What would you do if you saw this .

[kc10family]

A man holding a sign that said

“Please help, Father of three, lost my job and house. God Bless”

Just wondering what you would do?

 

[Darcy03231]

Nothing. There are programs in place to help people like this. If you really want to help, support your local food bank, homeless shelter, etc. That's where people who need help should be going. DH sees the same people day after day with type of signs standing in the same spots going in and out of Boston every day.

 

[C.Ann]

Probably hand him a few bucks - if I had it..

Sure - there's a chance that he's just a "professional" panhandler - but it could also be true and his need is genuine.. I would rather part with a few bucks that I would likely have only wasted on something else anyhow and hope that it's helping some family that has fallen on hard times..

Stamp "Sucker" on my forehead.. I've been scammed before, but for a few bucks, it's a chance I'm willing to take..

 

[Angelhalo]

I think it really depends. If its the first time I had ever seen him I'd probably take him some fast food or a bag of groceries. If he's been seen out and about numerous times I would do nothing. He needs to go find the help that is available to him. ie food banks, homeless shelters, etc

 

[Caradana]

@ NYC, we usually covertly peek behind the sign to see where he's hiding the flask.

 

[Philagoofy]

I see these types of signs all the time driving to & from work. I don't know which ones are real but I think there must be better ways for people to help themselves. I never give. The only people I give to on the street are when the firefighters are out with their boots collecting and the Penn students collecting for children's cancer research. I never give to the people in the white coats with the "red cross" type patches or anyone no matter how sad they & their signs are. I'd rather give to an organization that can help them. Otherwise you may be helping a person with an addiction get money to fuel it more. It is very sad, especially in these times of layoffs, etc.

 

[C.Ann]

I'm wondering where all of you live that you see this sort of thing on a regular basis? Are you near very large cities?

The two areas that I reside in throughout the year, I have never seen one single panhandler.. The one time that I got "scammed" was at a job - in another city.. A co-worker who claimed she had cancer and needed treatment in another state.. Everyone kicked in some money, the scam was uncovered, she was arrested, and is now in jail..

Maybe that's why my answer is different - we don't see people walking around with signs like that..

 

[babytrees]

If I had it I would give food....In fact that's what we did a couple of weeks ago when we saw somebody...I had packed extras...we gave him that.

Our church puts together street bags....they have things like kleenexes, wipes, chapstick, cracker packages. We will get those and hand them out.(We sometimes put in a prepaid calling card)

We have had ones that put "I just want to eat" on their cards....we have offered to take them into Wendy's (or whatever is closest) and get them a meal of their choice. Only one has ever taken us up on that...the others just wanted the cash.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

People do this for a living and make good money doing it. I have talked with a cab driver who explained that all the "homeless" he picked up had wads of cash and he drove them to a nice car.

Then I knew someone who was a bank teller and she said the "homeless" guy would come in once a week to make his wads of cash deposit.

Since I cannot tell the difference between real and the scammers, I do nothing.

 

[luvmy3]

There is a man who stands at the entrance/exit of a local shopping plaza with a sign that says "will work for food* and it has a phone number on it. I know a few people who have given him money but I won't and i certainly wouldn't call him to do any work for me.My hope is that he devotes as much time putting in job applications everywhere/anywhere as he does standing on the street with his sign.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I'm wondering where all of you live that you see this sort of thing on a regular basis? Are you near very large cities?

The two areas that I reside in throughout the year, I have never seen one single panhandler.. The one time that I got "scammed" was at a job - in another city.. A co-worker who claimed she had cancer and needed treatment in another state.. Everyone kicked in some money, the scam was uncovered, she was arrested, and is now in jail..

Maybe that's why my answer is different - we don't see people walking around with signs like that..

I live in Indianapolis and we see this all the time. Downtown, or anywhere else in the city. I've seen people many times doing this near the Wal-Mart close to my house. And I'm almost out of the actual city. Sometimes while downtown, you can see somone panhandling on almost every corner. One intersection underneath the downtown mall has someone on each corner almost every day.

The city recently set up boxes on corners for people to give money to help the homeless to help ease up the the panhandling. I don't think it's worked very well.

I generally don't have the extra money to help anyone. But as said, there are homeless shelters, food banks, churches, etc to help these people. And with the economy and jobs being lost, there's more and more out there needing help.

 

[Robinrs]

Some comedian on Last Comic Standing said he always gives because it could be JESUS IN DISGUISE! Everytime we see these guys my son says "Mom, it could be...

 

[Darsa]

We even have this up here in the sticks; there is a man who stands outside the WalMart (and has for a couple of months now) with a sign about his home burning down and please help...

I feel badly for the man but 1) aren't there programs for this and 2) I'm in pretty dire straits myself!

 

[Nie0214]

There was a guy holding a sign the other day that said he lost his job in the mortgage area 5 months ago. He wasn't asking for money, he was handing out resumes. He got a few calls back for his day in the middle of the city, so hopefully he gets somewhere.

 

[C.Ann]

I live in Indianapolis and we see this all the time. Downtown, or anywhere else in the city. I've seen people many times doing this near the Wal-Mart close to my house. And I'm almost out of the actual city. Sometimes while downtown, you can see somone panhandling on almost every corner. One intersection underneath the downtown mall has someone on each corner almost every day.

The city recently set up boxes on corners for people to give money to help the homeless to help ease up the the panhandling. I don't think it's worked very well.

I generally don't have the extra money to help anyone. But as said, there are homeless shelters, food banks, churches, etc to help these people. And with the economy and jobs being lost, there's more and more out there needing help.

----------------------

I thought it must be near large - or semi-large cities - because we just don't see that here.. It would be soooooo out of the ordinary, it would be hard to believe it was a hoax..

I imagine with the economy the way it is people will be seeing more and more of this in the weeks and months ahead and it will become more difficult for some to determine who is on the up-and-up and who isn't..

I'm on a very, very small fixed monthly income and even though I'm pinching pennies and cutting out things wherever I can, if I see someone that I believe is in need, I try to do whatever I can to help.. From what I have read on the internet, even the food banks and other places that provide help are quickly running out of resources, so I wouldn't be surprised if there is a big increase in the number of people walking around with signs asking for money, food, work, etc.. Times certainly are tough right now..

 

[lulugirl]

I wouldn't do anything.

 

[Uuaww]

When i was still in college, a woman with two kids held up a sign that said, "single mom with 2 kids, looking for food or help". The worst was that the two daughters were sitting on the side of the road playing with there dolls.

This was a city without a homeless shelter that I knew of. The woman had her hair in front of her face and looked ashamed. Judging by the clothes of her and her kids and her reaction, I really did think she was homeless. If she was faking it, she was doing a damn good job, but wow. I ended up giving my taco bell and $5 I had. I just turned around and re-bought my food. Saw her for about a week, then never again.

 

[pooh6890]

It depends for me. There is the same old santa claus looking guy at the entrance to the turnpike that is there every day for years. He is the sweetest thing and I give him a dollar when I see him. Pay it forward works too. One time I gave him $5 and the next day I came out to my car in the a.m. and found a $5 dollar bill. I am not kidding! It gave me chills. We have a joke in my family that he probably goes home to his mansion every night, but I really doubt it. I have also seen the same young guys at intersections and know they have nothing better to do than panhandle. There was a woman that used to hang out at the post office and she would stop people and tell them that she and her daughter over in the woods needed some food. I told her to go get her daughter and I would get them something to eat. She refused so I guess no daughter. She wasn't there for long after people started complaining. I generally don't give money. If I have leftovers from lunch, sometimes I will give them that if I really think they are down in their luck. I think that most people go to food kitchens or shelters for food and don't panhandle if they are in that type of situation.

 

[paintnolish]

Not to be heartless, but I would not do anything. I donate money, clothes, etc. often, but I don't just hand over money on the street.

 

[Camicar]

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

I used to work with organizations that helped those in need and we had evidence that ALL of these people were professional panhandlers who made more money in a week than we did. Local studies in other areas have shown that our experience was the norm.

If you want to help out the deserving poor, then find a local organization such as a food pantry, Interfaith Hospitality Network, the Salvation Army, and other good quality programs and your money will be spent wisely.