How to deal with homeless people

I can relate to an extent.

I used to be homeless during one very, very hot summer. And it was a pretty intense experience, mostly due to the heat, but people definitely treated me with much less respect and it was impossible for me to find work. The best part is that there were even a few homeless people that begged me for money, and I gave it to them, only to ride my bike through town at 4 AM to find them sifting through massive wads of cash.

I won't be giving homeless people money anymore. I don't even have money anymore to give. The things that The Spirit listed are definitely very important.

Some other things to be aware of.

Don't be discouraged if a homeless person politely refuses your offer of food or drink. What a lot of people who have never been homeless don't understand is that homeless people are aware of the huge anti homeless sentiment in this country, and as such, are wary that what appears to be an act of kindness from a stranger could actually be an attempt to bum bash them. Bum bashing is not just sick people who cruise around looking for homeless folks to beat up for no reason other than them being homeless; I have known a person who got strychnine poisoning after accepting food from a stranger.

Thus, I usually stay away from buying products to give out that could easily be tampered with. I usually carry sealed items with me that it would be obvious if it had been tampered with. Also, if I am approached for money these days, I will usually ask what it's for. If they tell me "food," I offer to buy food for them, anywhere they like within reason. No Chez Pierre, but if they want a sandwich from Panera, that's fine. Then they know it's fresh and hasn't been poisoned. I even knew a guy once whose dog was poisoned this way, by cruel people trying to drive off a few homeless people from their areas. The dog lived, but I bring this up because this sort of thing is a very real problem.

Jack Shadow wrote:

Does your local bus have tokens (instead of handing out actual cash)?

Not that I know of. The only type of bus pass that I know of expires like 3 hours after getting it. I'll look into it though.

Maybe I can hold off on handing out the packets. My main concern is winter is coming up and if they can get to the shelter by then, they wont freeze to death. PA winters can be pretty brutal

Strider: Good point about people not accepting food. I'd always just assumed it was admitting they were only looking to fund their next fix.

Zombie: You might keep an eye out for people once it starts getting cold. In a few cities, the police will give people rides to a shelter or somewhere warm. Call in anyone who looks like they're a night away from trouble. Or offer them a ride yourself.

Bridges wrote:

Strider: Good point about people not accepting food. I'd always just assumed it was admitting they were only looking to fund their next fix.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Let me say that I understand how ridiculous it sounds, people poisoning food on purpose and then handing it to the homeless. I never even considered such a thing as something that could happen to me when I was homeless, right up until I saw it happen to other people.

Something else to consider...Believe it or not, homeless people do still manage to pull together a modicum of pride despite their situation. Even though they are homeless, some homeless folks are not always ready to eagerly accept handouts. I know, you may be saying: "panhandling or flying a sign on a street median is asking for a handout." This isn't going to make a whole lot of sense at first brush, but that's different; homeless people see that as "work." It's how they get their money. Many homeless also go on "canning runs," collecting recycling material that they can also turn in for cash, and this is seen as "work," also. When I say work, I mean they see it in the same sense that you or I see our day jobs. As has been commented on, it is nearly impossible to find work when you're homeless. I only managed to get a job because I outright and blatantly lied on job applications to get them. Hey, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Anyway, back to the point I was going to make. Accepting food and things like that can also make the person feel sheepish and/or lazy. When they are telling you: "No, that's okay, I don't need that..." they could be thinking: "I can get my own, I can take care of myself..."

Don't get me wrong, here. It could very well be that someone's trying to run a scam down on you. There are many, many career beggars who are also homeless, but I find that offering real things that can help is better than giving money. I only bring these points up to give those here who have never been homeless some perspective on what it's like to be and/or what goes on inside the mind of a sane homeless person. Personally, I accepted food and blankets and such, but knew several people who did not, and it wasn't always because they were just after money for a beer or cigarettes.

Well... if you're out looking for homeless people to give supplies to... when you find them they aren't really looking for anything in particular...

Chef Boy-ar-dee has gone over pretty well for me lately. Pop top cans are convenient too.

I noticed the homeless in my area have been swiping a lot of those Dinty Moore and Chef Boyardee things this summer.

They're easy to pocket. And who doesn't like the chef?

Damn right.