h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Quite often I meet homeless people on the street, particularly in large cities, either selling "The Big Issue" or sitting down on hard, cold paving with only their dog for company and a duffle coat for warmth and comfort outside a vast commercial site. Usually my gut instinct says to buy their magazine, throw them a bit of loose change or give the dog a biscuit. However, at other times, when it comes to the crunch I might feign a guilty smile that says I can´t offer them anything today and peddle Shank´s pony speedily away out of guilt. I always hope a well-off, well-suited businessman will walk by them & pop them a note or two to lessen a pang of guilt for not trying to help out in some small way. Although, that can make me feel worse! As a result, the next homeless person I see, I´d buy their magazine or give them some money. (It´s particularly rough when they´re stationed every hundred yards along your route!). Although, I feel considerably better once I´ve helped them out.
Yet I am left wondering:
Am I selfish? Or a hypocrite? I hope not.
Should I be ashamed that I don´t help more people out?
Is it a civic duty to offer them help?
It can be particularly tough if you yourself are cash-strapped, but is that any excuse?

However, I seem to recall the U.K. government once stating that it doesn´t advise giving money to homeless people and instead you should offer money or assistence directly to homeless charities & shelters to be more effective.

It's a good idea to give the money to a charity, rather than a homeless person. It sounds harsh, but that way the money goes to those who really are in need.

The largest provider of social care in this country, outside of the government, is the Salvation Army.

Homelessness extends far beyond the expected boundaries, if you actually meet these people, talk to them, and listen to their stories you will hear enough tragedies to enable Dante to open another level.

Yes, there are drug addicts, yes, there are victims of abuse, yes there are 'care' in the community victims, yes there are alcholics, yes there are people who've been institutionalised by prison, or care homes. Then there are the well spoken middle-aged gentlemen who were in middle management and got made redundant unexpectedly and couldn't cope, and so lost everything. Then there's the lady in very good clothes, which she takes everywhere in a Tesco's trolley, whose husband left her for a younger woman, and who sought solace in a gin bottle.

Take the time to look beyond the outstretched hand, and talk to them, very often this is more useful than money, because by talking to them you bring them back into the human race. Money is not the answer really, we perceive it as such because the lack of it is our greatest fear. If you want to give money, then put something in the red shield envelope that comes through your door, or give something to the Salvation Army band when they're collecting.

For the homeless - give them your humanity.

I should perhaps add that I am a volunteer driver, and occasional helper in a local drop-in centre for the homeless.

I was reading the BI a while back, and there was the story of an ex-professor of maths, who became homeless after he lost his job...

...I buy it sometimes, and it's quite a good read!

Do you enjoy the driving and shelter work?

I'm afraid my experience of shelter (the charity) is of an organisation obsessed with junk mail. I regularly recieve three or four copies of the same begging letter because they've somehow got my details onto their database three or four times. I've contacted them a few times to get the duplicates off the database and to stop the unsolicited mail (I give when I can afford to and the money they spend on postage would be better spent elsewhere) and nothing has been done...I'm now reduced to returning their letters in their own prepaid envelopes in the hope that they will take me off their lists and I am seriously considering not donating to them again...and if I do it will be an anonymous cash gift.

I find myself at present living in what's referred to as the "granola bowl". 'Scuse me - don't mean to insult anyone - that's what people in this area call themselves. I love it! In a walk through the business area of "O - Village" I can see cute little kids in strollers, kids with green or purple hair, businessmen in suits and ties, little old ladies beautifully dressed, street artists, buskers with violins, guitars, trumpets, and homeless people. All summer I met the same squeegee kid on the same corner every night as I returned to the Village after work. We'd greet each other if I was stopped at the red light. He was a nice kid, understood that I only worked in a donut shop and barely supported myself, couldn't help him. Now that its turned colder, he isn't there, and I miss him. He was looking for a real job - and I hope he found one. There are alot of street kids in Winnipeg, for whatever reason. You often see them with signs - "homeless and pregnant", "heading for Vancouver, please help", etc.

My Church has a Wednesday muffin club - a group of women - in this unique Village, in a beautiful Church, get together every Wednesday morning, bake muffins, and hand them out with coffee to the needy, with a $5.00 voucher for groceries.

We're all, in our own ways trying to make a difference.

Enjoy ? Sometimes there are unexpected laughs, usually because one of us helpers does something stupid, but generally there is often a tense atmosphere. There are rules applied to the food and help. Noticably you don't get it if you're high or drunk. Most of the people know this and don't abuse the system, sometimes though some of the more desperate people do become violent or abusive.

I've never seen anybody hurt (beyond a push) but people are always talking about so & so who got punched, but because evryone knows the doors shut if any of the helpers are injured they are generally supportive. I guess that as in the rest of life, there are people who are just downright nasty amongst the homeless.

The problem is that when you're watching a young couple feeding a baby, in front of you, and you're breaking rules by giving them money or extra milk, or you're talking to some young kid with a skateboard who doesn't understand that his heroin habit is killing him, and who thinks he's going to get to some boarding championship, or you're chatting to an old man who's telling you about sailing the arctic convoys to Russia in the second world war, and how thats where he first tried vodka - then you feel totally inadequate.

So, no I don't enjoy it, and sometimes I am totally depressed by it, but I feel better about myself for it, and sometimes, just occasionally, someone you've got to know makes a step from the hostel to their own flat, or gets a job, or stops drinking - again. Then enjoy just don't touch it.

I always make a point of buying The Big Issue and my children won't allow me to walk past a begging homeless person without asking me for money to give them, which isn't always easy as we live off my Carer's Allowance and Income Support.

Why do we do this? Guilt I suppose.

Your postings are interesting McKay and the work you do sounds as though it is at times difficult but rewarding.

They are interesting! Most work that is rewarding, is rewarding because it's difficult!

Isn't most of what we do motivated by guilt?

If you can think of the homeless person as you, then decide what you would do for yourself in that position, it takes the uncertainty out of the giving or not conumdrum.
Some will use it to buy drugs or alcohol, others food or a dog biscuit, but you're never going to know .
It's my humble opinion that people use drugs because chemicals can feel like love, something they're not getting enough of or have never fully experienced.
So if you've got a little spare, give it to those in need and it could change the feelings of what happens to them in that day.
not only will it perhaps supply them with food or drugs, but it may give them a little hope or feeling of worth.
After all Drug abuse is an illness and we wouldn't be thinking in terms of refusing cash for Chemo for a cancer patient.
If we saw a cancer patient in the street with a sign that says, Please help radiation treatment needed urgently , would we really advise them to 'pull themselves together and get a job?"
More power to the lady who has little herself , but still gives.
Sometimes a fantasy life is the only defence mechanism some people have to get them through their turmoil to my way of thinking it's no different to a short course of anti depressants to get someone through a rough patch. (actually probably better !)
To encourage fanatasy feels wrong, but to discourage them would take away any positive thoughts they have about themselves. just listening to their lives is probably the best course of action. you can't change their lives, only they can do that and they need something to hook into to give them a positive view .
Being a 'fantasy' skate board champion maybe the only and best thought about themselves in their heads.
you might even be able to say "When you get around to stopping the heroin, you can do anything you want to do. You don't have to be a slave to the needle if you don't want to. Only you have the power to choose."

I do often picture myself in a homeless or other situation: I could be in the same situation were it not for the situation of my birth [i.e. where I was born etc.]

I was once given an RE lesson, by a really good teacher, who said that when [note not if] you give to the homeless, never buy them a coffee, but give them money. Also, never say 'don't do drugs or alcohol', because you're imposing your will on them, and this is therefore not an unconditional gift, but a moral command, which is just as wrong as not giving before.

I suppose this is quite self-explanatory, but at the time, I thought it was so good!

FwT

Not so much picture yourself in the same position, but momentarily think that the person IS you, if you take the meaning of the subtle difference

I see the fundamental difference, but what application differences does it have [aaarrghhh: we're into semantics!!]

FwT

I didn't want to go into details of the 3 examples I gave because they were all quite painful, but regarding the lad with the skateboard, it finished with us both laughing about my saying 'You're going to be beggered if they test for performance enhancing substances when you win.'

Most of these people have a VERY real grip on where they lie in life the problem is partly that their expectations of life are also very low. Actually that would be better worded with 'I think' in front of it. Sometimes semantics can play a part in what they use to defend themselves - back to my skateboarding friend - "If they can have a fag to calm their nerves before a big jump, why can't I have a spliff ? It's just a matter of degree ?"

Application. It's easier to give money to youself

Tell skateboarder to let them have their fags , because eventually they won't be able to do the big jump for wheeszing !
Did you want to be better then them or just plain old equal ?
He's answering with a legality question (the one all addicts use BTW)
but it's a question of what both nicotine and dope do to your performance I suppose.

I know exactly what you mean, however I do stop to chat quite often and have made one or two aquaintences this way who I know by name and we speak often even though I rarely have money to spare. I swap christmas cards with two of these people too. From our conversations it seems that human contact and knowing somebody cares enough even to say 'hello' makes a difference even without the money.
And it's not just a conscience salve as we have quite animated debates.
Giving time might not seem as good as giving money but I have enjoyed my chats with David and Walter and loved seeing another aquaintence settled in his new flat after selling the issue for years, if we hadn't talked I'd have just assumed he had moved on or worse.

Sometimes the hardest part is not lecturing. I smoked for 30 years, and for 10 years went out drinking every night. Its very hard watching someone who seems like a nice enough person destroy themselves, yet I asked my wife to do it for 15 years before I stopped smoking.

I tell myself that I'm not better then this person - just luckier, and when you listen to them you'll see how true this is. I agree with 203891 sharing the normality of life with the homeless helps because being treated as a charity case - or being invisible - or like something you wipe off your shoe - or like you're thick, all help the feelings of paranoia and ostracism.

I rather like these lyrics from Faithless,
Skip if bored by poetry
(not directed at anyone but me !)

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Shame this has gone from the talking point when Westminster council have today decided to charge people found sleeping rough £500 for the priveledge of sleeping on their streets. Leaving aside how they expect them to pay it, I assume the concept of criminalising poverty could only come from the home of democracy.

That's disgusting. Replace democracy with free market interests. What is going to happen if they don't pay? Prison? There's a solution for ya!