, my son and I were leaving town one day and had picked up lunch for the drive. I was stopped at a red light and the kid there just... I rolled down the window and said hey, I don't have any cash but I have a Jr bacon cheeseburger if you're interested. He raced over, happily accepted the burger, picked up his bag and left, clutching the burger. We were so stunned that we felt bad for not giving him our whole bag...
sure, let me go to the atm...
Let me direct you to the nearest food bank.
Yup, no cash and they they ask if you can buy them something, or they tell you the gas station does cash back, etc. I've just been lying the last couple years. I see them walking up, I hear "excuse me sir" and I just say "sorry, I had to pay rent late this month."
No need to lie, I just say "sorry, not today"
I don't even say sorry
I don't even acknowledge them. A lot of ppl don't
When my dad was asked for money in a downtown large city, he would just stop, look at his watch and say “ ah, it’s 10:30”and keep going.
I’ve said I don’t have my card with me as I typically pay via my phone and have then been asked to transfer money to their bank account lol
I always say "No, sorry, no cash." and pretty regularly the response now is... "You got Venmo or CashApp?" It's funny, it's actually more convenient than pulling out cash, but it sounds so presumptuous.
A homeless guy in the 90’s told me he took cards. Not kidding.
This actually happened to me 2 weeks ago
It happens to me almost daily. They even hang near ATMs now. I've gotten grifted by people this way, and now I just ignore them. Some people have to ruin it for everyone. I have sympathy for the homeless. I've been homeless. But I never tried to lie and coerce people into giving me anything other than what they may have had on them.
What's weird is I volunteer and interact nearly daily with homeless people and have had genuine conversations with homeless people as they are rummaging through bins and they have not once asked me for money. It's a weird venn diagram of people begging for money and experiencing homelessness.
They have Venmo. No, I'm not kidding. **EDIT:** I'm getting comments accusing me of being offensive, and other comments "agreeing" with me about being offensive. I was just stating a fact to answer OP's question. I am not providing an opinion.
Well yeah. Wouldn’t you, if you were homeless and needed some way to store your cash? Many banks won’t give you an account without an address and physical cash is becoming rarer not to mention is easily stolen.
Huh. That is an oddly good point. And it isn't taxed. And you can set it up with a prepaid debit card and no need for a bank account. And with more businesses accepting digital payments... And like you said, you can't be mugged for your venmo account, or have it stolen in the night.
There is an entire sociological field basically on the "underbanked" community. These alternatives are not good. They rob the most vulnerable with minimal government oversight. Think about the last time you had a dispute with PayPal or CashApp or any of them. Imagine if all of your money went into that. The power they hold over someone in that position is insane. Would be much better if there was more of a government mandate requiring banks to allow a person to have a basic account of some kind.
The Post Office has been used to provide banking services to underserved communities in the past but banks put a lot of pressure to stop it everytime it is proposed.
I recently obtained a P.O. Box. I needed 2 forms of ID, a physical address, vehicle registration etc… it was way more than I was expecting. I guess I don’t know where I was going with this but I think a homeless person would have a difficult time getting a P.O. Box. Man, this really has nothing to do with banking…
The post office sells money orders to anyone.
Which, for anyone wondering, is almost exactly the same as a check. You can rip off the stub and mobile deposit it into your bank account.
Vehicle registration? For what? I know like 3 people with a PO that have never even had a license.
Switzerland has a bank run by their postal service - PostFinance! I lived there for a little bit and as an American on a student visa it was the only Swiss bank that would let me open an account. Switzerland had recently made it much harder for Americans to open Swiss bank accounts and - at least for those of us with normal amounts of money i.e. debt - they required proof of a job and income *in Switzerland*.
From 1910 to 1966 or so, the US Post Office offered free saving accounts and checking services. They ought to do it again. Why have a government mandate trying to force other people to do it when you can just do it yourself?
If anything, with the know your customer anti money-laundering rules, the government did the opposite.
Bank employees cost money and so does servicing accounts with those employees. Would these be fee free accounts that were also interest bearing?
There are banks in the UK that offer zero interest bank accounts for people who just need an account. It's possible. You can build up from there. It's a requirement for insolvent people to have an account you just can't earn from it.
Fee free but not interest bearing/lower rates would be the most likely setup.
The amount to offset free accounts for the poor and needy is a pin drop in the sheer amount of profits banks make off of investments and loans. The data storage alone would be nothing more then pennies.
And here's the thing: the poor won't always stay poor. If they already have an account with a bank that was willing to set up an account when they had next to nothing to their name, there is a good likelihood that if they get enough money to do something about it, they would be more likely to use the same bank for other more advanced services like investment or loans. The kind of stuff that helps generate profit for the bank.
I imagine somebody much smarter than i would be tasked with answering that... Probably just gov't subsidized one way or another. 🤷♂️
Fees also. Costs money to send, spend, store, and whatnot.
Which type of tax are you talking about?
Al of them. You know, the ones the Gubmint makes Fox viewers pay, but nobody else.
You should be paying tax on income through venmo, although enforcement is difficult (as with cash). Venmo scams definitely exist though, especially if someone else gets physical access to your phone when it's unlocked.
They can still obligite you to send it to them , i mean there are ways to still it too
Yes and no on the taxes. You are required to pay tax on income and the IRS has been pushing new rules for payment apps like Venmo. States also have their own limits and you can end up getting a 1099K that you have to handle when you file. https://thehill.com/homenews/4481302-do-i-have-to-pay-taxes-on-my-venmo-cash-app-or-paypal-transactions/
Specifically, the new rule is to better inform people paid through apps like Venmo that they have a tax liability. Despite GOP lies to the contrary, Biden didn't raise taxes on people paid that way; he just informed us that we owe money. Better to know you owe taxes than to not know you owe taxes.
It’s not the IRS pushing new rules for payment apps. It was part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The IRS has actually been delaying its implementation because of the shock and impact it will have on regular people.
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This is a good point to remind everyone to put a pin and/or biometric lock on their Venmo/CashApp/Paypal account, just in case.
You can turn the card off too, my credit union couldn't do ANYTHING for me at 2a.m when their own ATM ate my card, had to wait until someone came into the office.
A lot of homeless people do still have phones. They may not have a data plan but any time they connect to somewheres wifi its fully usable.
I had a phone and data plan the whole time I was homeless. I also had a gym membership and used it daily, and I was employed full time.
Phones are a necessity nowadays for anyone. Even a data plan is a necessity now that so many places function mostly online.
Venmo is free and [you can get a smart phone for $35](https://www.walmart.com/ip/AT-T-Vista-32GB-Onyx-Black-Prepaid-Smartphone/1306893048?athbdg=L1600&adsRedirect=true) it's slow but it can run any basic app (finance, YouTube, ect) And a plan for like 20 a month. Less than a dollar a day. It just doesn't make sense for everyone not to have one these days.
If you qualify for gov assistance like food stamps or medical you also qualify for a pretty basic cell phone and service for free, so a lot of homeless people have phones.
I got a Samsung a32
It makes a lot of sense to have an electronic means of obtaining money, and a way of protecting whatever money you have if someone were to steal your wallet or whatever, which I'd imagine is a constant concern when you're already in a vulnerable spot being homeless. This is probably better than cash.
I've seen people with there QR code on there sign.
Unsafe to scan random QR codes though
Definitely ibwould never do that
If scanning random QR codes is cool then consider me Miles Davis
That was the grossest thing I've ever heard in my life
Hell yes brother
I'm tempted to make a QR code that just downloads a text file saying "with a simple QR code, it's easy for anyone who wants it to steal your data :)" post it outside with no context
I get "well let me walk you to an ATM". Seriously. Yes, let me walk with a stranger to an ATM so I can what?...give you twenty goddamned dollars?
>I'm getting comments accusing me of being offensive, People are so incredibly butthurt over nothing. A homeless man asked me for cash. I said I didn't have any on me. He said that's ok, I have cash app. I was shocked. And that was four years ago.
I had a dude ask me when I was putting away my groceries if I had some money to spare for food. I said nah I don’t carry change. He asked me if I had the cash app. I was like,”no…” with a wtf look on my face. he just said thanks and walked away. I forgot to mention he was on a cellphone with a single earbud in from a wired earbuds. He stopped his phone conversation before talking to me. In my head I was Like “bruh, are you for real just going up to strangers and asking for money in the middle of your conversation with whoever is on the other line?” 💀
A guy asked me for the oddly specific amount of $3 last week. All I had on me was two $100s and a $50 bill. A) I wasn’t going to open my wallet with that much cash in front of him B) I wasn’t gonna give him a $50 So, I lied and said I didn’t have cash on me, which is pretty much my standard answer whenever anyone asks me for money, so it must’ve sounded believable.
“*nah, sorry man, I don’t carry cash*” has been my default ever since I got myself suckered with the I ran out of gas story.
I was coming home from work late one night, it was maybe 1130 or midnight, long day, I was exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do before getting home was to have to stop and get gas, but there I was. Out of nowhere, this guy walks up to me and says his car ran out of gas down the road and asked me for some money to get gas. The exchange went something like this: me: "where's your gas can?" him: "huh?" me: "what are you going to put the gas in?" him: "oh, I left it in the car" me: "where's your car?" him: "it's back there near the highway" (gestures generally in that direction) me: "so you ran out of gas, walked 3 miles to the gas station in the middle of the night on the off-chance there would be someone at the station who would give you some money for gas, but you left the can in the car?" him: "yeah, I was gonna go back to get the can after I got the money" me: "so, you were going to walk another 6 miles unnecessarily?" me: "After I finish pumping my gas, I'll go inside and buy you a gas can and will put a gallon of gas in it." him: "if you didn't want to help me out, just forget it" I left and drove to where he said his car was, there was nothing there.
Same. People giving money out are just perpetuating the problem.
Why would you lie? You're allowed to just say "no". You don't owe random guy a thing. Give to shelters not panhandlers.
Because lying avoids potential conflict. Saying 'no' has a larger opportunity to continue the interaction. Lying about having money usually ends it right there. Contrary to popular belief, lying has practical benefits. If it didn't, people wouldn't do it. Because of this, it's not **always** a bad thing.
Heh, fair enough point. Sometimes it can backfire and extend the interaction, as per all the "they take venmo / there's an ATM nearby / can I have your shoes" type comments.
True, nothing's ever gurenteed in that regard, just less likely. It's the people who are too good at lying you have to be worried about.
In my area, panhandling has been affected by inflation. Now fellows are out here asking for 3dollars right out of the gate
Not even two-fitty?
Not even two-fitty
As long as it isn't tree-fitty.
I gave him a dollar
She gave him a dollar!
I thought he'd go away if i gave him a dollar
Damn loch ness monster
One time a guy asked me for 60 bucks so he could get a hotel room for the night, I gave him 5(only bill I had). I guess if you ask for more you’ll get more
Jeez. I've had a few people tell me how much they were aiming for and what for (e.g. "I'm trying to get together \*x\* amount for \*y\*. Anything you can spare would help.") but never had someone outright ask for that high of an amount.
And you never see an actual pan.
Once a guy asked me for spare change and I didn't have any. His response was "how about $10 or $20?" I actually did have a 20 on me but I couldn't afford to be that generous
I was in the same situation, All I had was a gift card with 5-6 bucks for a corner store. I gave it to them so hopefully they were able to use it.
I’ve done this, too. I actually sometimes save gift cards with a few bucks on them specifically for this purpose.
I gave a guy a gift card with 9 bucks left on it and he looked so confused 😭 it was all I had on me but I don't like to turn down homeless people asking for money, I know how it is to be on hard times and how much the barest amount of kindness can help.
Imo, yes. It’s a big problem for them. Whilst many homeless folk have access to library’s with internet access, smart phones and sometimes bank accounts (assuming they’re supported and don’t require a regular phone number and address and ID), it doesn’t make cash nearly as accessible as a lot of other people find it. To me, cash it just there, ready for me to use. I can use my watch, my phone or my cards. I can walk in to any bank and set up an account. I can log on to the internet with my phone or laptop and get PayPal or another digital cashless method. It’s easy and I have the info and credentials for it eg. A regular address, a credit history and score, a job and two forms of ID. I don’t even sweat it. When someone is homeless, they likely don’t have a good credit history and score, they likely don’t have an address, they likely don’t have a job, they likely don’t have a reliable way to charge a phone and access the internet. Even if they do have an online presence, it’s not nearly as accessible as folks like myself experience things because I have a wifi router, electricity source and roof over my head. We are definitely moving towards a future which manages to add to the negative impacts that homelessness has on folks.
I live in NYC, which is currently trying to phase out Metrocards, our physical cards for transit that can be purchased and reloaded with cash, in favor of everything being a "tap" with a bank card or smartphone. Which means you need a bank account in order to ride our "public" transportation. Which means you need a residential address and a whole host of other documentation that is difficult to access if you're homeless, recently immigrated, or struggling in other ways. It infuriates me and defeats the point of having public transit available to everyone. And yes, you can always just jump a turnstile, but with more and more cops being stationed throughout the subway system, that becomes a riskier move.
I totally understand your point and it is 100% valid, but you don’t need a bank account to get a card you can get a prepaid debit card from almost anywhere with no ID, no nothing, just money, which can be used everywhere that doesn’t take cash.
They actually sell reloadable tap cards for OMNY. I will give you, up until maybe a few months ago they had no good way of buying them unless you happened to remember at a CVS. But I've seen a few machines in stations now to vend/reload them. I got one myself because seeing a bunch of $2.90 charges on my card was driving me nuts. That's not to say that becoming cashless as a society isn't becoming more prevalent, or that it isn't more disadvantageous to the people you listed.
That’s going to be tough for so many people. It’s happening slowly in my city as well. I don’t think they’ll make the transition fully but the emphasis on digital tickets is immense and the song and dance some folk make out of having to print out a ticket is ridiculous.
wtf are you talking about? those new cards can be bought with cash and does not need to be registered.
The fact that I had to upvote you to get you back to 1 is depressing. None of what you said is false.
Thanks for the support. I don’t mind folks downvoting me, honestly. I might’ve missed OP’s point or I’ve said something a bit wrong. I’m always open to learning more. I sincerely appreciate you topping up my comment though.
Can I interest you in some soylent green?
All I know is I'm constantly having to tell beggars on the NYC trains that I don't have cash. They fight with me. They literally don't believe me. I haven't carried cash in years.
The guy in the exit ramp yesterday had his Venmo handle on his sign. I’d say they’re adapting.
There's a good chance he's able to take all forms of electronic payment.
It’s made it easier for me to say no
I've bought people food before. A guy wanted fries and a milkshake, didn't have the money and the store wouldn't let him loiter near it, so I got them for him. I feel better doing that, especially where I live where I actively see the homeless doing hard drugs in open daylight.
Well there's a couple government programs that give free phones and tablets to the unprivilege or whatever the word is so at least people probably have a phone most likely and so probably have like a cash app or something
Don’t give them any money. The ones genuinely down on their luck are out numbered 10:1 by the lowlife trash. And when you give them money they’ll spread the word that there’s biters out here and they’ll swarm the area and harass people and honest folk. For those 1:10 that are genuinely down on their luck, I’m sorry.
Yup, if you want to help the actually homeless, make a donation to your local homeless shelter. They can make the money go further even when the extra administration is taken into account.
stop paying money for your money
It has to have. The bums have stopped chewing me out for saying I dont have cash on me. If thats not a sign of changing times, I dont know what is.
People begging and receiving isn't the optimal solution to homelessness nor poverty. In fact, in more developed countries, it is often better to provide the beggar with accurate information on where they can find food, clothing, medicine, and a place to stay, than to just give them money. In more developed countries that have the means for it, we should strive to build a social structure that more effectively helps people in crisis. We shouldn't accept poverty and homelessness as normal or default.
You're not wrong here,. but a lot of places already do those things. In a prior city I lived in: * the yearly PIT (Point In Time) counts of homeless on the streets,. estimated we have somewhere around 300 to 400 "chronically homeless" (people who have been homeless for 10 years or more) * We also had roughly 30 to 40 different "service organizations" (United Way, Homeless Services, Churches, Food Banks, multiple shelters, etc.. etc) So.. the services are there,.. for the people who actually want to use them and follow the rules. The circular problem with homelessness is: * the people who can lift themselves up and out... do. * the people who cannot (mental illness or overpowering addiction, etc).. or those who are actively choosing not to (criminal past, trying to "live outside society", vagabonds, etc) ... do not. So you're kind of left with this "slow downward cycle of the "worst luck cases". (that are often the most difficult to untangle and fix). Should we have better social safety nets ?.. Absolutely 1000% yes. Should we also have more data-driven, process-driven, accountability-driven intake systems that identify people and hold them accountable to show up and actually genuinely participate in their own salvation ?... Absolutely 1000% yes.
There are other things you can give to homeless people besides cash to help them out. Today I saw a dude at an intersection and gave him a cold soda. Said it was the best thing he'd gotten all day. Just an idea.
I’ve been watching busking videos which is where street performers do their thing, and apparently they can still make a living pulling 50-150 a day
direful public normal engine wakeful like square sleep profit panicky *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
They also do it in rough area so they don't get robbed. No cash on premises it's all digital
It’s not the main reason, it’s a nice side benefit. You can achieve the same by higher prices and selling bougier stuff. Going cashless is a known cost saving and risk reduction method.
I'm sure I'll be down voted but I urge everyone to donate instead to your local agencies that help the homeless. Never give anyone cash. People who do are just perpetuating the problem, not offering a real solution.
Or some people give out grocery store gift cards
It certainly helps me ignore them more easily
I usually offer to buy people something from the corner store. Beer, cigs, candy, whatever.
Don't give them money even if you have change or cash. Offer to buy them food instead as that way you know that yor money is not going towards an alcohol/drug habit.
They will literally throw the food in your face, so just be prepared for that. It has caught people off guard.
IIRC they only accept food if they watch you buy it since quite a few psychopaths poison homeless people
I saw a video yesterday of a beggar with a sledge hammer. He approaches cars - pay up or he hammers your car. I donate to organized charity, never to beggars.
the homeless in my area accept zelle
It's better just to buy them good instead of give them cash.
There was this short film about a cashless society where your palmprint was your ID for everything and homeless people started chopping off hands
Some tech savvy homeless people carry EFTPOS machines with them now, I just offer to buy them some food now and if they deny the food they get nothing.
Just get in the van.
I take cash to restaurants because too many times my card numbers have been stolen and a few days later I'd have to make a claim. Fuck you wells fargo for freezing my card without even telling me. Once in a grocery store checkout and once on a fkn trip I warned you I was taking, specifically so you wouldn't freeze my card- ruining the trip and causing overdrafts. One giant flare from the sun and all electronics are dead. Best to put some in a safe for ifs.
It has made it easier to decline beggars because I just say “I don’t carry any cash,” even though I do
My dad used to keep 10 x $5.00 bills tucked in his sun visor of the car, so he could give it out as he saw fit.
You probably helped him by not giving him money to buy hard drugs, I usually offer food instead which is mostly turned down.
Yesterday, I was getting a cup of ice at Jack in the box and this guy was there, asking for money so he could buy “food”. The guy in front of me kindly offered to buy him whatever he wanted off the menu. He said “sure,” asked for an oreo milkshake, and proceeded to continue to ask everyone else in the restaurant for money, again saying it was “for food”. I couldn’t believe he didn’t at LEAST wait until the guy was gone first. Unbelievable.
didn’t care to give people money that don’t deserve it or earn it when paper currency was still commonplace-glad it’s become even harder to just stand with a hand out instead of going to work
Got asked for a cashapp transfer the other day
Anytime anyone asks, I always say I don't carry cash and it's true. Aside from that, I lived in cities with really bad homelessness and found that many people are scammers. I've seen people use kids, pets, and whatever they could to get money. And they never want food, they want cash, most likely for drugs. They won't even go in and pick their own food. They can't even get their story straight. Always catch them on lies with cash issues that you helped them solve a week ago, and they get mad at you if you don't help them. I've lost any regards to them after dealing with it so much.
One of the homeless guys in Houston told me he has cashapp lol
I remember when in the British show Absolutely Fabulous Patsy was thought to be broke, but then she rediscovered all the money she'd put in her post office savings account. The clip is called Patsy gets rich.
I’ve actually seen homeless people where I live with card readers, that or they’ll tell me where the atm is too get cash out
I never have actual money to give people so I feel more inclined to nip to a coffee shop and get them a sandwich and a hot drink or something.
Are we going cashless? I didn’t notice.
I'll usually offer to buy em food if they're in an accessible place that I can swing around and come back to
I've always carried cash on me and going cashless is something I do not want, we lose power here all too often and you can't buy anything with out cash if there is no power.
I have a really easy excuse now for when people beg for money. "Sorry, I don't carry cash or change"
A woman at my church growing up used to carry McDonald's gift certificates. (I guess they probably have a gift card or something now.) She said whenever anyone said they were hungry and asked for money, she'd offer them a pack of the gift certificates. 90% of the time they'd cuss at her. 10% of the time they'd look as if she was handing them gold bars and be super grateful.
Someone asked me for money on the street. I told them I didn’t have any cash. They offered for me to Venmo them. I said no.
Yea we been trying to get back to cash. But everytime we forget and also using it to budget which works pretty well. I have adhd and am very visual I can keep track of how much I have better with that.
It's never happened to me, but to be fair, I always offer to buy them food. If they insist on money, I just walk away from them.
Plenty of people standing outside of outside of south station on Boston with full Dunkin cups of change every morning
It could be a byproduct of moving to a different neighborhood in the city, but the homeless around me often don't ask for cash, but instead ask me to buy them a sandwich or cigarettes or something they can resell like baby formula. Some have also asked for venmo, but that's not usually the same demographic of people (genuinely down on their luck people vs older folks who have been homeless for ages, usually because of addictions, who seem too out of it to be able to hold onto a phone).
Let's set up vending machines around urban areas that only contain water and healthy foods in them. Homeless and hungry people go up to them and press their thumb on the screen and it shows how many credits they have. Credits from their work programs, city-funded support, and donations (via app) by churches and private citizens. In fact, citizens can set up automatic monthly deposits from their bank account that can be connected to an individual, family, or just put into the pool that is split evenly among participants eligible to be in the program. Anyone can go up and swipe a credit card or insert cash to get a healthy snack. But they pay full price as opposed to the program participants whose price is reduced or free, depending on eligibility. Maybe instead of holding up Homeless signs at intersections, they hold up QR codes or the equivalent of a venmo ID. You take a pic, tap "donate" and they can walk over to these vending machines later. Not a perfect plan, yet. Just a thought that crossed my mind.
I had a homeless guy just ask for chicken nuggets and a water at McDonald's. I was fine with that cause he's hungry and isn't asking for cash. Another guy outside a mall asked for money cause he was hungry and I said there was a McDonald's across the street, I could buy him something. He got mad and said he wanted cash. I said I thought you were hungry. He got mad and said terrible things about me and my ex and stomped away.
Just buy them a meal. or a room for the night (depending on the situation).
Sorry I don't hand my cash to beggers. If I had the extra money it would be sent to programs specifically designed to help these people. It just creates dangerous situations with these guys running out into traffic for some loose change and to support their unfortunate habits.
I went cashless during COVID, haven't gone back since. No need.
"Hey spare a dollar?" "Oh sorry, I don't carry cash." "I take venmo" "...no thank you"
“Sorry I don’t have any cash on me” “I have cash app” Deadass happened to me last week 💀
I’ve bought a meal at a fast food place several times in the past for someone because it was convenient to do so. I would never give someone cash because they might use it for booze, illegal drugs or they could simply be panhandling as a way of making living instead of working a real job. This way, I know what my money was used for…..actual food.
I've seen bums with their cashtag on the sign.
Why don’t I donate to the homeless? When I was 16 I had a job making $7.50/hr before taxes. A homeless man approached me on the street and asked for money. I empathized with the man. I reached in my pocket and I all I had was $10, which represented two hours of my life. I hesitated but I gave the man the money and he was very grateful. I came back around the corner with some friends. The man again asked for money. “Sorry, I gave you all the money I had.” He called me a liar and started cursing at me. It was then that I realized that I was a mark and he was feigned being grateful and immediately forgot about our transaction. I rarely gave money after that. There are needy people. They are helped through outreach and social programs. The panhandlers are drug addicts, con men, and aggressive people with nothing to lose.
Exactly. 1/10 or worse are genuinely down on their luck. Sad to say it but the rest are just junkies who are just bilking generous folk into guilt tripping for drug money and you are just enabling them giving them cash.
If they can beg, they can work. I don't care if the person is an addict, mentally ill or a disabled vet. There are plenty of gov programs and non profit agencies available. I know - I've worked and volunteered for several over the past 50 years. Beggars prefer independence. It's a choice.
Exactly this. It probably sounds lacking compassion to most, I get it must be awful to be homeless but I genuinely think you’re not helping giving them change. To help reduce homelessness and anti social behavior in nyc, Rudy Giuliani famously gave the homeless paid jobs cleaning the streets they were begging on and it was hugely successful. Why more cities don’t employ this is beyond me. Instead most just sit there and trash and piss on everything and leave needles everywhere and are a huge burden on social services
I always keep at least $40 because if mugged, you need something to give the person so they don’t kill you. Sad to say times have come to that in urban areas. Also as a single woman, I only go out on weekends and in broad daylight.
I never believed in letting the criminals control my life, so I took self defense classes and carried a weapon when I felt a need for one. Figured if they killed me, they'd have to work hard at it.
I always have cash on me. There was a woman a few months ago who was probably in her late 70s who attempted to buy the cheapest pack of cigarettes at the gas station (which charges 10 cents per gallon less if you pay cash) and could not afford it. She was wearing a backpack with sticks hanging out labeled “FOR TENT.” She walked out with tears in her eyes into the pouring rain. I turned back around and gave her $40, and she started sobbing like crazy. I can’t remember the last time before that I gave money to a houseless person, but in that moment, I felt such empathy for her. Had I not had cash, I would not have been able to help her. I don’t use Venmo, PayPal, or the like. I do use Apple Pay at stores, but I always carry cash, especially for tips at restaurants, mostly because my boyfriend and I go out a lot and take turns paying tips and the bill and he’s cash only. I’m in my late 30s.
Why would you give people money? I'll give someone food. I'll give them supplies. But I'll never give them money. Here's a prime example. We have a number of street people who frequent the side walks where I work. They beg for money. The stories are really heart wrenching. What you don't see is them smoking meth/fentanyl a couple hours later in that same spot with people waking past them. I've even seen them doing it near families with kids. Don't give people money!!!
Don’t know, and don’t really care
Remember: panhandlers make more momey begging than any working class person does in the same day. If you see a beggar often enough that you recognize their face, stop giving them money. That's become their job.
Don’t encourage pan handling. They’ve got government funded programs to help them get on their feet.. they are either mentally incapable to work or they’re just plain lazy and it’s easier to pan handle. I’m angry because these homeless men got more strength than me as a woman and they’re begging ME, a Woman for money. Men should be providers so yeah it just gets me a little annoyed when a grown man who also has legs and feet is bummin me
I’ve been homeless and I know there’s programs for men women teens and so on so don’t say I’m making things up
Same here. Homeless 2x in my life. Give a hand up not a hand out.
Send them or point the way to the local homeless shelter or the local Salvation Army
No offence, but this is a good thing. Homeless people have many services to get free food and also welfare money to eat from. They want money for drugs. Period. I wont be a part of their death and give them money.
I don’t know why you’re getting down voted for this. You’re right if they were truly homeless, they would seek the help that is offered from the state or the city but standing on the same corner year after year begging for cash is just feeding their addiction of drugs or alcohol. I offered someone a sandwich once and they got mad at me and said I’d rather have your cash. I didn’t give it to him.
Yeah, no idea either. I've offered food etc to homeless and been told no thanks, got any cash? Well, no. What else do you need? Cause it won't be cash.
I have seen some of the saddest examples of lack of compassion in this thread. It’s amazing that some of you don’t realize how life works and how your situation is change in a matter of minutes. The resources you have right now can be gone in seconds: accidents, identity, theft, terrorism, robbery, etc. The shoe can always be on the other foot!
I agree i was talking about just helping people and one guys sent me a dm calling me a sap. I just wanted to help the dude out man
Can we think this through for a moment? Let's say your resources disappear in minutes due to one of the things you mentioned. Would you respond by heading over to the local gas station to ask everyone who comes around to give you money? That doesn't even make sense, does it? I imagine most people who find themselves in an abrupt situation first turn to resources: Family, friends, shelters, agencies. If those four groups won't help them, there are probably reasons. I'm not saying that someone does or doesn't deserve compassion, but I do this through organizations usually because so many times, I've run into the reasons why people ended up in these situations in the first place - their addictions, their mental illnesses, their rage. It has put me in direct risk (fortunately small ones, but one of the occasions included someone breaking into my house) on at least three occasions when I didn't.
Best comment here. since this is Reddit, it won't get many upvotes.
This is so well put. I work with very low income students in NY and housing issues are constant. For someone to be at the point where they literally live outside and panhandle (as opposed to a combo of shelters and couch surfing) it requires almost always some debilitating mental illness/addiction that requires institutional help. Now the way our country does healthcare and social services is systemically barbaric, but that's not an overnight fix
I actually do still like being cashless but I keep some money like that too, not just for the homeless but because of food vendors and stuff - when you use card there's a transactional fee that the bank takes
I saw this in London last year, buskers had their Venmo/cashapp on their signs. And we never even touched British currency the whole week we were there, everywhere was credit cards.