Absolutely. And this idea that people should live up to some sort of predetermined standard you have is really uncool - there is no standard for if people should be allowed to be alive.

You shouldn’t give anything because you expect a result, you should give because it’s a basic human value to nurture other souls and foster community.

If you‘re worried about giving them money (which i think is totally valid btw, you work hard for your money and wanting your attempt at help not to wind up hurting someone, or even buying the hit that kills them, is a valid concern) invest in mcdonald’s gift cards. mcdonald’s are everywhere, they can get a hot meal, and the cards can’t be redeemed for cash.

Nope.

Not good enough.

McDonald’s doesn’t cover the cost of entry for a homeless shelter. McDonald’s doesn’t pay medical bills. McDonald’s also doesn’t pay for the drugs that often keep people alive on the street.

Here’s a fun fact about using drugs when you’re sleeping rough: a $10 hit of pretty much anything can keep you feeling warm, keep you awake through the night when you’d otherwise be vulnerable to violence, keep you from feeling hungry for up to days at a time, and keep you from /dying as a result of withdrawal/.

Your moralistic approach to providing people support benefits no one but you.

I’m pretty sure the legit homeless shelters in the UK are free? Which is why some people don’t feel comfortable giving cash to homeless people who say they need money to stay in one overnight - they perceive it to be a lie and the person actually wants it to go buy alcohol/drugs - and the bulk of the world outside of tumblr isn’t comfortable with that idea.

Really the thought that homeless people are having to pay to stay in shelters is fucking horrifying. How can it be justified? How do you turn round to someone living rough and say “well I know you’re in a shit situation but go beg $x and I’ll let you stay in this accommodation that is specifically meant to help you”?

Well Bethan, as long as you’re 100% sure that all shelters are free and all their services are free too, let’s talk about accessibility. Are they full? Are they near capacity? What’s the quality of life in there? Do people need to fear having their belongings stolen or getting sexually assaulted? Are the staff friendly and skilled? Are people of all ethnicities truly welcome? What about people who are disabled or mentally ill? What about trans people?
Even assuming that somehow all currently homeless people in Great Britain have access to a free shelter that is more welcoming than sleeping rough, there might still be expenses. I don’t wanna assume how you live your life but I’m guessing you spend money on more things than food and basic shelter? What about clothes? Using the laundromat? Using public transport? And what about people who are addicts suffering from withdrawal or self-medicating their chronic pain or mental illness?
Bottom line is, you only need logical thinking and empathy to realise that homeless people need money and it’s none of your fucking business what they spend it on.

In my opinion, if you’re giving money to someone, it should be so they can lead a better life. If you’re not sure giving them money will lead to that, I don’t see the point in doing it. Just ask them what they need; if they need shelter and you don’t trust that they’ll spend your money on it when they say they will, I guess you could walk them to wherever they need to get a place to stay? Or walk them to a grocery store and let them choose what to get. I guess along the way you’d get to know them better and then decide if you can trust them to use your money wisely and lend them an actual sum. (if you wanna be extra and all and you pass by that person regularly, I don’t see a reason why you couldn’t take them for a 5 minute shopping trip each day ;) ) It might be a good idea to check up on the quality of your area’s homeless shelters! Maybe they just don’t know about them? This is just me shooting out ideas though XD (Just buying them a Happy meal or even throwing them change is still amazing though! You see so many people get passed by hundreds of others before even getting glanced at 😟)

Okay but the thing is, not all of them are going to be able to have a better life.  It’s not a great situation, but honestly?  Some of these people are never not going to be drug addicts.  Some of them are never not going to be homeless.  Like, yeah, ideally all of them will be able to get help and find a better life, but it’s not a given. 

Does that mean they don’t deserve to have a less shitty time of it?  If them using the money I give them to use drugs helps them get through the day means they don’t have to go to the hospital for withdrawal symptoms, then let ‘em use that money on drugs!

I think the problem is that when you only give when you’re sure they’re going to “lead to a better life”, you make yourself a moral gatekeeper of what people deserve help and what help they deserve.  And honestly I think that mindset is unkind, unhelpful, and ultimately harmful both to you and the people who need help.

I’m gonna share a quote from Sports Night that in its essence entirely encapsulates the way I approach helping out homeless folks, especially the ones that I think (in my OBVIOUSLY flawless wisdom (I”m being sarcastic)) are going to use that money on drugs or booze or otherwise not working towards “a better life”.

Isaac: Danny, every morning I leave an acre and a half of the most beautiful property in New Canaan, get on a train and come to work in a fifty-four story glass high rise. In between I step over bodies to get here - 20, 30, 50 of ‘em a day. So, as I’m stepping over them I reach into my pocket and give them whatever I’ve got.

Dan: You’re not afraid they’re gonna spend it on booze?

Isaac: I’m hoping they’re going to spend it on booze. Look, Dan, these people, most of ‘em, it’s not like they’re one hot meal away from turning it around. For most of ‘em the clock’s pretty much run out. You’ll be home soon enough. What’s wrong with giving them a little novocaine to get ‘em through the night?

It’s not my place to judge whether or not these homeless folks I give money to are “lost causes”, or whether they’re one hot meal from turning it around, or whether they’re somewhere in between.  It’s not for me to judge how they get through the night without dying or giving up.  I just want to help them get through it, maybe a little easier than they would have without me.

Help everyone, not just the people you deem “acceptable” in whatever way you judge, because everyone deserves that basic human compassion, and no one should go hungry or cold when we have the resources to help them.  It’s not on you individually to feed and clothe and house every homeless person (though I think we should all be working towards getting our society to do that), but giving them a $5 bill is more likely to be of actual concrete help than pre-purchased food that you don’t even know they want or need or may be unable to eat due to dietary restrictions, or a gift card that they may not be able to use.

Walking them to the grocery store might not be something they’re willing to do.  They may not have a place to store groceries.  They may need actual cash money for something like a doctor’s visit or a prescription or a bus ticket.  They may know exactly where the shelters are and they may be unable or unwilling to use them for whatever reason.  Or they may use them but still need money for lunch, or to get clothes for a job interview, or any number of things that they probably wouldn’t be willing to go with you to the grocery store so you can get to know them on the off chance you’ll give them money when they can stay put and possibly get MORE money and not have to deal with you interrogating them.  Or they might want it for booze or drugs and you know what, that’s not your job to judge.

Also, not everyone has the time or energy or frankly MONEY to walk someone to the grocery store to get them food or w/e.  I give a dollar here and there when I, a person who literally is below the poverty line, have it on me and see someone who needs help.  I”m usually driving past them on the road.  I don’t have time to stop and talk, I don’t have the money to take them shopping, but I can give them a dollar.  And that is HELPING THEM.  

Not to mention, I’ve lived on “here you can spend X money on Y items and only those, and Z money on A items and only THOSE, and we’ll require receipts so we know you’re not spending it on anything we don’t approve of” and you know what FUCK THAT, because it’s humiliating, demeaning, and ALWAYS comes with an air of “we don’t trust you to make your own decisions so we’re not going to LET you make your own decisions, because even though you’re an adult you’re clearly a failure, so you don’t have the right to be self-determining anymore”.  That’s the underlying message your refusal to help people unless you think they’re “worthy” sends.  Yes, even if you ultimately help them.

Essentially, giving to the homeless or needy should be what you can spare, when you can spare it, without judgement or strings attached. That’s the philosophy I run on, and I think other people should too.

sorry for the re-reblog but: In my opinion, if you’re giving money to someone, it should be so they can lead a better life. If you’re not sure giving them money will lead to that, I don’t see the point in doing it.

IMO this is essentially ascribing to the idea that giving should make you feel good. You should give because someone needs help. You should give because it’s the right thing to do. Your feelings should have nothing to do with it, because it’s not about your feelings.

Just because someone may not put your money towards a “better” life doesn’t mean that your giving is “pointless”. You still helped someone. You still impacted their life. Sure, they may not use it for what they say they need it for, or what you think they should use it on, but being poor sucks, being homeless even moreso, and you helping them made that less sucky, even if just for as long as it takes for their high to wear off.  

If you don’t see the point in helping a person relieve their pain, even in a temporary and potentially long-term-harmful way, but you’re not willing to take that person in and devote yourself to helping them get a job and get clean and find a house and all that shit, then I don’t know what to tell you, because even if they want a better life, you buying them groceries one time is not going to turn their lives around, because poverty and homelessness is more complicated and systemic than that. 

And if you don’t see the POINT in helping someone as much as you can even if your help might not actually change their long-term situation in any way, then it’s clearly more about you feeling good than actually helping a person.

Help people because they need help, not because you want to feel good about having helped them.

No one is ever going to be able to lead a better life if they are dead.

#classism#you fucking asshole#also#for the record#withdrawal CAN AND WILL KILL YOU#even alcohol#it’s incredibly dangerous to go cold turkey on a serious alcohol addiction#so if someone is ‘just’ spending money on alcohol and drugs#that very well may be what they need to survive right now

Alcohol is actually one of the MOST dangerous drugs to withdrawal from.