Do you give to people begging in town ?

My late husband, lovely lovely man, was a police officer, he pointed out to me the signs of " scammer beggars in the street". Most popular is a dog, they use the dog to tug at peoples hearts, let's face it, keeping a dog is not cheap these days, always look at their feet, shoes with no laces, deliberately removed, and no socks or gloves on a cold day, I could go on, there are genuine beggars, but few and far between. Being in the police force he encountered and recognised a lot of these so called beggars being brought into the station late at night after causing trouble at the local A&E.

I just feel the need to put the 'real' parts of the visuals that people quickly...sometimes rightly...sometimes wrongly...make judgements on as they decide whether to give to people.
I certainly don't know the answer to this.
I sometimes feel that we are solely lacking in services to help mental health...in fact, I know we are!
However, the difficulty is compounded when some, like my son, fall at hurdle after hurdle...
I take my hat off to those that work in the homeless shelters etc.
Having one personal experience of this is awful. How people who work in these environments switch off to some of the homelessness' life stories is beyond me.
On my son's behalf...as a family; we thank them all for the difficult job that they do. x

Sickofweddingcake not everyone judges negatively. I have someone in my extended family too. Most people can hopefully think a bit more deeply about how this may have happened and why, as with many situations. It doesn't even take that much imagination, does it? lots of love x

Thankyou for sharing that with us sickofweddingcake I cant begin to imagine the pain that must cause .

No I have never done this. We have a local man who has been around for years & sits on the pavement on fine days.
People buy him coffee & food & as far as I know he is not on any drugs etc. but likes to live alone. I know he goes missing in the winter & apparently he will then go into a shelter.
Very sad really.

It breaks my heart to read some of the 'judgy' comments on here. I fully understand people's differing opinions, but how can any of us know what is right and when is it right to give handouts to homeless people?
There are so many different...and sometimes heartbreaking stories amongst the homeless.

My son is amongst these!
He chose to abuse drugs, which led to a diagnosis of psychosis.
He is now in a hostel... He is soooooo loved by his family. He has diagnosed Bi polar, ADHD and more. He just seems to 'operate' in a differently wired world in his head to his sisters.
We are all professional people.
If we leave him to his own devices... he falls into difficult and scary company.
He doesn't see danger.
Everybody is his friend...until his benefits run out!
We, as a family, chip in to give him a roof over his head, at the hostel.
He is too difficult to have at home...for many reasons.
As his mum, I see him as a lost little boy... (he is 24)...
He thinks his life is ok.
My heart breaks for him as he refuses mental health support. This fits in with his delusions of grandeur.
We are at our wits end trying to help him to make better life choices.
He breaks our hearts... my beautiful boy!

No.

We have them on our local shopping street too and they are known drug addicts/alcoholics and are very abusive.

No as our city centre has collection boxes that donations of money can be put in. These are then distributed where needed

No, I don't give to beggars on the street.

You are right in offering food and a drink, and if they are genuine enough they will accept it. But to get abuse like that - that is terrible. Poor you.

Once, in South Africa, a young boy was sleeping near the entrance of the place that I used to work. When he woke up I gave him the contents of my lunch bag. He was so grateful. It was the first and last time I ever did that. Most kids wanted money to buy glue to sniff, to forget about their situation. But that child was really glad to get a meal that day.

That was the first and last time I fed anyone off the street. But no, I don't give money.

No I don’t, I think it is very difficult to decide if they are genuinely in need or not. There are so many fraudsters out there and this makes me very suspicious. I never buy The Big Issue either for the same reasons.

It's almost impossible to second guess the circumstances of the people asking for money.
Most of us have had the potential to be homeless at some stage.
Social housing is non existent and the benefit system no longer a safety net for those in genuine need.
I worked for the CAB and heard heartbreaking and genuine stories of those who had been homeless but managed to get on their feet again.
Organised gangs of beggars are rife in my area.
The big issue is a better option if you want to support someone although like in other areas some abuse it.
A good friend got to know a local beggar very well. He had a dog and those who gave to him often seemed those who could least afford it. He had a flat and a heroin habit.
Even in my seaside town there is a well organised homeless charity, several in fact. You can phone a hot line to express concern about someone. Another charity organises packages of basics such as toiletries and basic clothing.
Provision for the vulnerable with addictions/ mental illness has reached Dickensian levels.
For those who genuinely want to help giving that money to charities who know what is needed and who by is probably the most effective thing you can do.

Wow - having read the entire thread - I cannot believe some of the holier than thou crap going down in here. I really hope that those of you who have no sympathy end up homeless and/or suffering from addiction in the future - you have NO idea just how difficult this is. Someone who has an addiction cannot be helped until they are ready to seek help - obviously nobody should be rude if you offer food/drink but these people are at their wits' end. Those of you who think local homeless services can provide anything and everything in your area - you have no idea what you are talking about! There but for the grace of God go I...

I live in a city (Bristol) but never give to beggars anywhere else I visit - London being a prime example. In London there are gangs of beggars, often Eastern European, who are both agressive and clearly not genuine homeless people. One good thing of leaving the EU is Romanian criminals will no longer be able to come here easily - they are people traffickers, sex slavers, as well as operating begging gangs. I never give money to any foreigner who is begging - some may disagree with this but I feel that they should not come to another country to beg on the streets. I have no issue with immigrants who come here for legitimate work but the "free movement of labour" policy of the EU has led to untold suffering for the poor people who are exploited by Eastern European people traffickers.

Locally, I do give small amounts of money to beggars (usually £1 or so) - we live in a nice area where aggressive begging is not tolerated so we tend to get to know our local beggars and their situations. Yes I know it is likely they will spend it on drugs or drink but, as my husband joked, the same thing we would spend it on. There are of course support services for local homeless people - however the free hostels are not always safe, particularly for women, and of course people suffering with addiction cannot be helped until they are ready to seek help. There are a number of places in our city that provide food - although this has become far more complicated during covid. We have a Streetlife team where someone can report a homeless person and where they have seen them, and a team will come to visit them to see what help they can offer.

People in our local area are fantastic - they do not just ignore our few local beggars but engage them in conversation and do their best to provide what is needed, for example a sleeping bag or clothes. I've been homeless in a foreign country in the past (The Netherlands back in the 90s whilst on a working holiday) so I do have sympathy for people in this situation - whatever the reasons for it. We were illegally camping in a wooded area near a major road - occasionally the police would wake us up in the middle of the night by shining torches in our faces and tell us to move on in the morning. I will say we never begged in another country - I consider this disgusting to say the least. We called ourselves the Manic Bush Tribe and moved location every few days - I will say we were young (20s) and it was an adventure for us.

I apologised to a Big Issue seller one day for not having cash on me. He told me that he had a card reader! I didn't take him up on that!

No
I’ve given dog food and offered drink and a sandwich. Some are polite some quite rude and one man near out Tesco express asked,
“How many b****y sandwiches am I supposed to eat?” I saw his point but I don’t do money.

We have one in our village, who gets dropped off by his wife and picked up when the shops shut. We also have a Big Issue seller who is dropped of by a man. He then goes to the neighbouring village to sell his Big Issue. Lots of these beggars are not homeless it is quite a lucrative business.

CraftyGranny, people have already pointed out on this thread that Big Issue sellers are not beggars. They are often people who’ve worked their way out of living on the streets, but still need a bit of help. They buy the magazines and sell at a profit, it’s a job. There is nothing wrong with them getting a lift to their pitch, it saves them having to use their small earnings on transport.

Aveline... I totally agree with you, too many of these people are fake beggars, so no I won't give to them personally, Instead I've been encouraged by the police to donate to the homeless project, where the money will go to those genuinely in need, so many of these beggars have more than the average population, they make a career out of it. It's disgusting.

Jaffacake2.. I don't give money anymore, we too have been told that there's enough space for homeless people to sleep in various shelters, and also there are a number of local churches where meals are available, our town provides food for these places at the end of each day, and various shops have a place for food donations from the public if they wish to contribute. I too have been asked for money and I have given it on this one occasion, but won't anymore, as these people sit and beg for most of the day, but as soon as 5 o'clock comes they all disappear to where ever they're lodging for the night. I do buy food and a warm drink if someone looks cold, but if I'm met with abuse, I remember the face and never bother again with that person. The majority of these people are career beggars and this is what our town is warned about, there are various shops that we can donate money to the homeless project so that money and goods are distributed fairly amongst the genuine cases, which is what's encouraged rather than giving money off the cuff. Some of these people are fakes, and good at what they do, so in all honesty it's best to avoid giving money. We also have a place that provides a room for those who want to help themselves get on the employment ladder, and become independent, as soon as this system gets abused, the person is out as they think its unfair to help someone who just wants free accommodation and food without wanting to work. It frees up space for those genuine people who wants to better their lives. Which is fair enough.

don't give money.you don't know whether they are real beggers or not.churches across the UK offer beds for the night and food .

No

No

I know most of you are English, so it may be a slightly different situation here in America. Where I live, the people who are begging stand out in the street at traffic intersections, getting donations from cars stopped for red lights. Most people just ignore them, sometimes a driver rolls down the window and gives a dollar or two. It must be very dangerous for them.

I go by one rule: if the person is obviously really disabled (usually a missing leg), I'll give them something. Otherwise, I don't. A lot of them are probably drug addicts. I always have mixed feelings about it.

Spot on with your answer there

I don’t give money, but sometimes ask if they want anything to eat. They all seem to have disappeared from my town since the first lockdown.

I do not visit town very often, but would not give money generally, but am happy to offer hot drink and sandwich if approached.