Homeless people that reject necessities and beg for cash are choosing beggars, amirite?

My mom and I were homeless when I was little. Someone gave us leftover food. We ate it and got so sick because it must have been sitting in their car or something. Sometimes, people are wary for that reason… people genuinely give you bad food or worse. Clothes don't just fit everyone. You may think you're being nice, but you've never been in that person's situation. You have no idea what it's like.

by morissettelayne 8 hours ago

I've heard stories from people that were homeless of being given food with glass in it, or cleaning products mixed in. It's horrible the way they're treated. I would be skeptical of random food too.

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

I wouldn't give or take leftovers, but sealed snack bars or whatever are going to be fine 99. 9% of the time

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

It's also possible they would have difficulty chewing certain things. I learned this when I offered someone an apple and he couldn't take it because he couldn't bite it with his dentures

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

Also, they might have allergies you dont know about and you could be giving them food that coild kill them.

by Unable-Tune 7 hours ago

This is the actual answer.

by weimanncarole 7 hours ago

I'm wondering then why they wouldn't say that…or they did and OP didn't think it was a valid reason

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

I agree about clothes but if you're offering to go to the store or a fast food place with the homeless person to buy them fresh food and they just want money thats quite a red flag.

by lwaters 6 hours ago

See that's all about context again, are they right by the store or are you asking them to get in a car? Would you get in a car with a stranger if you were particularly vulnerable? Can they risk leaving the stuff they do have behind? Etc

by Boring_Half2644 6 hours ago

Literally, do people not understand that rapists and murderers exist..???

by derickflatley 6 hours ago

Nope. They were begging in the convenience store parking lot and they didnt have anything with them. Told them i didnt carry cash and id buy them food and they told me i should go to the atm and get out $20 for them instead. Nah

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

Some junkie had the balls to ask me to give them $100 lol.

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

If a homeless person isn't hungry right now. They don't want the food partially because they have nowhere to store it. Where are they gonna put it that isn't going to invite rats or ants to their limited living space? It's not a red flag that homeless people want to be able to have a choice as to how resources are allocated. You don't want to offer that because you see them as inherently less deserving.

by rohancale 5 hours ago

Homeless people usually choose a particular location because it has certain merits: it might offer protection from the weather, be high visibility (and therefore relatively safe), or have relatively high foot traffic and a higher likelihood that they'll get their needs met. Giving up their spot and following you to a store means someone else can take it from them – and oftentimes it's not a good trade off. It's not red flag behaviour on their part – it's just that you're lucky enough to not understand what it's like to be homeless.

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Are they toddlers? Why should someone lose their dignity because of $10? Just give them the money. If they use it to do drugs and so what? People who have houses do drugs to make their lives better. Then someone who doesn't have a house?

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Or just don't give them the money at all. That's better than trying to dictate what to do with the money out want to spend

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Because most liquor stores and drug dealers won't accept food as payment.

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Nah ive offered a homeless lady to come into mcdonalds with me and id buy her a meal. Her response was "why cant you just give me money you cheap bitch". Another time offered to buy a guy a drink and a snack in a conveniece store he was begging by, go in w me and pick what he wants. His sign was saying he was "hungry" and "anything helps". He also had some excuse as to why i should just give him money. I dont give anyone anything anymore.

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Oh my god WHAT??? I offer food because I never have cash and can't afford to give others money, but am fortunate enough to have a little bit of my food stamps left over every month to get a box of granola bars. I usually try to give whoever is on the corner a handful of them. I feel horrible now because what if they think I tried to tamper with them?

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

same reason why i won't drink a drink unless i watch the person make it. and people generally have a more hostile view of the homeless than women in general.

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

It's like tampered Halloween candy. I won't deny it's probably happened, and still probably happens. But I seriously question the frequency it happens. Obviously I'm still gonna check every single piece every single time just to be safe.

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

It's a well-understood thing among homeless people that you shouldn't take food from people, there's far too many people who tamper with it. The human equivalent of putting rat poison in cat food for stray cats. Don't blame the homeless for following that rule, blame the psychopaths that caused the rule to be made.

by Margaritamertz 3 hours ago

Even if it was fake, the fear that someone could actually do it is pretty good justification for not wanting to trust random food donations.

by faymauricio 3 hours ago

Exactly, if the middle class can barely afford medical bills a homeless person definitely can't, so they can't take the risk.

by Margaritamertz 2 hours ago

along with the prankster that fed a homeless person an oreo cookie but the creme was actually toothpaste

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

Yup I remember that.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

yeah ive only have ppl accept food if we walked around the store together to buy it or its off my plate and i just left the restaurant (which is always them doing a solid because these places give way too much food)

by Myamosciski 2 hours ago

I completely understand that rule. I think that's a separate point to OP's. When I get asked for money, I say "I don't have cash, but I can buy you some things you may need." I usually point to the nearest fast food place or store, since there is usually something within a short walking distance. This happens a few times per week where I live, but, in my experience, they almost always say no.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

If you're unwilling or unable to provide cash, you can always offer gift cards to nearby supermarkets. There's a lot of valid reasons homeless people might not want to leave their current spot, eat when it suits you, or stock up on items. If you offered them a $20 gift card, I bet they'd all accept it.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

Because that is a deeply undignified and humiliating experience. Walking around a store pointing out things you need like a child. For some reason people just cannot understand why the homeless would like dignity.

by rohancale 1 hour ago

That's humiliating but begging for cash isn't? It sucks but I'm not handing over cash. I also realize a lot of homeless are invisible, but I've also had the aggressive homeless outside my home or work. You get pretty indifferent after a while. It's hard being accosted constantly for money.

by leuschkegia 54 minutes ago

A lot of homeless people have hard lines about things they won't do. How do I know? I was homeless for 7 years. Yes being harassed for money sucks. You still don't get to decide what someone else sees as dignified or not. You don't get to decide what is the line of dignity for someone else. If you don't want to help don't but people in that position don't need more judgement. While yes it may be stressful to be asked for money. People piss on homeless people while they're sleeping regularly. People walk up and kick sleeping homeless people regularly. Homeless people get cleared out of cities regularly (which puts them at a an higher risk of murder). I guarantee you, that sucks a fk load more.

by rohancale 28 minutes ago

How is that more undignified and humiliating than asking strangers for money on the street?

by Anonymous 15 minutes ago

People develop defence mechanisms to protect themselves from the trauma they are experiencing. This leads to the development of hard lines they won't cross. Things that you might think don't make sense. These do make sense to them. Then there's the added part that most of there people are long term homeless. They don't want to follow anyone anywhere. That is a safety concern for them because if you follow someone somewhere. You often don't come back and no one really investigates missing people in homeless communities.

by rohancale 3 minutes ago