Helping Bums

[Frankie the Fink]

Well - I have actually seen street people with a sign asking for a job/work - more than once but its far from commonplace.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Well - I have actually seen street people with a sign asking for a job/work - more than once but its far from commonplace.

I had Zeek's same experience here in Fresno about 15 years ago. Stopped and offered a guy work at $15 per hour to help me frame a garage and he had zero interest in actual work. 99% of those bums are just that, bums. Druggers and drunks. Not 'homeless' people that simply fell on hard times.

[Torqaholic]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Well - I have actually seen street people with a sign asking for a job/work - more than once but its far from commonplace.

I saw a few of those around here 40 years ago. No homeless or beggars though.

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by Moond0ggie

So , you're walking into a 7-Eleven or a gas station ,
and you see a filthy old dude with a bike & his shopping cart full of shit ,

He doesnt ask you for anything & when you come out of the store ,
do you offer him anything , a $1 or $5 bill ?

Nope.

Explain your view .....

He'll only use the money for drugs or alcohol.

The kind of help a guy like that needs is not something I'm qualified to dispense.

[snide]

Originally Posted by Ronins2ndCuzzin

The one's that rub me raw are the ones that say homeless vet, need money (or whatever). They're NOT veterans is most cases. There are specific programs that exist for that very reason. There should never be a homeless vet...and people who have actually served know where to go.

My brother-in-law is a veteran, and he is "homeless". Because he wants to be.

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by snide

My brother-in-law is a veteran, and he is "homeless". Because he wants to be.

I don't believe for one moment that anyone wants to be homeless. It may be he best of the available options at a given time, but no little Bobby ever said "Homeless Man" when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

[Stangkiller]

Nope never, if they need help they can go to the shelters around here, the ones that have rules against drug use and stuff. If i give them cash they're likely going to go buy booze or drugs. I watched a bum get handed a banana on the side of the road, he gave the driver a nasty look turned around picked up his jacket (which was covering a bunch of food) dropped the banana and went back to begging for money.

[Moond0ggie]

Thanks for the responses ,

I am not a proponent of giving out money to the homeless , there are times like others have mentioned ,
when you see an older person that truly looks in distress, but does not ask for anything & I feel like helping
with a couple bucks or a $5.

Originally Posted by aerovette

Odds of giving money to someone that didn't ask - 90%
Odds of giving money to someone that did ask - 0%

Thats my policy also , I like to give a little something to mostly the older dudes that look like they had a hard life ,
but I prefer it to be my idea to help & not be in response to a well played out daily plea for drinking money .

[AUTOHOLIC]

Around here there is a help wanted sign in EVERY convenience store these people are set up near. Nearly All of them that I see clearly have not missed any meals.

I like to know my charity gets to where I want it to.

I never donate to the big charities that are top heavy with overpaid executives either. My ex-wife and I would contact the local police each year at Christmas time to find a truly deserving family, get the details to buy the kids proper sized clothing, a toy, and a food package for a good holiday meal.
We also knew a single mother with two kids that lived in an old trailer and cleaned houses for a living and living hand to mouth. After talking with her we found out that her kids had never been on any kind of vacation. We bought tickets for Disneyland, hotel room, and cash for gas and spending money. We put all in an envelope and stuck it in her door. The next day she came to our house to ask if we had done this which we denied. As she left with tears in her eyes as she said “ I know it was you, thank you so much you don’t know what it means to me.”

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

I don't believe for one moment that anyone wants to be homeless. It may be he best of the available options at a given time, but no little Bobby ever said "Homeless Man" when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

I've worked at missions and other places, and of course if someone had a free place where they could do what they wanted without interference, they would choose that over the street.

The first sign of any responsibility (pay a part of rent, don't break the law, keep it neat), they bail. Like any Freudian human, they want the best outcome from the least effort. Problem is their target effort level is Zero.

[Torqaholic]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

... no little Bobby ever said "Homeless Man" when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

I considered it. There was a hobo jungle near the railroad tracks when I was a kid. Camping out in the woods and riding around the country on trains looked like it might be a lot of fun.

[Anjdog2003]

When i see a guy with a sign that says Disabled homeless Vet i usually ask his MOS which they don't know. And then tell him the VA has programs for homeless Disabled Vets and take some pride. I don't help them.

[Unsuspicious]

Originally Posted by Anjdog2003

When i see a guy with a sign that says Disabled homeless Vet i usually ask his MOS which they don't know. And then tell him the VA has programs for homeless Disabled Vets and take some pride. I don't help them.

What do you ask them to verify they're even homeless

[Anjdog2003]

Originally Posted by Unsuspicious

What do you ask them to verify they're even homeless

I ask them nothing they're already telling me they're homeless. I don't sit around ands listen to excuses.

[Torqaholic]

Originally Posted by Anjdog2003

When i see a guy with a sign that says Disabled homeless Vet i usually ask his MOS which they don't know...

I had to look that up. It's not a term I ever heard used when I served.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...de#Coast_Guard

The United States Coast Guard does not use the military occupational specialty concept either, instead dividing their occupational specialties into groups such as aviation, administrative and scientific, deck and weapons, and engineering and hull. Their rating system is very similar to the US Navy (e.g., BM, boatswain's mate).

[Allan]

Originally Posted by Dan47

I had a couple with a kid ask for gas money and I gave them it because of the kid. That was many years ago.

Nowadays, bumming has become a business for some folks. Closer you get to Omaha, the more corners containing beggars. Lots of them are younger than me and I have a friend that owns a tree business offer one of them work once, which they quickly refused. Hell no, not a penny.

I got into it with a friend at a new year party. Dude is retired army, retired V.A. and 100% disability pension recipient. Said there are people in need in the world and he was glad the government was there to help them.

I asked how the government got the money to help and that’s when things started getting tense. Dude has never had a job that provides the “help” he’s grateful for and he’s been a dawn till dusk, pothead since retiring. Completely clueless, liberal tard.

Easy to be generous with someone else’s time and effort, especially when there’s a paycheck in it for you.

Was he a helicopter pilot?

[Frankie the Fink]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

I've worked at missions and other places, and of course if someone had a free place where they could do what they wanted without interference, they would choose that over the street.

The first sign of any responsibility (pay a part of rent, don't break the law, keep it neat), they bail. Like any Freudian human, they want the best outcome from the least effort. Problem is their target effort level is Zero.

There was a homeless fella that was a fixture years ago in Chesapeake VA and he had a middle class sister who had converted her garage to a room for him. He would have none of it....when complaints piled up she'd drag him home and clean him up and within a few days he was back, living on the street.

So, yes there are homeless people who refuse lodging that's available, but yeah, its prob an indication of a mental issue.

When I would leave work in Chinatown Wash DC in the evening and some street person looked like they were approaching I'd glance in the adjacent office windows to see if the reflection looked like their pal was coming from behind.

You can't "carry" in the District, but, I was prepared to fight like the third monkey boarding Noah's Ark and it is starting to rain.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by snide

My brother-in-law is a veteran, and he is "homeless". Because he wants to be.

Originally Posted by dvarapala

I don't believe for one moment that anyone wants to be homeless. It may be he best of the available options at a given time, but no little Bobby ever said "Homeless Man" when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

The want is not necessarily the homelessness, the want is drugs and/or alcohol. And the want is to not work.

There is help available for people. Most homeless people don't want the help because it usually requires the person be sober.

[Ronins2ndCuzzin]

Originally Posted by snide

My brother-in-law is a veteran, and he is "homeless". Because he wants to be.

Your sister still stays married to him?

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

Here in the US we no longer have a safety net, because it has turned into a hammock. The guy has an apartment nearby where he picks up his monthly SSDI check and his EBT cards. Any extra dough that he gets goes to more booze and drugs, and he could forget his address and his login name to his benefit website.

That's exactly why I don't give anything to bums.