I'm in WA (state) and at first I used to give them change or a few bucks but lately its just a bunch of junkies, I've offered food and other things and they scoff at me. Meh whatever, take it or leave it.

There was always a guy on the corner with his dog. I would give him packages of ritz and water. He always poured half in a bowl first for the dog and split half the crackers and fed them to the dog before he started eating them. It broke my heart.

A young man approached me and dd in the parking lot saying he moved here from CA and his parents kicked him out and he needed money for a bus pass. I hate to judge but it looked like he did drugs. I had a small ziploc bag of pennies and apologized while giving it to him. I then said "look I don't know if you do drugs or not but if you do, just know that there are ways to get help. My mom and husband are recovering addicts and I've seen the struggle but they were so much happier being clean. And I bet your parents would welcome you back in their lives too." He said thank you and walked away. About 2 weeks later a man approached me (I shop at the same grocery store) he was very clean and well dressed but looked familiar) he asked me if I remembered him and when he said that I did. It was the guy from 2 weeks before. He said after my conversation with him he threw his drugs away and found an NA meeting and halfway house. He got a jobs within 3 days and had been clean since that day. I gave him a hug and told him he was so strong. He cried, I cried lol. I'm just happy I was able to help him with some kind words and bag of pennies.

I always tell them I don't have cash (99% of the time I really never have cash) but if I'm by myself I feel like slowing down or stopping puts me at more of a risk if they are up to something else. And we have people in our area that are professional beggars. We have had people ask for gas money to get out of the state because of a bad relationship and then 3 weeks later at the same gas station got the same story of "it's bad and I have to get out today, just give me enough gas to get out of town before he finds me". There are real situations, but it's hard when you don't have much extra money for your own family, you don't know who is scammers, and being a single female makes you more vulnerable. My husband does sometimes if the Lord tells him to and he thinks maybe it's a legit situation and several times he has gone and bought food instead of giving people cash so the money didn't go to buy drugs or something. We also have people call out church all the time and one guy called and said his toddler had died and he didn't have money to bury the baby and was calling for donations. We called the funeral home he told us it would be at and sure enough there was no toddler or child there by that name. He called 2 months later with the same story, just different funeral date and as soon as we told him that he had called 3 months ago he said , "oh" and hung up. My husband also knew a guy that drove a sports car and would park it down the road about half a mile and would walk to the street corner in old tattered clothes to beg and then when he was done he would walk to his car and drive off. Always makes me so sad when people ask us, but you have to try to judge how to help. I would buy someone food or gas or clothing before giving cash! And I definitely would have wanted to buy that little girl shoes and a jacket! That one definitely could have been true!

I usually never have money to give out, thinking about having homeless ppl kits in my car to give out...lots of street intersection panhandlers here

Today and yesterday I’m sick and tired of it. I use to give but the amount of people asking is getting absurd and it’s pissing me off get a facking job. My so and I work to feed and clothe our child not for them

I will never give money, but I do offer to buy food or give food that I have with me. Sometimes they turn me down, sometimes they take me up on it.

I tend to think the people that gladly accept food are actually in need. The people who only want money really aren't.

Only when i truly feel they need help i do and not that much either cause girl im struggling on my own ? where i live is consider a rich people city even though me and SO are not rich we have enough to live comfortably, with that being said, there is a family that asks for money near a target and just put signs that they need money for their kids and bring the kids along with them so people will feel bad for them and i hate seeing them there because they always come well groomed well dress with designer clothes like nike shoes and adidas jump suits big name brands and some people are so naive they still donate yet they are there every single day! One day i parked in the parking lot just watching them and i came to find out once people give them money they wait till the person leaves and pull out a big stash of cash! Now the only reason i observed them was because kids were involved and i believe cps should be involved if the kids are not being taken care of properly!

When me and my SO have it we always give it when asked and we let God handle how that money is spent.

I really don’t I’m a single mom I work hard for my money. I have a borderline personality disorder, I have no car I got fired from my other job I got a new one. To me it’s about how bad you want to provide for your family

Ah. That just made me tear up ?

I give if I have it (I don't carry cash much), but I would rather them be lying to me and me give it anyways rather than them actually need it and me not help. One time a lady came up to me and she had been living with a friend and she couldn't take her pit bull with her so she left it with another friend, but she said they kept her tied up to a tree, so she took her but didn't have anywhere to stay because the friend wouldn't let the dog stay with her and she wasn't leaving the dog. I paid for her a hotel that would allow the dog to stay.

I do not give them money. My husband and I were approached a couple months ago by a woman with an oxygen tank asking for money to get gas. We never carry cash, so we said no. As my husband was walking into the store, he noticed a man and a younger woman in the car she was asking for gas for, and they both were rail thin, dirty, and clearly just not living well. So he brought them some fried chicken, and gave it to them.

I wasn’t too happy. I just think of it as able bodied people who could get a job, but don’t. However, there are circumstances where I would give whatever I had. Like if a woman had children with her... I would no doubt help. For the children’s sake. I wouldn’t give cash, but I would go buy them food, diapers, formula, whatever to help the children.

Something happened today and made me chuckle because I remembered this post. A lady that asked me for money last week for kids to get a jacket (in 90 degree heat) today asked me for money to help get a bus ticket to get to her sick family member. I asked her if she still needed jackets for her kids because I know a place giving some out and she looked so confused and said she had no kids. I just said "funny, cause last week you asked me for money for your kids" she just kinda froze with mouth open and called me a c**t then walked away.

I don’t give money ever (95% of the time I don’t even have cash) and I don’t feel bad. There is a large homeless population here for such a small town and although I hate to say it but most of the people who are asking are usually intoxicated or behaving in an erratic manner so I don’t feel safe approaching them or them approaching me.

I had a similar situation happen to me. I never carry cash but I gave her water and snacks for her kids. She was obviously disappointed that I didn’t give her cash. Some people are really in need but others are just looking for easy money. You just gotta hope you make the right judgment call.

It all depends. Beggars I don't give money too. But my bf and I have had ppl come up to us and ask us for help. One was gas and the other was to help him pay for a tow truck or something lol we always seem to get ppl asking us for money when we are together. Never separate though.

I usually never carry cash.

I don't give pan handlers money. No matter how "sad" the story sounds. If it's someone with kids, I'll report it to police so they can deal with it. Give them the right resources for shelters and what not. Someone with a dog, might buy a small bag of food for it.

I don't generally give in that way. There is quite a racket going on in my city with this.

I usually say, while making eye contact, something like, "I'm sorry, not today, but good luck to you." Not a single one has ever tried to continue the conversation.

Corrina

Alt12 Community Manager

I usually keep granola bars and water in my car. If I see someone begging, I offer those! Usually they are happy to get anything, if they get mad, I assume they were going to use money for drugs or booze..

I have but I won't anymore. When I was about five months pregnant with dd2 I saw a girl with a sign that said "pregnant homeless hungry" & felt soooo bad for her. My hormones were through the roof & I bawled the entire way home cause I didn't have money to help her. My mom went back an hour later & tried helping her. She said she wanted to go home in another state, her boyfriend was in jail and she needed help with baby stuff so we offered to buy her a bus ticket home... the plan was she would call the next day when she was ready & we would drive her to the bus station. Gave her money to get a room & dinner for the night. She never called the next day but started calling my mom every other day saying she needed money for food, money to buy clothes for a job interview, etc.. My mom felt bad & kept giving her money & things until we caught her meeting up with a guy right after. We tried multiple times to get her back to her home state, gave her the numbers to women's shelters & organizations that could help her but she is STILL in the area to this day with a sign. She never grew a bump & for all I know, she could have lost the baby but based off of her behavior I think she just made it up for sympathy.

Also when I was 18, I gave all my birthday money to a kid the same age as me on a snowy night so he could get a motel room. It was freezing & he was so nice, said he fell on hard times & needed a little help. Literally his boogers were frozen. I bought him all the food he wanted from the restaurant I was at, gave him the money & felt good about it... until a year later when he messaged me on Facebook saying "dam ur sexii babe can i bang you" ? asked if he remembered who I was and he said "no, have we met?" Huge slap in the face & I felt so stupid. So after those two situations, I won't give money. Food & clothes of course, but not actual cash.

Definitely tugs at your heartstrings, but I don't give money. I don't carry cash. I know where there are several shelters and places to get free food and free resources in general, I would point someone in that direction because those places are better equipped to address long term needs. I also donate to a women's shelter, and in this case, I would have probably offered to call and pay for an uber to take her to one.

I've also had this same lady approach me on a few separate occasions in the same Home Depot parking lot with the same sob story. ??‍♀️ never know who is trying to scam you nowadays

I've given food and drinks.

Once my mom, sister and I were about to leave from grocery shopping and we were getting inside the car and the lady comes up to me and says "yo give me a ride" and I said excuse me ? And asked her where she had to go? And she was very rude and didn't even finish telling where she wanted to go she was all mad, I was confused and she said never mind b**** I was so confused because she never finished telling me where she wanted to go plus I would of not giving her a ride coming to me with aggression ?.

That’s so sad! I’m glad you could help even a little. I would have cried too.

We get approached often but rarely give them money anymore the only ones we do is the ones who lool like they truly need it and we believe their story. If they have kids we do as well even though some people use their kids we just wouldn't want them actually needing it and not helping. We mainly give food and drinks to people asking for money.

Rarely I have cash on me, bad I know. If I have it I do, depending the vibes I get. I have both good and bad experiences in the past. One guy wouldn't accept my money until he played a song I requested first, so he felt like he worked for it. I typically ask if they want me to get them something from the store. I had one lady go off on me saying "NO I NEED CASH NOT FOOD" and got in my face saying she knows I have money and to give it to her cause she needs it more. Security had to pull her away. Another time a lady had 2 kids with her, begging in the heat. She left in a 2015 Mercedes. She parks on the other side of parking lot.

If someone ask for booze, or has a sign asking for booze, I buy them some. their life if hard and if booze makes them happy, I want to give them a few minutes of happiness.

I never have cash on me since I use my card for everything. But on the off chance that I have a bit of cash and the person seems genuine then I will give them what I have. Rarely does that happen though, where I live there are several casinos and people waste their money drinking and gambling then they ask for money to try to "win it back".

At the grocery store I stop at on the way to work, like every single day, multiple times in the same trip. I either get hit on or asked for money. It’s gotten to the point if I even see someone walking up to me I just say “Nope” and ignore them. It’s a very trashy part of town.

Nope!

I personally saw a women leave her begging corner and walk up to a Maserati in the parking lot adjacent to the corner and get in it and drive off. Ever since then I refuse to, even in parking lots when they have a gas can trying to pull the whole "I need a gallon of gas to get home" card.

Using children and animals while begging infuriates me and I'll go get a happy meal or some something but 9 out of 10 times the adult gets pissed and never accepts it or takes it angrily.

If I have cash on me, which I usually don’t then yes I give it. If I have cash on me, which is rare, then I take it as a sign that I should give it if asked. Even if they’re “ scammers” and I give them 10 bucks, what did I really lose? Nothing. If I don’t give it I lose the opportunity of helping someone in need.

I don't like being approached, it freaks me out. If they just have a sign, I will sometimes give a dollar. We also donate to local charities regularly.

I rarely give money. I remember when I was a teenager I was out shopping with some friends. There was a woman sitting on the ground in the shopping city for the whole day till it was dark out. She had a small child and a sign asking for money for food Me and my friends stayed out because we were going cinema after shopping. Just as the last shops were shutting up I saw the women get up off the ground with the kid and jump in a brand new BMW. I was like ???. That experience tainted my view of humanity and people's intentions. I thought she was genuine, it turned out it was all a bunch of BS.

My hubby is so kind he would give his last penny away if the person was really in need. I wish I was more like him.

All the time lol. I just say I don't have any cash. I'll never forget once I was putting my groceries away in the car and there was this mother with her son who was like my age (early 20s or should have about to been graduating high school). The mom came up to me begging for money but her son kinda stayed back and turned around. I knew he felt some sort of shame because we were both around the same age. But in my head I'm thinking they both looked clean and capable of getting a job. If they wanted change her son should be in school! I didn't give them any money.

In Lexington they have it where panhandling is illegal. They now have it where a van picks them up and they either have to do community work and get paid at the end of the day or they get in trouble. I kind of like that idea.

I've been asked for money plenty of times but I've only ever given it once because I felt threatened.. Downtown Cleveland, I was a teenager, and 2 adult men were the ones asking for money because they parked in a parking lot and couldn't pay the toll to leave. I just got bad vibes so I gave them the money and took off.

When I lived in DE I used to work in new castle which had kind of a bad rep . I went to Taco Bell on my lunch break and I had my boyfriends card so I could get something to eat. I was working nights so my lunch actually was not a lunch .. well this dude came up to my window when I was trying to order my food in the drive thru.. he asked me if I had money to give him cause his car wouldn’t start and he just needed enough gas to get up the street. I told him I had no money of my own and he looked at me and got rude with me and said I see your card sitting right there & I said well that’s not MY card it is my boyfriends and he did not give it to me to go make random withdrawals out .. I don’t even know his pin and he got mad and started trying to open my door .. luckily I ALWAYS keep my doors locked(I’m very paranoid) . I went back to work and was talking about it and I was told the same dude is seen at multiple gas stations doing it and he never uses the money on gas .

Growing up in NYC, people approach you constantly where ever.

I do give when i have an extra dollar. To me it doesn't matter if it's for alcohol or whatever you never know when they really need it.

Like us hispanic say

(As el bien sin mirar a quien)

I’ve given them money when their sign was honest. ‘Not going to lie just want a beer’. I also gave a guy cash because he wasn’t begging but standing there singing and playing guitar. Anyone else nope. Guess I have a blackened heart like a PP said. ??‍♀️?

I worked in downtown Chicago, so it is a constant thing literally every block or two. You see a lot of the same faces, but sometimes they’ll give you different stories. Anyone with children or animals I try to offer to buy a meal or water/food for their pet regardless.

Interesting story- they’ve done studies about homeless stigmas in society, and they’ve found that people who play into the stereotype (tell people “hey I’ll be honest I want to get alcohol”) actually make more on the street than people with a sob story regardless of if it’s true or not. One homeless man asked for money for booze, but was actually a recovering alcoholic using the money to pay rent, buy groceries, etc. He said he found he made a lot more saying he needed it for booze than for a real need.

I never usually carry cash. But if I do I only give a few bucks and only if I feel they are being genuine. When they are dressed in nice clean clothing nice shoes and well groomed I get a sense they are lying. I’ve also noticed the ones who truly need it don’t stand in front of stores asking. They are the ones I see in car wash or fast food parking lots digging through the trash collecting bottles for their return deposit. And usually if I try to give them money they get offended thinking I’m belittling them. Which is not the case I just want to help. One time we saw a man looking awfully thin torn clothes mismatched shoes with holes and no coat in winter. We were at the car wash. We offered him money or to buy him a meal he refused. So we got a trash bag filled it with a coat we had in our car some bottled water some empty cans we had in our car and some cash. We left it by the trash can for him and left but watched him from the next parking lot. When he opened the bag to search for any useful items the look on his face was priceless he immediately put the coat on and took the entire bag while his whole demeanor changed. We felt good. But whenever you actually offer him anything he will refuse.

I get approached a lot but never give them anything. In my area, they're professional gypsies who go from town to town and use children as bait. You'll see women and babies begging, then they get picked up at the end of the day by men in expensive cars and move on to the next town. Our local news has even reported that many of them are involved in human trafficking.

I used to get approached all the time when I lived in a bigger city. I always give people money if I have cash. Just a couple dollars. Once I gave someone $20. My husband didn’t like it, but I feel horrible for homeless people, whether it’s their fault they are homeless or not. I can’t say no.

A few times. I’ll give like 5 bucks or so

But one time I was driving home from New Jersey and driving through philly and there was a homeless lady on the corner asking for anything. I just so happened to have a bunch of fresh cut fruit in my car with me so I handed her a big bag of fruit she took it then says well I don’t eat food off the street!! I was like well will u please give it to someone who will eat it. She says “yea but I don’t eat food off the street” and she was quite rude!!! Makes me think twice about giving food to people that’s for sure!!!

I almost never have cash, so I try and give any food I have on hand. I just never understand how they can be right down the street from Social Services but would rather beg for money.

I never give money.

1. I don’t have cash

2. Maybe it’s for drugs.

I don’t give anyone on the street money. I just tell them that I don’t have any cash. Yes it is sad, but I just don’t trust those people to use my hard earned money the correct way. Tons of them are scammers and are making more money scamming than I do working!

I do if I can. What does it hurt me to give them money even if it ends up a scam. I refuse to let the few who mislead others to blacken my heart to those who might truly be in need. We live in a world where there is too little love for your fellow man and too much judgement.

The last time someone asked us for money, my boyfriend gave her 5$. She was in this red glittery dress & heels super late at night. I thought it was odd. Apparently her car ran out of gas in the parking lot & her & her kids were cold & hungry. She said her & her kids were stranded & her car would no longer turn on. So my boyfriend is like “I don’t mind helping her with 5$. If it was us & we were stranded with our kid, I would hope people would help us.” We went into the store for 5 minutes, came out & her car was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot. She was still asking for money as we walked out & we noticed she had a man sitting in her car in the driver seat ??‍♀️ So basically she scammed us. She told us her car wouldn’t turn on yet somehow managed to get in across the parking lot 5 minutes later..

Nope. As mean as it sounds the ones around where I live use it for alcohol or drugs. It’s gotten so bad here the gas station has had to hire a security guard for the night shift. They’re very aggressive in asking for it too but I always stand my ground. Please be careful because people will use kids and situations to manipulate. My mom works at Walmart and was heading in at 5 am when a lady approached her and said she needed money for a cab because she was stranded just left her abusive boyfriend. My mom was talking to her and this lady tried to grab her purse and run. My mom had her arm through her purse and outweighed the lady by about 80 pounds and snatched her purse causing the lady to fall. The lady got up and ran to a car waiting and they took off. Please please I know you want to help others but be careful and there are resources and churches out there that help these people. They can only be helped if they want it.

@ail, great wording. That's exactly how I feel.

No but that's because I usually have just enough on me to get what we need to get, though sometimes if I have spare change, an extra dollar etc I will give it to them.

I'd rather give a little bit of money to someone that might not truly need it and be 'scamming' than skip over someone who really needs it but I didn't give anything because of a fear of scammers.

I can't really blame someone for not wanting to give their money to someone when there is so much dishonesty in this world, but you've got to believe in the good to make good.

I tend not to. Its usually the homless that beg and most of them are junkies. Im not giving money for someone to score. However, I do at times give to the ones that are that I know arent junkies and will use for food.

I've been approached, but not much lately. My city made panhandling illegal. There's a family who sit in the grass by the Safeway with signs asking for money. Every day for weeks. The McDonald's has been hiring for months. If you're desperate to survive, you will try. Yes, I know it's a tough world now and jobs are hard to come by. But people who just want handouts piss me off. I'm a broke working mom and student.

My husband gives- he's a generous soul, so I'm a miser to even things out, cosmically speaking. One time he gave a lady enough so she could "take the bus across town to her sick kids". The same lady approached us not 15 min later one parking lot over. DH called her on it, but she gave no sh--s.

There is a family that spends all day multiple times a week in front of the Walmart in the town I used to live in. A father, mother, and what used to be 2 kids has grown to four about to be 5, (she's pregnant again) or probably is 5 now. I've literally watched their kids grow up on the side of the road begging for money. She's always pregnant and her husband is always not at work. It's despicable. I have bought the kids Gatorade on several occasions because I can't imagine sitting in the hot sun all day is what they want to do anyways. I refuse to give their parents anything. All the hours the "man" spends with his family on the side of the road could be spent at work. They knowingly bring more children into a life they can't afford and it makes me so mad. I could never do that. I would never force my child to sit and beg for money, I have too much pride. I always wonder if those kids are seen by other kids they go to school with. Grinds my gears.

One time dh and I saw a guy panhandling at the street light and his sign said hungry and anything helps. We went to mcdonalds and bought him food. Gave it to him and he threw it back at our car. Ever since then, I don't give anything but dh on the other hand always goes and buys food for the homeless people by our store and gives them 5$ each everyday.

A man told dh that he should put his "good deeds" on YouTube but dh told him he's only doing it to help and to not let them be hungry. I'm usually the skeptical one lol. I was thinking a scam with the lady tonight but it would bother me too much if I just ignored it.

Who really knows.. ❤️

I never do, but we have had people in and out of our lives we have helped and it got them nowhere cause they would not help themselves. It got to the point we couldn't keep doing it cause we have our family to support and we are living paycheck to paycheck. Most people here stand out by streetlights in parking lots with sugns, i rolled up my window befire I got close to one and locked doors (had a bad feeling) and my friend looked over at him and he was yelling at us.

I do sometimes. Most of the time I feel convicted by God to do so. I am from a small town so it depends if I know their intentions. I only had change once and a man was asking for money so when I handed it to him he realized it was only change and threw it back in my window.I have seen it done to others too

Yes but I say no. One time SO and me went to Walmart and this couple from Mexico came up to SO and asked if we had any jobs for them to do because they coyote took their money. They had their 2 kids and it was getting windy. We game them 100 and I asked if they would be there and came back with blankets and jackets and lots of snacks. I cried so bad that night. I told SO they asked for jobs unlike the other people and they just came for a better life to get taken advantage of.

Forgot to say I carry dog food in my truck to give to them because a lot of them half pets and will accept that and I’m horrible and will give them money for beer or will buy a beer can for them ?

I don't give anything. Too many people are dishonest & I am naturally skeptical of people. I work too hard for my money to give it away to scammers.

Yes. Ive given sandwiches or the occasional dollar if I have it and God puts it on my heart to give. I see the women with children all the time and it breaks my heart/ makes me wonder if it's a scam. You just never know. My husband and I always pick and choose who we give to randomly. I've stopped even engaging when I'm with DD because I don't feel it's safe. But because my DD sees us give sometimes she asks us why they're there, why we give, why we don't etc. I eventually had to tell her mommy and daddy can't give to everyone and help everyone in need because then we would have nothing so we do what we can. Now my DD likes to give her money away lol. She's such a sweetheart. My husband usually buys people meals rather than gives money.

People lie a lot and use children as well. I had one guy come ask me, I said I didn't have any change..when I was leaving the store I watched him walk over to his Buddy and count a huge wad of cash! Also one time there was a heavy man in a wheel chair, he came in the store and was pushing his wheel chair around as if it was broken(electric kind), I felt horrible so I ended up giving him 5 bucks. My mom saw him the next day and said she saw him and his chair was working just fine and him and his buddy got in a nice truck! You just can't trust anyone!

Yes! They do. All the time out here. It's one of the reasons I'm scared to go out with DS alone. I don't ever give money. I have offered to buy them food or something but one guy asked for alcohol and I said no and he got really loud about how I think I'm better than him. I don't even spend my own money on alcohol, I'm definitely not going to buy some especially for him. One time I had my diaper bag with me and gave a lady all the diapers that I had.. I walked in the store and watched her stuff them into the garbage can. I wish I could give people the benefit of the doubt but I can't. It really hurts my heart when they have kids with them though.

I'm usually not a cry baby but she had a toddler with her and it made me feel awful if I hadn't given her something.

Usually I just say sry, I don't have cash. But this time I really didn't and I really wanted to believe her.

There's a lady who walks around with a sign saying she doesn't speak English and asks for money. I was opening my wallet to help her when a man walked up to us and told me she's a known scammer. She started speaking in another language and I noticed she had at least 3 or 4 gold teeth. I just scooped ds up and power walked away.

I’ve been asked a lot. Instead of giving them money I just ask what they need it for and offer to go buy it for them. So if they are telling the truth they get what they need and if they’re trying to scam they usually get pissed and walk away ??‍♀️

Yes I have and i tell them no and walk away.

No i never do. I'm so bad ?

Yes. All the time. If I give them money or not depends. If I see them and the lord impresses on my heart to give. I do.