The important act is giving. If you think a dude on the side of the road needs $20 and you’ve got it to spare, there’s no downside to doing that. They may not use it how you like them to, but they will use it how they best can. Sometimes that’s food, sometimes that’s drugs, to keep them from actively offing themselves.

If you think a charity has a decent track record and can better use those funds to serve more people, donate it there. They’ll use it how they beat see fit, whether that’s food, shelter or enforcement of policies. It may not be how you want it used, but that’s okay.

Ultimately, give what you can, however you can. Once you’ve given the money, you can’t determine how it’s used, so be okay with your act of charity simply existing by itself, not in comparison to another hypothetical “best” act of charity.

Would I rather live in a world where sometimes people take advantage of kindness or a world where nobody helps anyone in need? I’ll take the former.

Once I saw a homeless guy begging outside of a sandwich shop, I was going in to buy lunch, so I ordered two sandwiches instead of one. I came out and offered the extra to him. He scoffed at me and refused it. So, I had a sandwich for lunch and I had a sandwich for dinner, and both were delicious.

Do you think the best way to help homeless people is to give them money directly, or donate it to organizations that help them? Not sure if there’s a right answer.

Your money will go further if you donate to a local charity or food bank. That being said, I’ll give money occasionally. It’s nice to let them know others do genuinely care about them and their plight. Usually I’ll talk to them first. If they’re not too pushy I’ll slip them enough for a couple of meals. Subway gift cards are a good way to go. There’s lots of them and you know your money will go towards food. Most importantly treat them with respect and dignity

In this world of digital payments, I don’t have cash on me. When I do, I give a little here and there and its usually met with thanks.

I wish there was an easier way give 50p or something digitally by tapping my card against a reader of theirs, but the setup cost and the chance of misuse is high

Depends on your priorities and goals.

Do you want to feel good momentarily for doing something good? Get some interpersonal gratitude? Then yes.

Do you want to reduce homelessness in your community? There are probably local projects for that, where your money will be used more effectively.

Do you want to be altruistic, helping people in need and want your money to be used as effectively as possible? Look into reputable charities (like Helen Keller Intl, preventing child blindness and death with Vitamin A is hella cost effective) or funds. I looked into the same thing some time ago and stumbled upon givewell.org. They evaluate charities based on a number of ratings and choose the most effective ones for their funds. Been donating through them monthly for a year now. Also, it is tax deductible so i get almost half of it back.

Yes, if you have the means.

I work with a mutual aid group that engages in street outreach. I experience a lot of different cases and pretty much all of them would be benefitted by having more money.

Some people have a job, but not a home, and are trying to get housed

Some people have a home, but not a job and are trying to stay housed

Some people have neither and are trying to stay alive

Some people have both, but are so underpaid for the area they are in and are trying to stay housed

Some people are migrants and it is 100% illegal for them to work in the US and their only source of aid is through asking the community

Not one of them enjoys the situation they are in nor has made an explicit choice to be or stay homeless.

A lot of people who panhandle stay in encampments. These provide a small community with a lot of support structures for those there. There’s often someone who knows how to cook anything with any source of heat, someone who knows how to treat wounds, someone who knows what each person in the camp needs, and someone who’s plugged into the broader community and can get things for those who can’t (not all food pantries or lines are accommodating for wheelchair users and those with mobility issues can have trouble waiting for hours for food or even getting there). My point being that even if your contribution doesn’t help the person asking directly, it likely helps someone they know.

And if you’re worried about the whole “they’ll just spend it on drugs” thing, I honestly wouldn’t. Among the people I work with maybe 1/3 of them use drugs and very very few use anything other than weed. Employed and housed people use weed to unwind, why is it so much more evil if you don’t have a house? And if you’re working with the 2/3 of people that don’t use drugs than it’s not really a concern. I do realize that those numbers might be vastly different in areas that were more harshly hit by opioid issues.

If you want to. It might help.

Yes.

Yes, they might use it for drugs or alcohol, that’s fine, it’s as important as food sometimes.

Non profits and charities are great in theory, but most redirect less than 10% of what they receive towards the homeless look at LA’s projects as the most glaring example, it “takes” 10 million+ per single housing unit for temporary housing. Not due to cost, but simply corruption at every level. From the non profits involved to the government itself.

Giving directly to the homeless skips all that.

Or to put it another way, you can’t fix the problem or treat symptoms by continuing to give money to the cause of the problem. Giving directly at least treats the symptom.

I personally do not, but I think it’s a personal decision. I have a background in working for homeless non-profits. If you have a desire to really help and be part of moving towards a solution, find a local group and donate and/or volunteer with them.

The reality of handing money to someone is at best it’s a band-aid, and more often you’re just buying that night’s substance of choice. No judgement there, if I was homeless and likely not receiving needed medical and mental health treatment, I’d be high and drunk as often as I could too. Hell, I’m high as often as I can be now. Nevertheless though, I feel comfortable choosing not to participate by handing money when asked and I don’t begrudge anyone who does.

I keep some cash in my pocket specifically in case I run across someone asking for money.

And then I live like a hermit, almost never going anywhere, so it’s rare that I actually have occasion to give in that way, but you know.

Also, in my experience, it’s not necessarily homeless people who need the money. I’ve seen people (claiming they’re) close to losing their housing who are hoping to raise enough money panhandling to make their rent this month.

Of course, if you are struggling financially, it’s definitely very reasonable to decline to give in that context. I suppose if anything feels “off” as well. (Though I wouldn’t want to bias folks in the direction of thinking that there may be any reason to be more suspicious of people in need than others.) But over all, I do think it’s something that can make a hugely, vitally positive change in someone’s basic wellbeing.

If you want to, yes. When I see them I try and buy them some food. I also give to the local charities which support them.

My opinion is no. They can then use it to buy drugs or alcohol, which is unfortunately likely.

Maybe you could donate to some homeless shelter?
Or maybe, you could try asking if you could buy them some food instead.