At an intersection, you see a person with a sign saying, “Need money. Will work.” or “Homeless. Please help.” The sign will be cardboard, held by hands that may be any shade and any age. Sometimes this individual will have a sleeping back nearby, or a pet… or even, occasionally, a child…
If you live in a city, this has surely happened to you, so what do you do?
Some folks stare at the road ahead, carefully avoiding eye-contact, hoping this person will return the favor — that he won’t directly approach the window and force a shake of the head or some other direct response.
Some people carry little paper bags of healthy food. They want to help but avoid giving cash, because they don’t want to contribute to a drug or alcohol problem.
Depending on the person begging, still others (if they have the $) simply hand a dollar or two (or five or twenty) out the window with a “Good luck”, often hearing in return, “God bless”.
Polimom has, at one point or another, responded in all these ways (the determining factor is often my personal cash situation). I can’t always help… but I certainly want to. Yes, I worry that I’m being snookered — that some of these folks may actually walk back to their cars and drive home to their air conditioned living rooms to watch tv while they count the days “income”. But those folks are rare, and it takes no time at all to figure out who they are if you encounter them regularly.
Evidently, Polimom’s going about this all wrong:
As one of several new city initiatives to battle homelessness, White is asking Houstonians not to give money to street beggars, but instead to donate to organizations that help the homeless.
“We want people to give, but we want to give in a smart manner,” said White, who recently began spreading the word through radio advertisements. “If you see somebody begging in the streets, and you feel sorry for them, don’t give to that person, but instead give to organizations to help turn around lives.”
I appreciate the larger point here: organizations with training, resources, and funds can make an impact in ways that my direct (and very small) gesture cannot — but I think the Mayor’s initiative is only part of the equation… just like Polimom’s.
It isn’t that I can’t give to a local-level homeless organization; I absolutely could. Like many other families, we donate to various charities throughout the year, but only one of them is local… and it has little or nothing to do with the homeless.
However, Polimom is unlikely to tell AC, “No honey, we can’t give (a sandwich, five dollars) to that lady and her child. We wrote a check this year to an organization that will help all of them.” (FYI, I’ve had this very conversation. She cried.)
“Think globally, act locally” applies here, and Polimom is willing to re-channel some funds… but I’ll still check my cash situation at the intersections. Otherwise, my conscience won’t let me sleep at night.
My church made Manna bags that we could hand out. I think we paid about $3 for each. Each plastic ziplock bag contained a small bottle of water, an energy bar, crackers and a card with ways to access local resources in the area.
Of course the guys who just wanted some change to buy beer weren’t really interested. BTW-I can’t stand that saying “Think globally, act locally” it just sounds so phoney.
How about, instead, giving the lady & her child a card with the address & phone number of a shelter that can help her get back on her feet. Better yet, offer to call the shelter, or drive her to it?
I’m an eye-avoider. Because deep in my heart, I don’t think those people *want* to get on their own feet. They are ok with being dependent. But maybe they aren’t ok with the *rules* of the places that are willing to grant that dependency (no friends of opposite sex overnight, in by 9 pm, no alcohol, no drugs, no fights, etc.) So what they want is to be dependent but live according to their own rules.
If they were our kids, we would say, “As long as I’m paying the mortgage & food bills around here, you will follow my rules.” But if someone is living on the street because they don’t want to follow the rules of a shelter, but they still expect to be dependent on society, it’s somehow ok.
Independence is great if you are responsible (or lucky) enough to achieve it. But to my midwestern work-ethic mind-set, begging is just unregulated dependence.
Smukke — I thought about that too (giving a card to someplace that could help). Maybe I’ll do that… but I don’t think we see the homeless the same way.
I’m willing to give some cash, or a sandwich. I’d never invite them to my home to work in exchange, though, for the same reason I don’t think many of them can actually get on their feet.
Yes, some of them can, but many have serious mental health issues. The linked Chronicle article has some percentages and numbers.
I also suspect (and I’m sure I have some myopia here) that some of the homeless or poor resent the overt religion to which assistance is often attached. Missionary zeal sends me right over the top, and I don’t think I’m unique.
Having said all that, I do understand what you’re saying, Smukke. Lots of folks — generous and kind-hearted but coming from a different starting point — share your view. Which is why I think there are two sides to the equation.
Roux — I hovered for quite a while over the “local…global” phrase. I share some of your distaste for the cutsie jingo-ism, but since I am, generally, a supporter of local solutions for issues (federalism and smaller government), it seemed apt.
Giving to national and international organizations that are operating at 30,000 feet, and then complaining about local issues is kind of self-defeating. Putting some focus and money at the local level makes far more sense, but I don’t do that often enough. That phrase was, oddly, directed at myself.
Just wait til I launch a post about “it takes a village”! :>
I’ve only given cash to someone once – and that was when he approached me at 2AM, after a taxi driver dropped me off in the middle of Smith St (literally!) when my car broke down (I was working really late that day.)
I tend to avoid dealing with the street beggars, ’cause too many of those sitting at the intersections seem to be somewhat flaky to me (either the legitimacy of their condition, or their mental state – I am not always sure which.)
As to the reasons some homeless avoid seeking out assistance: I would remind you that the religious organizations take a holistic approach to helping others (mend the spirit/soul as well as the body), and asking them to do otherwise is asking them to violate (or at least ignore) their basic value system. Also, I suspect many of these (homeless) people either are to proud and independent-minded to seek assistance formally, or too scared that “the man” may do unpleasant things to them. They may just be plain ornery, who knows?
As to Mayor White’s campaign: that sounds great, but criminalizing being poor is simply crazy. At least, though, he doesn’t have that crazy HPD Captain (the one who engineered the K-Mart fiasco) implementing his scheme (which was to arrest/tow the vehicles of everyone who ASSISTED the homeless within the Downtown/Midtown area. Part of the reason it fell apart was (apparently) that he would have not only targeted you and I, but also places like the Star of Hope which were located in the affected zone.)
~EdT.
Ed, I don’t object to religious organizations pursuing their goals. I just know that it would keep me from seeking help there.
Much the same as I don’t schedule my vacations using the “listen to our sales pitch for a timeshare, get a free trip” method. To each their own.
Of course, if I was hungry enough, I might be willing to sit through a
sales pitchsermon to get a decent meal. Even if was not the religious belief I subscribe to.~EdT.
I must admit, I’ve never had direct contact with homeless outreach programs in a large city, but from documentaries I’ve seen and what I’ve been told second hand, giving to a program is much better. When these groups are adequately funded, they can afford to hire people to comb the city and search out people that aren’t receiving services. If someone is too proud or has a problem where they can’t live in the shelter directly, then they can at least be kept tabs on and helped with getting checkups/staying on meds, etc. One of the primary reasons that I’ve heard not to give people things directly in most cases is that it will enable them to avoid the network and they will fall through the gaps. One documentary I watched commented on how many homeless people are in that situation temporarily, and the faster they ask for help the sooner they can get back on their feet. Of course, these types of groups don’t exist in many medium-small size places, so there the calculus is completely different.