This is becoming more common in my town. I just either feel like an ass saying I dont have cash, or lying, but I also can’t be giving out 20’s to everyone who asks.

I feel bad for most of them but at the same time I get anxiety walking down the sidewalk and seeing someone up ahead that I know is going to ask me for money. Its not like you can say “oh no, I donate to services that help the needy” because that person isn’t necessarily being helped by that. And ignoring completely feels so mean, plus I tried that one time and the person was screaming at me as i walked away that I ignored them.

I also dont want my city to round them up and send them to prison camps, something they are planning and that I know a lot of people would vote for just to “get rid of them” but im not supporting that at all.

Its tough.

  • DJKJuicy@sh.itjust.works
    131·
    17 hours ago

    When I was younger a person who I admired said:

    “I always carry some extra money in my wallet for when someone needy asks. It’s not my place to decide if this person needs help or not. Maybe they will use the money for drugs, maybe they need the money for clothes for their children. When I die and get to the pearly gates, I don’t want to find out that I had the opportunity to help someone who needed help and I didn’t help them because I assumed they would spend the money on drugs. Maybe they will spend the money on drugs, but that’s not for me to know right now.”

    I thought that was some of the most noble shit my early 20’s ass had ever heard.

    Fast-forward a few years to me and my new wife honeymooning in…San Francisco. My noble naive ass brought a wallet full of cash with me so I could help people in need. Nothing terrible happened, but I soon ran out of cash and we decided to start handing out food. NOBODY WANTED THE FOOD. They just wanted the money. I would offer food, and they would just say “do you have any money?”

    Anyway, nowadays I just say “sorry bro, I don’t carry cash”.

    • kuhli@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      4·
      13 hours ago

      To be somewhat optimistic, in my experience going out to help homeless people, everyone gives food but there’s a lot of other stuff people need. Toothpaste, hand sanitizer, blankets, clothes, etc. are a lot harder to get. There’s also people who live in storage units and need money to cover that. And yeah, theres a lpt of people who just want to buy drugs, but tbh so would I if I had to deal with what they do.

      If I were to become homeless, I wouldn’t be worried about finding food, I know where to go to get that, I’d be worried about everything else. Not wanting food doesn’t mean they don’t need help