Do you know anybody that is homeless?

[Stadpad]

My brother has been homeless for years now and my sister is now too. so this is a big deal to me seeing how i live in a house that the government pays for (military) and i feel very fortunate to be where i am. ive given lots of money and food to help them out over the years but thats all i can do. now that i live in charleston i see lots of homeless people walking around town. here is a story of a recent encounter i had.....


After the 10k race this past week i was walking back to the bridge and i saw a homeless guy that ive given money to in the past, and he started talking about his life and how he is about ready to give up. his mom died recently, medical problems and other things are ruining his life. so we walked over to a nearby gas station and i gave him $40 so he could eat and i went on my way across the bridge to get my car. i was about to head to the sullivans island beach but i turned around and went back to charleston, parked the car and walked around for an hour until i found him again and offered to bring him to the beach. so we headed to the beach so he could get a change of scenery and hopefully get a different outlook on life. after the beach i drove him to the house he grew up in. which is in mt pleasant. he said he was staying at someones house in charleston for $10 a day, he used $30 of the money i gave him to pay off previous days he has stayed there. so i gave him $20 more so he could sleep there for two more days. even if he gained a little bit of hope in life it would have been worth it. homelessness is everywhere and it cant be ignored, it may be out of our comfort zone to help them but a little help goes a long way.

 

[Tk_mkv1]

as i was growing up in istanbul, my dad,his friend and i, we used to go to grocery store and load up then deliver the goods to one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. granted it was over 10 years ago, its kind of a once a month thing on saturdays.

also theres this guy that I'm kinda friends with who lives in NY now, he was homeless for a while, he also ran away from home, because his mom was crazy. he slept in underground garages for prob like 4 months, now he lives in some bad area in brooklyn, going to school getting himself straight. his mom used to be best friends with my mom, now they no longer talk, she was a very complicated woman and i can totally understand why he ran away.

 

[GTIJenn1]

Your giving heart (and life experiences) are inspiring. Homeless people used to instill a strange fear in me when I was younger. I grew up with a life or privilege but my parents never let me take it for granted. We went to the missions downtown Tulsa in St. Louis on Christmas morning and made breakfast for the homeless before we were allowed to open our presents.

When we traveled to other cities, my father would drive to through low income areas intentionally to my sister and I always remembered that no matter where in the world you are, there are always people you are extraordinarily less fortunate that we are. I thank my parents for those times now, though I hated it then. The homeless used to scare me because they seemed like monsters to me. These grimy people that lived under bridges and smelled terrible, etc. Sure, it was a hyperbole, but that's what my young mind thought. I was always polite, I was always cordial with the homeless, but it's easy to get back in you MK6, walk in you nice warm house, lay in your bed with a pillow under you head and forget about them. But that changed for me one day when I was in inner-city STL with a small group of friends and a homeless man simply walked up to me. He didn't say a word, but just stood there. I was bundled up in a scarf and hat, drinking Starbucks and about to get into my girl friend's mom's Acura.

I asked him what he wanted, and all he said was a handshake. It caught me so off guard that I asked him to repeat himself. And that's really all he wanted. Not my money or anything. He told me no one has shook his hand since he lost is job as a big time lawyer. Kind of a light bulb for me. The homeless are people just like any of us.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some bleeding heart liberal, but I keep a gallon sized Zip-Lock bag in my car with a large t-shirt, peanut butter crackers, travel sized toothpaste, a pair of socks and a couple of other non-perishable snacks in case I run up on someone down on their luck.

It's the least I can do, after all.

 

[adolan21]

Best friend of 12 years went super religious after doing gay porn. He took a bus to a religious camp in Texas and I didn't hear from him for 2 years. Randomly showed up at my house after 2 years of not seeing him. When he left for Texas, he was 5'10" and 170 lbs when he came back he was 120 lbs. I gave him all the food I had and he couldn't even eat. What bothers me the most is that nobody in his family cares about him. I gave him a place to stay even though his mind was lost and fractured (he scared me a bit). Woke up the next day and he was gone. That was 2 months ago. I wonder where he is from time to time and miss the fact that he was my best friend.

 

[Bozz]

I have helped someone I know, who became homeless and was drug addict. Being a drug addict kind of led them to being homeless/jobless. It's hard to help them when they are a drug addict, but I have anyway. You feel like you are enabling them.

Now, I have not seem him in a while.

 

[rawbdog]

My uncle is schizophrenic and he has been all over the place in so cal since he was 18. And he's in his late 50s now. It is very difficult to see him refuse our help when we reach out to him. At least you know you helped that guy out and possibly gave home a little hope to keep chuggin along.

 

[nvturbo]

To be honest I am skeptical about giving money to homeless people. I know some of them are not homeless and just want to take advantage of other's generosity.

Last Friday, I stopped by a convenience store near my workplace to grab a soda. As I was walking back to the car a guy stopped me asking if I could spare some change. Usually, I would just tell them I don't have any and walk off. I gave him a $10 bill and told him to have a good day. It's not much but when giving money to strangers like that, I always hope they do what they ask...instead of buying alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs.

 

[Calvinball]

To be honest I am skeptical about giving money to homeless people. I know some of them are not homeless and just want to take advantage of other's generosity.

Don't feel bad about this, because you are right.

One trick I use to determine if someone truly is homeless or not. Look at their pants/shoes. Pants especially. They don't last more than 2-3 days on the street without looking dirty. If someone has clean pants on and clean shoes in good repair, definitely feel skeptical and approach the situation accordingly.

There are people out there who truly need help, then there are those like the guy who has claimed one intersection on my drive home. Kinda berates people who don't give him anything, but always has clean clothes and I'll catch him turning his back to the cars to check a smart phone.

It's a good thing to help those in need, but you do need to be careful about it. Just like contributing to charities.

 

[Do Work Son]

I dislike when someone asks me for cigarettes then asks for money for food.

 

[D Griff]

My brother has been homeless for years now and my sister is now too. so this is a big deal to me seeing how i live in a house that the government pays for (military) and i feel very fortunate to be where i am. ive given lots of money and food to help them out over the years but thats all i can do. now that i live in charleston i see lots of homeless people walking around town. here is a story of a recent encounter i had.....


After the 10k race this past week i was walking back to the bridge and i saw a homeless guy that ive given money to in the past, and he started talking about his life and how he is about ready to give up. his mom died recently, medical problems and other things are ruining his life. so we walked over to a nearby gas station and i gave him $40 so he could eat and i went on my way across the bridge to get my car. i was about to head to the sullivans island beach but i turned around and went back to charleston, parked the car and walked around for an hour until i found him again and offered to bring him to the beach. so we headed to the beach so he could get a change of scenery and hopefully get a different outlook on life. after the beach i drove him to the house he grew up in. which is in mt pleasant. he said he was staying at someones house in charleston for $10 a day, he used $30 of the money i gave him to pay off previous days he has stayed there. so i gave him $20 more so he could sleep there for two more days. even if he gained a little bit of hope in life it would have been worth it. homelessness is everywhere and it cant be ignored, it may be out of our comfort zone to help them but a little help goes a long way.

Wow man, that's really generous.

I sometimes throw homeless people a little something but I have mixed feelings about it for obvious reasons. My brother has been homeless before so I feel for them a lot, but I also know that when he was, it was basically drug use that brought him to that point. Even so, drug addicts deserve food and shelter and such too, but giving them cash probably isn't a great way to achieve that. I like Jenn's idea of keeping some basic stuff for them in the car like snacks, I think I might do that.

 

[Merkle]

My father was most likely homeless for a number of years, also due to drug addiction. I give what I can to local charities to help out.

 

[PrayforMojo]

I answered the poll incorrectly, I thought it was whether or not you've helped a homeless person you know.

 

[Desert MVIGTI]

+1 on GTI Jenn's ziploc bag o'necessities.

Southern California is home to many professional vagrants, because, most of the year, it's a good place to be outside. There was a dude who worked out at my gym....Golds...then showered there, walked down the street and slept in the shade next to his shopping cart. He openly scoffed at the idea of "going on the grid" and getting a job. Serious. A professional homeless dude....had some pipes on him!

Sometimes I'm just too effin busy to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Obviously, many of these folks have serious mental health issues, and while public assistance should have its limits..., a dude wandering the streets in rags screaming randomly at cars, people and dogs......damn man. I have no idea whether someone has repeatedly tried to help this person and he has rejected the help, or whether society has just left this dude to the wolves.

On the other hand, there seems to be some sort of "union" governing who can man the homeless "post" at the Palm Springs downtown post office. There can be only one.....no more. And that person rotates. It is clearly orchestrated. Anyway, I often bring a 1/2 a sammy or something for the man/woman on the post office rotation.

I always reject pleas for cash at gas stations. Those are almost always targeted scams.

 

[nvturbo]

.......... Kinda berates people who don't give him anything, but always has clean clothes and I'll catch him turning his back to the cars to check a smart phone.

haha...funny that you mentioned that. About a year ago, I exited off the highway and was waiting in traffic at the exit ramp and noticed a panhandler on the left side. He walked up and down the ramp with his "HOMELESS, NEED HELP" cardboard sign. As I was about to pass by him to make a right turn, mofo takes out his cell phone to look at it. How pathetic is that?!

 

[Stadpad]

haha...funny that you mentioned that. About a year ago, I exited off the highway and was waiting in traffic at the exit ramp and noticed a panhandler on the left side. He walked up and down the ramp with his "HOMELESS, NEED HELP" cardboard sign. As I was about to pass by him to make a right turn, mofo takes out his cell phone to look at it. How pathetic is that?!

huh? homeless people can have things too. my brother finally has a good job now after many years of going from job to job, he also has a beat up car and a labtop, and a cell phone. he might not be spending his money wisely. now that he has a job he still cant afford a place to live.
not every homeless person lives out of a shopping cart, they are in different stages of their lives and everyone is different. i dont care what they use the money for that i give them, i can spend money foolishly too.